Apple announces water resistant iPhone 7: pressure sensing home button, dual cameras, jet black fin

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2016
This year's iPhone 7 series features a number of upgrades throughout, including a new jet black glossy finish option, a click-free pressure sensitive home button, and the best mobile cameras Apple has ever offered. Storage has been doubled, and preorders begin this Friday ahead of a Sept. 16 launch.




iPhone 7: External changes



Apple put a particular emphasis on a new glossy "jet black" finish, with antennas that are subtly integrate into the color scheme. Color and finish options for the family are aluminum with a black logo, gold, silver, and rose gold.

The home button is also getting a makeover with this year's iPhone, making it completely reengineered with a force sensitive design and new generation "Taptic Engine."
A10 Fusion processor 120x faster than original iPhone, storage up to 256 GB, brighter screen, stereo speakers, vastly improved camera assemblies with optical zoom on iPhone 7 Plus
it also features quick actions like moving widgets, messages, notifications, and ringtones. It can also be programmed by third-party applications with a new Taptic Engine API.

It's also water resistant, keeping out liquid and dust that can cause damage.

As expected, the iPhone 7 will ditch the headphone jack, shipping with Lightning-connected EarPods in the box, as well as a Lightning to headphone adapter.

Apple will also sell separate AirPods Bluetooth headphones, with the new W1 wireless chip, alongside the iPhone 7.

Camera shakeup



The iPhone 7 family features optical image stabilization across-the-board in all models with a larger f/1.8 aperture lens that lets in 50 percent more light. A new six-element lens has been adapted, coupled with a high-speed 12-megapixel sensor that's 60 percent faster and 30 percent more energy efficient.




The True Tone flash features four LEDs that put out 50 percent more light. Also implemented is a "flicker sensor" to detect the cycling of artificial lighting, automatically compensating for it in photos and videos.

The camera is powered by an Apple-designed image signal processor that detects faces and bodies, sets exposure, sets white balance, captures wide color, reduces noise, and much more.

The forward facing FaceTime HD camera has been upgraded to 7 megapixels, up from 5 megapixels. It also includes new pixel technology like deep trench isolation, and can capture wide color images and auto image stabilization.




The 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus ups the ante with two 12-megapixel cameras --?one with a wide-angle lens, while the other is telephoto. This allows users to change the focal length of the lens, bringing optical zoom to the iPhone for the first time.

Combined with software zoom, images can be magnified up to 10x, doubling that of the previous iPhone's capabilities. Optical zoom maxes out at 2x.




The dual-camera system is also capable of simulating shallow depth of field, or "Bokeh." It uses machine learning to recognize people and faces, then creates a depth map to keep people in focus while the background is blurry.

"This is a huge breakthrough in what can be done with a smartphone and photography," Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said on Wednesday.

Depth of field capabilities were only previewed at Wednesday's event --?they'll arrive for iPhone 7 Plus in a software update later this year.

Display, speakers



The display on the iPhone 7 series is 25 percent brighter, and features a wide color display with the cinema P3 standard as found on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Like the iPhone 6s, it also includes 3D Touch input.

Apple has also introduced stereo sound on the iPhone 7 for the first time, utilizing one speaker on the bottom of the case, and the phone's earpiece. The speakers are said to be up to 50 percent louder than any previous iPhone installation.

A10 Fusion processor



Inside, the iPhone 7 features a four-core 64-bit processor dubbed the A10 Fusion. Apple claims the new processor delivers speeds of up to 120 times faster than the original iPhone.

Two of the cores are high-performance cores running at 40 percent faster than the A9 chip, while the other two are high-efficiency, running at one-fifth the power of the high-power ones. A new Apple-designed performance controller directs traffic to the processors, and optimizes for either performance or battery life.

Apple noted tasks such as e-mail receipt able to be performed on the high-efficiency processors, lowering battery demand for those tasks.

As a result of the quad-core design, and the custom-designed performance controller, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have the "longest battery life ever in an iPhone" according to Schiller.




The new integral GPU is said to be 50 percent faster than the A9 and three times faster than the A8. It consumes just two-thirds of the power under full load of the A9 and half the power of the A8.

Graphics performance on the iPhone 7 is claimed to be up to 240 times faster than the first-generation iPhone, and 50 percent faster than A9-equipped iPhones.



Pricing and availability



The 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus starts at $769 for 32 gigabytes of storage. Apple will charge $869 for 128 gigabytes, and $969 for 256 gigabytes.

The 4.7-inch iPhone 7 starts at $649 for 32 gigabytes, up to $849 for 256 gigabytes. Preorders will begin this Friday, Sept. 9, and the product begins shipping a week later on Sept. 16.

The jet black finish for both the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus come in only 128 GB and 256 GB capacities.

The previous-generation iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will be retained in the lineup, with storage has also been upgraded to 32GB and 128GB. The iPhone SE will also still be available, and remains unchanged.

In parallel with the iPhone 7 availability, iOS 10 will arrive as a free update on on Sept. 13 for all compatible devices.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 128
    Lightning headphones with adapter included in box.

    Camera updates look great but Phil is setting high expectations with all the DSLR comparisons.
    asdasdmacplusplusnetmagedoozydozen
  • Reply 2 of 128
    Lightning headphones with adapter included in box.


    So Apple is giving you a pair of Lightning headphones AND an adaptor.

    Where's all the trolls claiming Apple only did this so they could sell millions of adaptors at $30+ each?
    waverboyai46indyfxmike1williamlondonpscooter63ration allondorlostkiwiredraider11Yaga.Reactions.RecordLimit.Plural
  • Reply 3 of 128
    Wireless airpods last 5 hours on charge. Wish it was longer.
    aldolininetmagedoozydozencali
  • Reply 4 of 128
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    Wireless airpods last 5 hours on charge. Wish it was longer.
    They probably won't take 5 hours to charge so you have 2 pairs and always have 1 pair on charge.
    Not the cheapest option but still an option.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 128
    Lightning headphones with adapter included in box.


    So Apple is giving you a pair of Lightning headphones AND an adaptor.

    Where's all the trolls claiming Apple only did this so they could sell millions of adaptors at $30+ each?
    I never said that, though I wasn't sure if they would include it in the box or not. But the trolls will be out in full force. Already Twitter is full of "another adapter" groaning and on the Verge live blog they've already lost these new wireless ear buds. How do you lose something that comes with a carrying case? 
    asdasddoozydozencali
  • Reply 6 of 128
    I'm really liking the new jet black finish. It looks really sleek.The new camera technology sounds pretty amazing. I can't wait to use the new 7 Plus camera. I'm a little bummed the depth of field feature isn't available at launch though. 
    lostkiwinetmagedoozydozencaliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 128
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    7 plus seems great...I guess I should splurge for my wife so she has a great camera that hopefully won't die when she drops it in the sink.  Like her iPhone 5, 5S, nearly my 6...
    aldolinilostkiwidoozydozencaliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 128
    mcarlingmcarling Posts: 1,106member
    Only phablets? No phone-sized phone? I would have thought that Apple had learned their mistake. Many millions of customers evidently want a 4" fully featured iPhone.
  • Reply 9 of 128
    Wireless airpods last 5 hours on charge. Wish it was longer.

    You could get Samsung IconX wireless earbuds. They last a whopping 1.5 hours on a charge. Or the Bragi Dash at 3 hours.

    5 hours seems pretty good considering the limited space.
    ai46jony0pscooter63ration allostkiwinetmagenolamacguydoozydozentmaycaliYaga.Reactions.RecordLimit.Single
  • Reply 10 of 128
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    What's with all the dark photos? Who shows a black device using a black backdrop? 
  • Reply 11 of 128
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    I'm not in the market for a new phone right now, but damn, these new iPhones look great!

    I'm loving both of the new black colors!

    And all of the new features and improvements? Awesome!

    I'm serious, anybody who is disappointed in the new iPhone 7 is a complete fucking idiot or a useless troll.

    Apple hit it out of the ballpark with the new iPhones!

    I don't even care that they removed the headphone jack, since they even provide an adapter with the phone. I was one of the people who was skeptical about removing the headphone jack, but I listened to the arguments made on stage, and I suppose that it does make sense, since space is obviously at a premium, and you can't be hanging on to old tech forever.


    aldolinipscooter63lostkiwisockrolidmonstrositydoozydozen
  • Reply 12 of 128
    Wireless airpods last 5 hours on charge. Wish it was longer.
    buy the bigger capacity models from Beats and others. one device neednt fit all possible use cases. 

    I'm on the phone during the day but not more than 5 hours, these will be perfect. for the gym I'll get a higher capacity pair to charge weekly as I do with my BT pair today. 
    edited September 2016 pscooter63doozydozen
  • Reply 13 of 128
    Wireless airpods last 5 hours on charge. Wish it was longer.

    You could get Samsung IconX wireless earbuds. They last a whopping 1.5 hours on a charge. Or the Bragi Dash at 3 hours.

    5 hours seems pretty good considering the limited space.
    I have a pair of JBL wireless Lat last 8 hours. Guess I'll be keeping those.
  • Reply 14 of 128
    timbittimbit Posts: 331member
    As amazing as the new phone is, my only gripe is the camera bump. Wish it was flat like the iPhone 5S. Wonder if next year with the 10th anniversary whether a flat back will be more realistic
    aldoliniGymkhananetmagecali
  • Reply 15 of 128
    What's with all the dark photos? Who shows a black device using a black backdrop? 
    I want to see better photos of the jet black color. I guess we will have to wait until sites start posting hands on pictures. 
  • Reply 16 of 128
    I like the new higher capacity. I just hope the new models get the same transfer speed improvements seen on the iPad Pro. My weekly transfers of ~20-50GB take forever on my 6 Plus.
  • Reply 17 of 128
    Does anyone have any additional info on the A10 fusion processor? I'm certain it is being manufactured using TSMC's new integrated fan out process. But the CPU gains seem better than would be expected on their 16 nm FF process using InFO. Is this built on 10 nm? 

    That kind of performance puts the machine into the ballpark of entry level MacBook Pro machines. 

    Incredible. Can't wait for the A10X. 
    lostkiwidoozydozentmaycali
  • Reply 18 of 128
    Wireless airpods last 5 hours on charge. Wish it was longer.
    I have a pair of 200$ JBL ones that are a heck-of-a-lot bigger than these boys and it's only 6 hours. So that's pretty remarkable IMHO.
    lostkiwidoozydozen
  • Reply 19 of 128
    sog35 said:


    This is by FAR the best iPhone ever made. I'm getting 100% tempted on picking up a 32 GB Jet Black 7+.............DAMN.
    I don't think they sell the jet black in 32 - only 128/256, but I'll double check...
    and confirmed.
    edited September 2016 doozydozenai46cali
  • Reply 20 of 128

    The new one looks like the same form factor as the 6 and 6s.  Fail.  Apple is dooooooommmmmeeedddd  /s

    I wonder if my 6 case will fit on it?

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