Apple today announces Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Singapore is the first tier countries to get the them. Pre-order starts from 9th September and they will be available from 16th September. Along with the announcement, Apple also introduces AirPods, the wireless headphones for iPhone.
There are so much information to cover from the event but I am only targeting specific areas only – Pricing, availability, new features.
Pricing and Availability
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
Love the fact that Apple has increases the capacity to 256GB.
- iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in silver, gold, rose gold and the new black finish in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models starting at SRP S$1,048, and the new jet black finish will be offered exclusively on the 128GB and 256GB models from Apple.com/sg, Apple Authorised Resellers and select carriers.
- Customers will be able to order iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus beginning Friday, September 9, with availability beginning Friday, September 16, in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US.
AirPods and Accessories
- The new Apple-designed wireless AirPods including charging case will be available for SRP S$238 from Apple.com/sg beginning in late October. All iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models will include EarPods with Lightning Connector and a Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter, also sold separately at Apple.com/sg for SRP S$42 and SRP S$14, respectively.
- Apple-designed accessories including leather and silicone cases in a range of colours will be available starting at SRP S$48 and iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case will be offered in black and white for SRP S$148 from Apple.com/sg. Lightning Docks in several colour-matching metallic finishes will also be available for SRP S$68.
New Features
Apple has finally done it. After so many speculations and leaked pictures, Apple has ditched the 3.5mm headphone jack. Apple came up with 3 reasons why they did that. One of them is “courage”. Of course, at the moment, many will not be convinced by these reasons. New iPhone 7 users who do not have wireless earphones will now have to share the Lightning Port to charge, sync and listen to music. Thankfully, Apple will be providing the Lightning Port to 3.5mm jack adapter in the retail box for people will want to continue to use their 3.5mm jack headphones.
On new features, many of them are hidden inside the chassis and subtle.
Color
Apple brings back the black color for iPhone. In recent years, white, Gold or Rose Gold are the hot favorites amongst the phone makers. This year, it seems that Samsung (Note7) and Apple got the same memo. They are making the black cool again. On iPhone 7, the glossy Jet Black will be something you have to look out for. BTW, for Jet Black, it comes only in high capacity (128GB, 256GB). Read more in the Press Release.
Home Button
Next, the Home Button has an upgrade. It now has its own Taptic Engine and does more things, and 3rd party applications can now access the Home Button for even more features in the future.
Camera
The front camera has been upgraded to 7 MPX. With SnapChat, Instagram Stories, I am sure it will be great news to many.
Apple did not make the rear camera on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus equal. Although both are 12 MPX, iPhone 7 Plus has 2 of them and each serves a different purpose.
Here is the specs for iPhone 7. Love the wide aperture of the iPhone 7. At F/1.8, I am sure many will notice the differences in light low situation. Apple has been emphasizing on “Wide Color Gamut”. From today, I am sure many will be asking what is “Wide color gamut”. In my limited knowledge, it means it can store a wider range of color values.
On the iPhone 7 Plus, it has two 12 MPX cameras. One is a Wide Angle and the other is a Telephoto (2x Optical). Apple is not the first with dual lens camera. Some phone manufacturers have already been producing them (Huawei P9, LG G5 and etc). However, seems like every manufacturer has a specific role for the secondary camera.
With the dual camera, Apple is able to improve the zoom (Optical Zoom + Digital Zoom ) to 10 times (2x optical and 5x digital) and is able to create Bokeh effect (by software) that can usually can be found on camera with bigger sensor and better lenses.
Again, Apple is not the first. I have been enjoying this feature a few years ago with my HTC phone. However, Apple is making it better. the quality as seen from the presentation is really really good.
To utilize the Dual Lens, you have to select Portrait Mode in the camera settings. One of the coolest thing about this feature is that it is able to provide Live Preview. This is something not found on other phone manufacturers. Awesome.
Water Resistant
Apple iPhone 7 is water resistant (IP67). So, you will not have any problem using it in the light or dusty places.
Stereo Speakers
Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus now come with Stereo speakers.
Better Processor
As with every product launch, Apple has improved the Processor. The latest processor is A10 Fusion. It is a 4 core processor that is capable of switching the CPU based on usage. This action actually helps to enhance the battery life.
And here is a comparison table of the battery life between iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
More about AirPods
As Apple has ditched the 3.5mm jack, I believe wireless headphones will fly off the shelves. In my opinion, you should wait until October to get the AirPods. One of the reasons is because of the technology Apple has packed into this small little device.
Can you imagine that a small headphones like the AirPods has its own processor chip? Apple named it W1.
That is not all. It has built in Optical sensors, accelerometers and etc. The battery life for most wireless headphones is not great. So, Apple did what others did. Transform the casing to a battery charger for the AirPods.
Finally, as with every Apple product launch, product manufacturers are always very supportive. Check out Beats range of new products that incorporate Apple’s W1 chip.
And here is the official Press Release from Apple Singapore.
Press Release
Apple Introduces iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus — The Best, Most Advanced iPhone Ever
Including Breakthrough New Camera Systems, the Best Battery Life Ever in an iPhone and Water & Dust Resistance
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus take the world’s most popular camera and make it even better with entirely new camera systems. The 12-megapixel camera includes optical image stabilisation on both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and a larger ƒ/1.8 aperture and 6-element lens enable brighter, more detailed photos and videos, and a wide colour capture allows for more vibrant colours with more detail. iPhone 7 Plus features the same 12-megapixel wide angle camera as iPhone 7 and adds a 12-megapixel telephoto camera that together offer optical zoom at two times and up to 10 times digital zoom for photos.Coming later this year, the dual 12-megapixel cameras also enable a new depth-of-field effect, using both cameras on iPhone 7 Plus to capture images, while sophisticated technology including Machine Learning separates the background from the foreground to achieve amazing portraits once possible only with DSLR cameras.Additional Camera Advancements Include:
- New Apple-designed Image Signal Processor, which processes over 100 billion operations on a single photo in as little as 25 milliseconds, resulting in incredible photos and videos;
- New 7-megapixel FaceTime® HD camera with wide colour capture, advanced pixel technology and auto image stabilisation for even better selfies; and
- New Quad-LED True Tone® flash that is 50 percent brighter than iPhone 6s including an innovative sensor that detects the flickering in lights and compensates for it in videos and photos.
More Performance & Battery Life
The new custom-designed Apple A10 Fusion chip features a new architecture that powers these innovations, making it the most powerful chip ever in a smartphone, while also getting more time between charges with the longest battery life ever in an iPhone. The A10 Fusion’s CPU now has four cores, seamlessly integrating two high-performance cores that run up to two times faster than iPhone 6, and two high-efficiency cores that are capable of running at just one-fifth the power of the high-performance cores. Graphics performance is also more powerful, running up to three times faster than iPhone 6 at as little as half the power, enabling a new level of gaming and professional apps.
Both phones include support for up to 25 LTE bands, for the best worldwide roaming in the industry, and LTE Advanced for three times faster data rates than iPhone 6 at up to 450 Mbps.1
An Amazing Audio Experience
New stereo speakers offer amazing and immersive sound that is two times louder than iPhone 6s, offering increased dynamic range of sound and a higher quality speakerphone. The new iPhone comes with EarPods® with Lightning® connector to deliver incredible sound, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter that allows customers to use old headphones and accessories.
New AirPods™, Apple’s innovative new wireless headphones, weave simplicity and technology together to reinvent the wireless experience making headphones easy to use. Featuring the new Apple W1 chip, AirPods have extremely efficient wireless communication for a better connection, improved sound and industry-leading battery life. AirPods harness the power of Siri®, allowing you to access your favourite personal assistant with just a double tap.
Design That Makes a Splash
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus come in a gorgeous design in silver, gold and rose gold finishes and introduce two all-new black finishes, a beautiful black finish that has an anodised matte appearance, and an innovative jet black finish that has a deep, high-gloss look. The new jet black finish is accomplished through an innovative nine-step process of anodisation and polish for a uniform, glossy finish. An entirely reengineered enclosure results in a water resistant iPhone offering protection like never before against spills, splashes and dust.2
The new iPhone features the brightest, most colourful Retina® HD display ever in an iPhone, now with a wide colour gamut for cinema-standard colours, greater colour saturation and the best colour management in the smartphone industry. An all-new, advanced, solid-state Home button on iPhone 7 is designed to be durable and responsive, and working in tandem with the new Taptic Engine®, provides more precise and customisable tactile feedback.
Featuring iOS 10, the Biggest iOS Release Ever
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus come with iOS 10, the biggest release ever of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. iOS 10 introduces a huge update to Messages that delivers more expressive and animated ways to message friends and family, the ability for Siri to do more by working with apps, new ways to interact with apps and even more places to use 3D Touch™, beautifully redesigned Maps, Photos and Apple Music®, and the Home app, delivering a simple and secure way to manage home automation products in one place. iOS 10 also opens up incredible opportunities for developers with Siri, Maps, Phone and Messages APIs, allowing customers to do more than ever with the apps they love to use.
Pricing & Availability
- iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in silver, gold, rose gold and the new black finish in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models starting at SRP $1,048, and the new jet black finish will be offered exclusively on the 128GB and 256GB models from Apple.com/sg, Apple Authorised Resellers and select carriers.
- Customers will be able to order iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus beginning Friday, September 9, with availability beginning Friday, September 16, in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US.
- iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and Slovenia beginning Friday, September 23. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will also be available to customers in India beginning Friday, October 7.
- The new Apple-designed wireless AirPods including charging case will be available for SRP S$238 from Apple.com/sg beginning in late October. All iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models will include EarPods with Lightning Connector and a Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter, also sold separately at Apple.com/sg for SRP S$42 and SRP S$14, respectively.
- Apple-designed accessories including leather and silicone cases in a range of colours will be available starting at SRP S$48 and iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case will be offered in black and white for SRP S$148 from Apple.com/sg. Lightning Docks in several colour-matching metallic finishes will also be available for SRP S$68.
1 Data plan required. LTE is available in select markets and through select carriers. Speeds vary based on site conditions and carrier. For details on LTE support, contact your carrier and see apple.com/iphone/LTE.
2 iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are splash, water and dust resistant and were tested under controlled laboratory conditions with a rating of IP67 under IEC standard 60529. Splash, water and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and resistance might decrease as a result of normal wear. Do not attempt to charge a wet iPhone; refer to the user guide for cleaning and drying instructions. Liquid damage not covered under warranty.
[ad#img]