Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are now official. The company also announced the Apple Watch Series 2 and a pair of wireless earphones called AirPods at an event last night. If you missed it, don’t worry, here is everything you need to know about the new iPhone 7 and the 7 Plus. Also, if you are willing to buy one, both the phones will be available in India from October 7 and the iPhone 7 32GB is priced at Rs. 60,000. Both phones will be available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB variants.
Welcome the new Apple A10 Fusion chip
With each new iPhone, Apple upgrades the processor and this year wasn't any different. The Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus smartphones are powered by a new Apple A10 Fusion chip. This is a new quad core chip, with two powerful cores and two power efficient cores. This is somewhat similar to ARM’s big.LITTLE core architecture Android phones have been using for quite some time. However, Apple is using its own core controller as well, which can make a world of difference. Apple is also introducing a new six core GPU, which Apple claims will provide 50 percent more graphical performance than the outgoing Apple A9 chip.
New cameras for better images
Both the iPhone 7 and the 7 Plus get new camera setups. The iPhone 7 uses a new 12MP sensor at the back with OIS (Optical image stabilization), featuring an f/1.8 aperture allowing more light into the camera sensor. The iPhone 7 Plus on the other hand has two 12MP cameras at the back. While one uses the same wide-angle f/1.8 aperture lens as the iPhone 7, the other sensor has a telephoto lens with f/2.8 aperture, offering 2X optical zoom. Both phones get a six element lens systems accompanied by a quad-LED true tone flash. In a later update, Apple will also add ‘Bokeh’ functionality to the iPhone 7 Plus, something we have seen on Huawei P9.
Water resistance, finally!
Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus users can now use their iPhone 7s in the rain and since both devices now offer water resistance. Both phones are IP67 certified, which means the phones can withstand water immersion from 15cm to 1m. On the official product page, Apple has stated that liquid damage will not be covered under warranty.
Brighter display
Now Apple displays have always been good and bright and Apple is upgrading that even further. Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will offer a 25% brighter display and a wider color gamut. How different is the colour reproduction? Well for that we will have to wait for the device to reach our test lab.
Home button now has a taptic engine
This year, Apple has also updated the home button and instead of a depressible button, Apple has used a solid state button, which works in tandem with a taptic engine. It is the same technology Apple uses to give users haptic feedback on its 3D touch display on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. The same tech can be found on the Apple Macbook’s trackpad.
Listen to audio in Stereo
Stereo audio is again nothing new in smartphones. HTC first brought the technology to life in the HTC One in 2013. This year, Apple brings dual stereo speakers to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Apple claims that the new iPhone 7 speakers are twice as louder.
Not offering a headphone jack takes “courage”
Rumours were screaming that Apple will scrap the humble analogue headphone jack and it did. Apple’s Phil Schiller said that removing the 3.5mm headphone jack required “courage” on Apple’s part. So, the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus now offer audio via the lightning connector, which means the audio signal will be all digital. However, you won’t be able to listen to audio or watch a video, while charging the phone.
Going wireless with Apple Airpods
To offer another solution, Apple announced Airpods. These are wireless headphones, which look exactly the same as the wired headphones, Apple bundles with its iPhones. But, without the wires. Apple has made an all new W1 chip for these wireless headphones, which Apple claims ensures battery efficiency of 5 hours of playback on a single charge. These earpods also have beamforming microphones, which allow for a wider audio and clearer audio, when in calls. It also has optical sensors, which can automatically control audio playback. These come with their separate charging case, which hold upto 24 hours of charge. The Airpods are priced at Rs. 15,400
What hasn't changed
The Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have exactly the same dimensions as their respective predecessors, although there is some weight loss. Display sizes and resolutions have not been changed either. The RAM on the two phones is again 2GB but on an iPhone RAM size does not matter anyway, since iOS is well optimised and quite smooth on its own. Like the previous iPhones, the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will have almost all 3G and 4G bands. Yes, Jio SIMs will be supported.
iOS 10 launches September 13
With the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple will also bring iOS 10 to users. The beta has been available to most users for a few months and the final version of the OS will be rolled to older customers on September 13. We did try an early build of the OS and didn't like it at all. It is pretty much the same, but whatever new changes Apple has added have made it worse. You can check out our impressions of iOS 10 here.
Mario is coming to iOS
Nintendo has been making a lot of hype and money licensing its old legacy titles like Pokemon Go. Earlier today the creator of legendary game character ‘Mario’, Shigeru Miyamoto announced at the Apple event that a new Mario game is coming to iOS this holiday season. It is called Super Mario Run and it is a 2D runner with New Super Mario Bros like graphics. There are no plans yet, but the game may come to Android in the future.
Apple Watch Series 2 is finally waterproof and faster
Apple Watch Series 2 may look the same its predecessor, which is now being called series 1. However, the new watch gets a dual-core processor and is now waterproof. So, you can use it for swimming and Apple has added two new pool workouts to its fitness app. However, the biggest feature fitness geeks would appreciate is that the watch now has built in GPS. Prices for the Series 2 start at Rs. 32,900
The new Series 1 Apple Watch will also get the dual-core chip for that added performance. As an added bonus users will be able to play Pokemon Go from their Apple watch later this year. Prices for the Series 1 start at Rs. 23,900
Extra goodies
Apple has finally upgraded the base 16GB storage option to 32GB and even the older iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will be available in 32GB and 128GB variants only in the coming days.
Also, for all the people who still love their current headphones with an analogue jack, Apple will include a lightning to 3.5mm connector cable with the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Don’t lose it though, as it will cost Rs. 900 to replace.