iPhone 7 and 7 Plus: everything you need to know
We’ve got our hands on the new iPhone. Is it really water resistant, and what about that missing headphone jack? | WATCH
Apple has axed the 3.5mm audio jack on two iPhone 7 models it unveiled today in San Francisco.
Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will instead deliver audio through the lightning port at the bottom of the handset, in the centre. With each iPhone purchase, Apple will supply a set of EarPods (headphones with a wire) with a lightning connector, and an lightning adaptor that lets people use their regular 3.5mm audio headsets with iPhone 7.
What happened to the headphone jack?
On justifying the change, Apple senior Vice President Phil Schiller said the 3.5mm audio cable was old analog technology and a digital connection through a lightning cable offered more options including an ability to control music through it and for the Lightning connection to link to power speakers. He said Apple had the courage to move on and do something new that benefited everyone.
Apple also will sell new AirPods (wireless EarPods headphones). A W1 processor in the AirPods will offer one step connectivity and eliminate the traditional need to pair devices in Bluetooth. Apple says the AirPods will offer 5 hours on one charge. The AirPods come in a charging case that offers 24 hours battery life through recharging on the fly. In Australia they’ll cost $229.
Apple’s voice assistant Siri can be summoned from the AirPods with a double tap.
Read more about the Airpods here.
When will they launch in Australia?
In Australia you’ll be able to pre-order the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus from Friday 9th September with the iPhone 7 costing from $1079 and the iPhone 7 Plus from $1269 locally. They’ll be available in Apple stores from September 16. The wireless AirPods however won’t be available until late October.
Is it really water resistant?
As expected iPhone 7 is dust and water resistant, but to a point: It’s IP67 rating means it can survive a dunking in shallow water for 30 minutes. It’s not water resistant in the way Samsung and Sony phones are. It’s not designed to be used in swimming pools or the shower but will survive getting drenched in a downpour or on a trip to the beach.
What about the camera?
The cameras on the two models are different with the high end iPhone 7 Plus having two camera lenses. One is wide angle and the other a 55mm telephoto lens. They work together seamlessly in the camera app. There is a new button option that lets you adjust the zoom. At normal focus it uses the wide angle lens; zoom up and the telephoto lens kicks in.
Both models offer optical image stabilisation and Apple promises better processing of low light images with a wider f/1.8 aperture. It says the 12 megapixel sensor on the main camera is 60pc faster and more energy efficient. There’s a quad-LED “tru-tone flash” as well. There’s a portrait mode that’s under development that uses machine learning to work out an image background and blur it. It’s said to be available later this year through a software update.
Apple has been under pressure to drastically improve its camera capability with the current crop of cameras by Samsung having been regarded as best in market. Mr Schiller says a new image signal processor performs 100 billion operations in 25 milliseconds when you take a photo.
What else is new?
In other changes, the home button on iPhone has been redesigned and you can use force touch for extra functionality. The button is also customisable and offers haptic feedback. I moved widgets around the home screen and whenever I dropped them, I’d get feedback through my finger on the home button.
Although the model is similar in shape to iPhone 6s, there are changes in design and style. Apple has dropped its space grey colour and introduced a shiny ‘jet black’ iPhone and a more matte black version. Without looking for the camera you could quickly mistake the back and front of the jet black iPhone in sleep mode. They are the same colour.
The antenna has been redesigned so that it no longer shows on the outside of the phone. The display is 25 per cent brighter, snf can depict a much wider range of colours. And there are now two audio speakers - one at the top of the phone and the other at the bottom where the audio jack used to be.
Apple says the iPhone performance will be boosted 40 per cent by its new quad core A10 processor. A new graphics processing unit is 50 per cent faster than last year’s model.
Apple also claims iPhone 7 models will offer two more hours of battery life when performing day-to-day tasks.
As well as black and jet black, the phone comes in silver, gold and rose gold.
To complement the new iPhone, Apple will release the finalised version of its iOS10 operating system on September 13.
What about the Apple Watch?
Apple also unveiled its second attempt at a smartwatch today - and it’s actually water resistant. It’s also now compatible with Pokemon Go. Read more about Apple Watch Series 2 here.
Chris Griffith travelled to Apple’s launch in San Francisco courtesy of Apple.
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