Apple has unveiled its long-awaited iPhone 7, featuring waterproofing, a dual-lens camera and wireless AirPod headphones
Apple has finally unveiled its long-awaited iPhone 7, and almost all of the rumours and leaks ahead of the launch have turned out to be true.The new device is indeed waterproof, and the larger model comes with an impressive dual-lens camera capable of of all kinds of photographic wizardry.
Controversially, Apple has removed the headphone socket from the bottom of the device, meaning you may have to rethink your headphone choices.
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| The Lightning connection on the Apple iPhone 7 |
Apple has also ditched the 16GB and 64GB models, and introduced a new 256GB model - which has the same amount of storage as Apple's top-of-the-range iPad Pro.
Here's everything you need to know about Apple's new iPhone 7:
Release date
Apple unveiled the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus at an event in San Francisco on September 7.Customers in the UK will be able to pre-order the new phones from Friday, September 9, and the new devices will be available in shops from Friday, September 16.
Price
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| iPhone 7 |
In the UK, the iPhone 7 will be available from a starting price of £599 for the cheapest 32GB option. The 128GB version costs £699 and the 256GB version will set you back a whopping £799.
The larger iPhone 7 Plus will be even more of a wallet buster than it's smaller sibling.
The cheapest (32GB) iPhone 7 Plus costs £719, followed by a 128GB model at £819, and then a 256GB variant costing an astonishing £919 in the UK.
If you want to buy the phone outright, the best thing to do is head straight to Apple's website and pre-order it from there.
However, if you'd rather spread the cost of your phone over two years, you might be better off signing up for a contract with a mobile operator.
The iPhone 7 is now available to pre-order from EE, O2, Vodafone, Three, Tesco Mobile and Carphone Warehouse, with all of the UK operators offering a range of deals and tariffs.
Design
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are almost identical in appearance to their predecessors, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. |
| iPhone 7 |
The smaller iPhone 7 has a 4.7-inch Retina HD display, while its larger sibling has a 5.5-inch display.
The bodies of the phones are made from aluminium and come in five colours - silver, gold, rose gold, black, (which has a matte appearance), and "jet black". (which has a high-gloss look).
The new jet black finish will be offered exclusively on the 128GB and 256GB models.
The rumour that Apple was planning to launch a blue iPhone 7 appears to have been false - although there's always next year.
No more antenna lines
One noticeable design change is that Apple has removed the plastic antenna lines from the back of the device.In previous models, these lines have allowed radio signals to pass through the metal casing and reach the antennas. However, it looks like Apple has redesigned the case to get around this restriction.
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| iPhone 7 |
A new home button
Apple has redesigned the Home button on the iPhone 7 - presumably in order to make the device waterproof.The new "solid-state" Home button is designed to be durable and responsive, and work in tandem with Apple's Taptic Engine to provide "more precise and customisable tactile feedback".
In other words, even though the button doesn't "click" in the same way as it did on the old handset, it provides haptic feedback when you touch it.
No more headphone socket
Perhaps the most controversial thing about the new iPhone is that it doesn't have a headphone socket.The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will ship with a pair of wired headphones that plug into the charging port on the bottom of the device, as well as an adaptor for people who want to hang onto their old headphones.
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| Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc, discusses the audio features of the iPhone7 |
Apple has also launched a pair of wireless headphones, called AirPods, which are available to buy for an additional £159.
These can connect to both the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch 2 with just a tap, according to Apple, and switch "seamlessly" between entertainment and calls.
In place of the old headphone jack, Apple has added a second speaker, so sound is two times louder than iPhone 6s, and you will be able to listen to your music in stereo with increased dynamic range.
Specs
The iPhone 7 comes with a new A10 chip, which is extremely efficient, meaning the iPhone 7 can run up to three times faster than the iPhone 6 at as little as half the power.This means that the iPhone 7's battery lasts up to 2 hours longer than iPhone 6s, according to Apple, and the iPhon 7 Plus' battery lasts up to 1 hour longer than iPhone 6s Plus.
Graphics performance is also more powerful, so it can support a new level of gaming and professional apps.
Apple has effectively doubled the storage capacity of all its iPhones. So rather than offering 16GB, 64GB and 128GB models, the iPhone 7 comes in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB versions.
Camera
Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have upgraded cameras.The iPhone 7 has a 12-megapixel wide angle camera, which Apple claims is 60% faster and 30% more energy-efficient than previous models, and has 4 LEDS in the flash.
The iPhone 7 Plus has an additional telephoto camera, which together with the standard 12-megapixel wide angle camera offers optical zoom at two times and up to 10 times digital zoom for photos.
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| iPhone 7 |
Apple said the camera software would be updated later this year, allowing the iPhone 7 Plus camera to capture depth-of-field, and separate the background from the foreground to achieve amazing portraits.
In other words, you could soon be filling your Instagram with some seriously arty photos that were once possible to create only with DSLR cameras.
Water-resistant
Both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have an IP67 rating, which means they are totally protected against dust and can be immersed in water to a depth of 1 metre. |
| Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller speaks on the new Apple iPhone 7 |
That means it will survive a dip in the sink or down the loo, and it won't break if you pour a drink over it, but you probably don't want to take it swimming.
Smartphone rivals like Samsung already make waterproof phones - and this is a big selling point for people prone to clumsiness.
Apple has improved the water-resistance of its devices in recent years, but this is the first time it has released a waterproof phone.
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