Apple iPhone 7 available to pre-order
The new iPhone 7 was announced last week along with its sister handset, the iPhone 7 Plus.
The launch event was held in San Francisco, where Apple revealed its latest addition to its product range. In appearance, the two handsets are very similar to the 6s and the 6s Plus, but there are a few differences that help it to stand out. The traditional home button has been exchanged for a pressure-sensitive version, and the new handsets have a far superior camera than that of the previous-generation handsets.
Other improvements include a faster processor and a longer battery life, but there is no longer a headphone jack. The handset starts with a storage size of 32GB and is now available in a range of colours.
Customers interested in upgrading to the new handsets can pre-order now, and in some cases, shipping dates have been pushed back due to the high demand. At the moment, the handsets are due to ship from 16 September, but the demand for the iPhone 7 Plus in jet black means that shipping for these handsets will not start until November. Some other colours are seeing a two or three week delay. Before the official launch, there were already rumours that delays would be possible.
The new iPhones are not going to be the cheapest handsets. Prices start at £599 for UK customers who are happy to settle for 32GB storage, and the Plus model with that storage capacity will be in excess of £700. The maximum storage is 256GB, and customers who want that amount of space on the Plus model will pay more than £900.
The removal of the headphone jack has been a controversial move. The earphones will now be connected to the Lightning port, which is used to charge the handset. A set of Lightning EarPods are shipped with the handset, and wireless Apple AirPods are also available. These work with the help of infrared sensors and feature motion sensors and voice detection capabilities.
There will be an adaptor available with the handsets so that traditional headphones can still be used, but this will not let the handset charge at the same time. The AirPods will also work with laptops, iPads and Apple watches.
Fans will be pleased to hear that the iPhone 7 features stereo speakers, and the camera will allow for much sharper photos. The Plus handset now has a dual-lens camera for sharper quality as well as two 12MP cameras. Enthusiasts can live-edit their video files too.
The colour range for the handsets has widened with the introduction of two new shades. These are replacing space grey. Of the range of five colours, two are shades of black – matte and glossy. Silver, gold and rose gold make up the set. Only the 128GB and 256GB models will feature the shiny jet black option.
Longer battery life will also help to ease the shock of the higher price tag. The new handsets offer around two hours of life more than the iPhone 6s. Use of Wi-Fi on the iPhone 7 means that the owner gets 14 hours of battery life, which is shortened slightly with the use of 4G.