Apple has unveiled the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus at an event in California, as well as a second generation Apple Watch.
As expected, just about every rumour that’s been flying around over the past year has come to pass for the new iPhone, including the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack and resistance to dust and water.
Apart from the lack of a headphone jack — and the new stereo speakers at the top and bottom — the iPhone 7 very much resembles the iPhone 6s physically, although it comes in black and a mirror-like ‘jet black’ in addition to in silver, pink and gold, moving away from the standard space grey.
The larger iPhone 7 Plus also features a second camera lens to allow 2x optical zoom.
As previously rumoured, the new phones feature a pressure sensitive Home circle instead of a mechanical button, and will not come in a 16GB model (in fact no iPhone will, except for the tiny SE).
A pair of Lightning earphones will be included in the box with the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, alongside a 3.5mm adapter for existing headphones, even though Apple VP Phil Schiller dismissed the use of the older technology by acknowledging the adapter was for “some people in the world who still have some old analogue devices”.
The Lightning port provides a digital audio stream and can also provide power, meaning high end or noise-cancelling headphones don’t need batteries or charging.
As expected, Apple also introduced a set of wireless earphones called AirPods, which use the company’s own W1 chip for connectivity, supposedly making them more reliable than Bluetooth.
Removing the pods from a smart case automatically connects them to your iPhone or Apple Watch, and tapping one while it’s in your ear activates Siri. The case charges the AirPods, which last for 5 hours each. The case itself is charged via Lightning.
The new Apple Watch, called Series 2, is faster than before, also water resistant and also compatible with the new AirPods. It has built-in GPS and the expensive Edition model now comes with a ceramic finish. Apple is continuing to sell the original model, renaming it Series 1, although it will equip the older hardware with the new processor to make it twice as fast as before.
Apple kicked off its event in California with a surprise appearance from legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo. Super Mario will be coming to the App Store for the first time this year in a new game called Super Mario Run.
iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will launch in Australia on September 16 from $1079 and $1269 respectively. They will come in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models, although the jet black version will not come in 32GB. Apple’s AirPods will launch in late October for $299, while extra sets of the Lightning pods and headphone adapter will set you back $45 and $12 respectively.
This article originally appeared in The Age by Tim Biggs.
You can see the full Apple Special event announcement here.
