Everything Apple Announced Today at the IPhone 7 Event That Really Matters
Apple took the stage today to announce the new iPhone 7, which comes with a beautiful new camera and waterproof casing. They also made a bunch of other announcements, from the new Apple Watch to the death of the headphone jack. If you didn’t feel like spending hours on their press conference, here’s everything you need to know.
The iPhone 7 is water resistant, finally arriving basic and shipping on September 16th.
The new iPhone 7 looks a little different and comes in two new colors: matte black and glossy black. The new housing makes iPhone 7 water and dust resistant. It also gives the iPhone 7 room for stereo speakers, one at the top and the other at the bottom. The speakers have an increased dynamic range, which should help improve sound.
Aside from the general look, the Home button also underwent its first major redesign. The home button will support force-touch gestures thanks to the Taptic engine. Apple hasn’t gone into details on what you’ll do with this, so we’ll have to wait and see what effect the new Home button actually has.
As you would expect, the processor in the iPhone 7 has also been updated. It’s called the A10 Fusion, which promises to be faster than the 6s. More importantly, it is a low-power, quad-core, dual-core processor that should help extend battery life. Apple is promising the longest battery life of any iPhone, claiming about 2 hours longer than the iPhone 6s.
The iPhone 7 expands storage to 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB, while prices remain the same as previous models, starting at $ 649 for 32GB. IPhone 7 Plus starts at $ 769 for 32GB. Pre-orders begin on September 9th.
Apple wants to disable the headphone jack
However, there is one major change in the new design. Rumors that Apple ditched the 3.5mm stereo headphone jack are true. The iPhone 7 only has a Lightning port, but no headphone jack. This means that the new Apple EarPods with lighting will be packaged in the box along with the adapter, so you may not be comfortable using your old 1/8-inch earbuds. Whether other smartphone makers will follow suit remains to be seen.
IPhone camera gets a 12-megapixel upgrade, including image stabilization and wider color gamut
The camera in the iPhone 7 has taken a big hit. This includes optical image stabilization, a wide f / 1.8 aperture lens that lets in 50 percent more light than the iPhone 6s, a 12MP camera, and a high-speed processor that’s faster than previous versions. Apple suggests this to improve low-light photography, add a wider color gamut, and enhance vivid photos. The front camera is amplified up to 7MP and includes the same image stabilization as the front.
The iPhone 7 Plus adds a second camera. The second camera is a telephoto lens designed to improve zoom. This includes 2x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom. The iPhone 7 Plus also gets a new depth-of-field capability that uses both cameras, along with advanced machine learning on the camera chip itself, to create bokeh in portraits , although it won’t be available at launch. There is a lot of hype about what the iPhone 7 Plus camera is capable of, but we have to see how it actually performs in the real world after launch.
Apple AirPods are $ 160 wireless earbuds that you’ll completely lose or need to charge regularly
Apple has announced its new wireless earbuds called Apple AirPods . These wireless earbuds are very similar to the Apple EarPods, but without wires. They have a five-hour battery life, accelerometers, microphones, Siri integration, and supposedly easily connect to an iPhone 7. Whether they’ll be iPhone-based or use Bluetooth to connect remains to be seen. They will launch in October at a premium price of $ 160.
iOS 10 will be released on Tuesday, September 13
iOS 10, which brings a ton of new features , including a new lock screen and a few small tweaks to the Messages app, is due out next Tuesday, September 13th.
Apple Watch Series 2 Launches September 16, Adds GPS, Water Resistant To 50 Meters
Apple Watch receives its first hardware update, dubbed the Apple Watch Series 2 . An important feature of this version is the water resistance rating, which allows you to take the watch with you when sailing.
The hardware has also received an update. It now includes a dual-core processor, a faster GPU, a new display, and a feature that people have been asking for since launch: built-in GPS. This allows you to use it as a fitness watch without having to connect it to your phone. By the way, there is now a special edition of the watch, created in collaboration with Nike and designed specifically for runners. Apple Watch Series 2 will retail for $ 369 on September 16. The original Apple Watch costs $ 269 and gets the same dual-core processor, but still lacks GPS inside.
Most importantly, Niantic took the stage to announce that Pokémon Go will arrive on Apple Watch at some point before the end of the year and will connect to your iPhone to show you when eggs hatch, Pokémon are near, Pokéstops are close (and may you twist them) and much more.
iWork enables real-time collaboration
iWork will release updates to its desktop and mobile apps that will enable real-time co-authoring. It brings together features that have long been present in Google Docs and Microsoft Office 365.
Mario coming to iPhone this fall
Finally, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto took the stage to announce the new Mario game, an endless runner called Super Mario Run, especially for the iPhone. It will be released this fall with pricing details to be announced shortly, but with the assurance that it will be a one-time purchase with no in-app transactions. Kotaku has details .