iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus arrive with new colors and cameras

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Say hello to the new iPhone.
Say hello to the new iPhone.
Photo: Apple

The next generation of iPhones has finally arrived. And while they may look a bit boring on the outside, Apple has packed some game-changing features on the inside.

Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus at an event today, but scooped itself by tweeting an image of the new devices before they even hit the stage. Yes, the headphone jack is finally dead. But Apple added some insane new features like a dual-lens camera, a sleek new Touch ID button, a water-resistant shell, and a couple new things no one expected.

iPhone 7 jet black
iPhone 7 is stunning in Jet Black.
Photo: Apple

“It’s the best smartphone that we have ever created,” Tim Cook told the crowd while unveiling the glossy black iPhone that looks seamless and pristine.

The new iPhone has 10 major new features the most dramatic of which is the new finish Apple calls “Jet Black”. It’s a high gloss finish that integrates the antenna’s seamlessly. There’s also a second new black that’s simply called “Black” and comes with a black Apple logo.

Apple added a new home button that is force-sensitive. Instead of clicking it, the solid-state home button now uses tapic feedback and is customizable. There are unique feedbacks for notifications, ringtones, quick actions and its open to third-party apps.

Water and dust resistant enclosures finally give users more protection from the weather. Using new seals and adhesives, Apple made it IP67 protection. You can pretty much dunk it and water and it will be safe.

The Cameras

iphone camera

iPhone 7

Cameras on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus give owners more power than ever. The new camera system on the iPhone 7 is entirely new. It has optical image stabilization, a wider f1.8 lens that lets in more light and a new 12MP sensor that’s more energy efficient. The flash now has 4 LEDs, blasting out 50% more light. The camera also captures RAW images.

Apple designed an image signal processor that makes pictures look better than ever by reading the scene using machine learning to recognize bodies and objects. It automatically sets the exposure, color, noise reduction, tone mapping and more every time you take a picture. It’s like a super computer for photos.

The FaceTime HD camera has been upgraded to 7MP to bring even sharper images for your selfies and packs auto image stabilization. Live Photos are getting better with iPhone 7. The device now applies image stabilization and you can edit and apply filters to them so you’ll want to share them more.

iPhone 7 Plus

iphone 7 plus
iPhone 7 Plus has two 12MP camera sensors with two lenses — one a wide angle lens and the other a zoomed lens. The new lenses let you optical zoom at 2X. You can also software zoom up to 10x.

“This is the best camera made in any smartphone,” said Apple Marketing VP Phil Schiller while previewing photos from the new device.

The dual-lens system also brings a more shallow depth of field, allowing you to create portraits with strong background blur or bokeh. Apple has added a new “Portrait” feature on in the iPhone 7 Plus camera app that gives a real-time deep depth preview.

iPhone 7 Plus users won’t get the new feature right off the bat though. You’ll have to wait to get it as a free update later this year.

Goodbye Headphone jack

iPhone 7 dongle

Headphone jacks are no longer a thing on the iPhone 7. They’ve been killed in favor of stereo audio speakers on each side of the device. EarPods are now connected over Lightning, giving higher fidelity audio than your old earbuds. Oh, and you can power other headphones through the Lightning port.

“The reason to move on [from the headphone jack] really comes down to one word: courage,” explained Schiller. “When you have a vision of what the audio experience can be you want to get there and make it as good as it can be.”

Apple improved the Retina HD display by making it 25% brighter, adding a wider color gamut, and making it cinema quality. Colors on the new screens pop with more vibrance than ever before.

A10 processor

A10 processor

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus both pack a new A10 Fusion chip that packs 3.3 billion transistors. Two cores of the four cores on the A10 are high-performance that run 40% faster than the A9. The other two are high-efficiency cores that run at 1/5 the power of the high-performance cores.

A new GPU is also included that is 50% faster than the A9 processor and three times faster than the A8. It’s the most powerful chip ever in a smartphone.

Battery life has improved on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, giving owners the longer battery life ever in an iPhone. On average you can expect to get about 2 more hours of battery life on average.

AirPods

airpods

To alleviate the absence of the headphone jack Apple created some beautiful new AirPods. They look just like EarPods only without the wires.

Apple designed a W1 chip that produces high efficiency playback. Infrared sensors detect when the AirPods are in your ear. You can also access Siri from them with a double tap.

Each AirPod provides 5 hours of listening on a charge. The charging case adds an extra 24 hours of battery life. iPhone 7 doesn’t come with a free pair of AirPods, so you’ll have to buy them separately.

Where to get iPhone 7

iPhone 7 price starts at $649 for a 32GB. iPhone 7 Plus starts at $769 for 32GB. To get Jet Black you’ll have to buy one of the 128GB or 256GB models. The iPhone 6s has also received a storage upgrade with 32GB now the baseline.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus open Friday on September 9th. Units will start shipping to stores in 28 countries on September 16.

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