First Look: Apple's new iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2

AppleInsider

Apple's "See You on Sept. 7" event on Wednesday brought the expected iPhone 7 family refresh, with features aimed at extending battery live and improving user photography, as well as a new Apple Watch with GPS technology. AppleInsider was on the scene, and spent some time with each new piece of gear.

iPhone 7

While the rumor mill's leaks leading up to the release led to speculation that the iPhone 7 family wasn't anything special, under-the-hood changes to the architecture of the phone stole the show.

• 
• 

The new A10 Fusion processor features four cores, with two geared for heavy lifting, and two more power-efficient processors handling tasks to conserve battery life. The pair are managed by a specially designed chipset, selecting which tasks are to be shunted to which core.

While the camera resolution remains unchanged at 12 MP, new camera hardware, lenses, and software improve users' photos.

Both the iPhone 7 as well as the larger iPhone 7 Plus feature image stabilization as a function of the camera hardware, rather than just on the larger model. Additionally, the new camera improves low-light photography and enhancements to the flash system help deal with the difficult indoor lighting situation, compensating for flicker in modern illumination methods.

The 4.7-inch iPhone 7 starts at $649 for 32 GB of storage, and ranges up to $849 for 256 GB. A 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus will be available for $769 for 32 GB, up to $969 for 256 GB.

The Apple-highlighted jet black finish for both the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus will not have a 32GB version and only ships in 128 GB and 256 GB capacities.

Apple Watch Series 2

The $369 Apple Watch Series 2 now boasts a dual-core processor, and integrated GPS. Beyond just core technology improvements, the new Series 2 Apple Watch is water-resistant to a depth of 50 meters, the industry standard for a swim watch.

To improve legibility outdoors, the new Apple Watch has a 1000 nit screen, which Apple calls the brightest display that they have ever shipped, on any device.

Also new this year is a white ceramic watch body with a "pearl-like shine." Apple claims the new material has been in the works for some time, and is four times harder than stainless steel.

Also on display after the announcements were the Apple and Nike revisit of the FuelBand concept, in the Apple Watch Nike+. The exercise-oriented variant features a stretchy, perforated band, and a lightweight aluminum case favored by runners according to Apple research.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Stay tuned for AppleInsider's comprehensive hands-on impressions with iPhone 7, Apple Watch 2 and AirPods.

plchan

can't wait to see the battery life on the Apple Watch 2. They did not, and i am sure they did it on purpose, offer any battery life information on the watch during the presentation

volcan

I have an iPhone 6 so I will be upgrading to 7+ 128 in silver.

eightzero

I don't understand the pricing for the series 2 AW. $369 is the starting price for a 38mm version?

sockrolid

AppleInsider said:

Also new this year is a white ceramic watch body with a "pearl-like shine." Apple claims the new material has been in the works for some time, and is four times harder than stainless steel.

Might be what the back of the "iPhone 8" will be made of.
8x the strength of stainless steel and it might survive whatever drop tests Apple subjects iPhone prototypes to.
It depends on many factors, including:
1. Cost
2. Speed of production
3. Recyclability
4. Weight
5. RF transparency
6. Colorizability (is that a word?)
7. Texturizability (is that also a word?)

dacloo

It's not a beautiful phone at all, but I'm impressed by the hardware changes. 

jgreg728

I demand more pictures of the jet black phone!!!

robin huber

sockrolid said:

AppleInsider said:

Also new this year is a white ceramic watch body with a "pearl-like shine." Apple claims the new material has been in the works for some time, and is four times harder than stainless steel.

Might be what the back of the "iPhone 8" will be made of.
8x the strength of stainless steel and it might survive whatever drop tests Apple subjects iPhone prototypes to.
It depends on many factors, including:
1. Cost
2. Speed of production
3. Recyclability
4. Weight
5. RF transparency
6. Colorizability (is that a word?)
7. Texturizability (is that also a word?)

Cost. It's replacing solid gold at the same price. No way they can get price down far enough to put ten times as much of that material on the back of a phone. Not for a long time, if ever. 

robin huber

I have yet to see a pic of the top edge of the phone showing the speaker. 

doozydozen

robin huber said:

I have yet to see a pic of the top edge of the phone showing the speaker. 

YES! I freaking want see too. 

doozydozen

Oh, and is the screen size of series 2 the same 1, or did the rumor of less bezel actually pan out?

cldarlington1

repressthis said:

robin huber said:

I have yet to see a pic of the top edge of the phone showing the speaker. 

YES! I freaking want see too. 

Aren't they using the earpiece as the speaker?

welshdog

That perforated band is VERY Marc Newson.
Really nice.

kenster999

There was no mention of the screen supporting 3D Touch, and the product specs page doesn't list it either. So it looks like they've dropped that feature. I wonder why: cost, space, usefulness?

evilution

I like the look of the band of the Nike+ watch but the last thing I want is a watch asking me if I want to go for a run every day!
hopefully they'll do the bands on their own with other colours.

I'm amazed that Apple have ignored so many popular colours for the bands.

sandor

18 hour battery life:
https://www.apple.com/watch/battery.html



Does the Apple Watch track sleep?

I need to replace my recalled Basis Peak, and pretty much the only uses i had for it were RHR & sleep tracking/silent alarm.

It will either be the Apple Watch or the Garmin VIvoactive HR.  GPS, HR, Sleep & alarm. that is what i need to replace.

cali

I'm a little underwhelmed.

sandor said:

18 hour battery life:
https://www.apple.com/watch/battery.html



Does the Apple Watch track sleep?

I need to replace my recalled Basis Peak, and pretty much the only uses i had for it were RHR & sleep tracking/silent alarm.

It will either be the Apple Watch or the Garmin VIvoactive HR.  GPS, HR, Sleep & alarm. that is what i need to replace.

And people tell me battery lasted through the night isn't a big deal. "Just charge it at night!" They say.

oh well. Maybe Series 3 will have 24+hour battery and sleep tracking.

Kenster999 said:

There was no mention of the screen supporting 3D Touch, and the product specs page doesn't list it either. So it looks like they've dropped that feature. I wonder why: cost, space, usefulness?

No way in hell they removed 3D Touch. You must be new to Apple.

kevin kee

cali said:

I'm a little underwhelmed.

Keep in mind what Apple posted is usually the worst case scenario (like if you play game for 18 hours non stop with it). Often the battery life is much longer than what they advertised. My AW gen 1 lasts 60 hours before it goes to sleep and they advertised it as 18 hours as well.

edited September 2016

robin huber

cldarlington1 said:

repressthis said:

robin huber said:

I have yet to see a pic of the top edge of the phone showing the speaker. 

YES! I freaking want see too. 

Aren't they using the earpiece as the speaker?

Uh, do you own an iPhone?

spheric

robin huber said:

cldarlington1 said:

repressthis said:

robin huber said:

I have yet to see a pic of the top edge of the phone showing the speaker. 

YES! I freaking want see too. 

Aren't they using the earpiece as the speaker?

Uh, do you own an iPhone?

 Nobody has used an iPhone with "stereo speakers", as the iPhone 7 has, yet.

sandor

kevin kee said:

cali said:

I'm a little underwhelmed.

Keep in mind what Apple posted is usually the worst case scenario (like if you play game for 18 hours non stop with it). Often the battery life is much longer than what they advertised. My AW gen 1 lasts 60 hours before it goes to sleep and they advertised it as 18 hours as well.

18 hours of battery with: 30 minute workout, 45 minutes of app use, 90 time checks, 90 notifications.

you didn't read Apple's website:
https://www.apple.com/watch/battery.html

All-Day Battery Life

Up to 18 hours

Testing conducted by Apple in August 2016 using preproduction Apple Watch Series 1, Apple Watch Series 2, and Apple Watch Edition, each paired with an iPhone; all devices tested with prerelease software. All-day battery life is based on 18 hours with the following use: 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 30‐minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth, over the course of 18 hours. Battery life varies by use, configuration, and many other factors; actual results will vary.