It may not inspire the wonder and wield the influence it once did, but Apple still remains the smartphone king with the release of the iPhone 7. Apple’s new iPhone was revealed to the public for the first time Wednesday in San Francisco and features a much-improved camera, longer battery life, new iPhone colors, a faster processor and much more. Wednesday's reveal confirms months of rumors and leaks in regards to battery life, the headphone jack and that the iPhone is water-resistant.
“iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus dramatically improve every aspect of the iPhone experience, reaching a new level of innovation and precision to make this the best iPhone we have ever made,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said Wednesday.
iPhone 7 Pricing, Payment Plans
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus pre-orders begin Sept. 9 with both models shipping on Sept. 16. iOS 10 will be on both models and will be available to all iPhones starting Sept. 13. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus prices for a 32GB model start at $649. They will also come with 128 and 256GB models. Colors include silver, gold, rose gold, black and jet black. The jet black iPhone is only available for the 128 and 256GB models.
iPhone 7 payment plans, also available this month, start at $27 a month for the 7 and $32 per month for the 7 Plus. Various carriers like T-Mobile, Sprint and more will have special offers that could significantly vary the price of your iPhone 7 and the payment plan.
iPhone 7 Features: Better Battery Life, Home Button, Wireless Headphones
Apple’s new A10 chip means the iPhone 7 battery life and storage are much-improved from earlier models. According to Apple the iPhone 7’s battery will last, on average, more than 2 hours longer than the 6s. The iPhone 7 Plus battery life will last an hour longer than the 6s Plus.
Sure to be one of the more contentious features of the iPhone 7 is the wireless AirPods and the lack of the headphone jack. Schiller said the reason Apple decided to remove the headphone jack was not only for space inside the phone but also “courage.”
“Courage, to move on, do something new that betters all of us,” Schiller said during the presentation.
All iPhone 7 models will come with headphone that will connect with a lightning cable and an adapter that allows you to use your favorite headphones. The new iPhone headphones will come with a lightning cable connection, which unfortunately means you cannot charge and listen to music at the same time unless you’re using wireless headphones. The wireless headphones Apple showcased Wednesday, called AirPods, start shipping in October and will run you $159.
Apple's iPhone 7 home button is all new and is designed to be more responsive and reliable than its predecessor. Schiller said it works seamlessly with the taptic engine to provide specific feedback to your own personal customization.
iPhone 7 Camera
If there’s one reason, besides size, that users might choose the 7 Plus over the iPhone 7 it will likely be for the dual 12-megapixel cameras. Both cameras features improved image stabilization, brighter colors and a more adaptive flash that helps with low light. Apple also showed off a new feature called “portrait” the will use these new cameras to create shallow depth of field photos, known as bokeh.
For more information about the iPhone 7, it’s processor, GPU and much more, stay with iDigitalTimes for updates.
