Paul Morris on September 7, 2016, 11:31 pm

iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus Announced: Specs, Price, Release Date

Apple has made iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus official. Here are its specs, price, release date info. In short, here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s 2016 iPhone range.

Sticking true to the lineup’s structure from the past two years, the Cupertino company unveiled a pair of new smartphones labeled, as was speculated, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. We no longer need to talk about the possible features and inclusions of the device as we now have had our first official look at what Apple is planning on bringing to market with the 2016 iPhone.

this-is-the-iPhone-7

The reveal was very much in line with what we had been expecting. As always, a slew of leaks, speculations, and recurring rumors starting from late last year, leading all the way up to today’s event kept any surprises we might have been presented with to a bare minimum.

Whether or not you’ve been keeping yourself up to date with said string of news, if you’re here, you must be eager to get a rundown of the latest from Apple. Let’s jump right into an overview of the two models announced today to see exactly what is being offered with the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.

Specs / Features

Design

Apple’s new tick-tick-tock release pattern means that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus has somewhat similar design to outgoing iPhone 6s flagship range. They may carry similar overall form factor and dimensions, but they still carry a few notable changes on the exterior. As can be seen in the images, the antenna bands that once split up the rear shell of the chassis have now been redesigned to run along just the top and bottom edges of the phone. This aesthetically looks a lot more pleasing to the eye!

Colors

The other visual change is the colors the new iPhones are being offered in. Apple has replaced the Space Gray with two new options: Jet Black (glossy) and Black (matte), taking the total number of color choices up to five.

Jet Black
Black
Silver
Rose Gold
Gold

Display

The screen size and resolution remains the same as previous-generation iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, with rumors of a True Tone display like that on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro not materializing. However there is now an improved Retina Display which is not only 25% brighter than the display on the iPhone 6s/6s Plus, but also packs a wide color gamut along with new color management features.

3D Touch

And of course, the display still packs the pressure sensitivity that makes 3D Touch functionality possible. But with iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, upgraded pressure sensitivity sensors have been added to improve the overall 3D Touch experience.

A10 Fusion Processor / M10 Coprocessor

Out with the old, and in with the next-generation Apple A10 Fusion quad-core processor packing four cores and accompanying M10 motion coprocessor. Apple is calling it the A10 Fusion, which offers significant improvements over the old chip, with up to 40% faster performance and 50% faster graphical performance compared to the A9 in the iPhone 6s/6s Plus. When put alongside iOS 10, that should equate to some seriously notable improvements.

Camera

The camera experience is one of the differentiating factors between the two models, and one of the biggest upgrades to come to iPhone in a long, long time. It’s being touted as the highlight feature of the two new handsets.

-iPhone 7: The smaller iPhone 7 features a rear-facing 12-megapixel iSight shooter with a larger sensor, ƒ/1.8 aperture, resulting in significantly improved low-light performance over the iPhone 6s, as well as OIS to counter shaky shots and clips. The iPhone 6s in comparison packs ƒ/2.2 aperture with no OIS. The FaceTime HD camera has also been updated to a 7MP sensor compared to the 5MP found on the iPhone 6s.

-iPhone 7 Plus: For those that want a little more from their smartphone’s camera, the larger iPhone 7 Plus features an iSight Duo dual-lens system that offers the most impressive camera performance and range of capabilities on any iPhone, or probably any smartphone, to date. There is one wide-angle lens (ƒ/1.8 aperture) and one telephoto lens (ƒ/2.8 aperture). Each of the two six-element lens pack a 12MP unit of course. The iPhone 7 Plus also includes 2X optical zoom capability! Just like its 4.7-inch sibling, it packs a 7MP FaceTime HD camera.

iPhone 7 Plus also allows for taking those DSLR-type bokeh shots allowing it to really focus in on the subject while blurring the background. Apple says that this particular depth-of-field feature will be pushed out later in the year as part of a free software update.

In addition to this, there’s a new Quad-LED True Tone flash on the back of both the phones which now packs four LEDs to make taking photos in low light conditions more bright and natural.

Force-sensitive Touch ID/Home Button

This is the first time in iPhone’s history since 2007 that an iPhone isn’t featuring a mechanical Home button. Apple has opted for a Force Touch Touch ID/Home button on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus along with a Taptic Engine to provide tactile-feedback upon a press.

Water and dust-resistant

This one has been a long time coming for the iPhone, and certainly something that users have been crying out for. The overall design and display may be the same as the outgoing devices, but there’s now an official IP67 water and dust resistant rating that goes along with the device.

No 3.5mm Headphone Jack

Apple has removed the 3.5mm headphone jack from the bottom of the phone. You can now use Bluetooth for headphone connectivity, or the in-the-box included new Lightning-enabled EarPods, or the in-the-box included Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter to connect your regular old headphones to the new iPhone via the Lightning port. In addition to all this, Apple has also announced truly wireless AirPods, but more on that later.

Dual Stereo Speakers

The iPhone 7 range is the first iPhone model to actually ship with a dual-speaker audio experience, with one speaker at the bottom of the phone and second at the top.

Battery

Apple hasn’t detailed the actual capacity of the battery found in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but it has stated that compared to the iPhone 6s series, the iPhone 7 range will last 2 hours longer under similar circumstances.

Storage Capacity

With iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Apple has finally killed the 16GB base model and replaced it with 32GB as base model while keeping it at the same price. In addition to this, 64GB has been axed in favor of 128GB as mid-tier option while a new 256GB option has been added as top-tier model. Interestingly, the new Jet Black color will only be available in the 128GB and 256GB variants.

Accessories

The two new iPhone models will ship with a set of new Lightning-enabled EarPods in the box in light of the 3.5mm headphone jack having been axed. Apple has also included a Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone adapter in the box for convenience.

In addition to this, Apple has also announced AirPods which are basically Apple’s new truly wireless earbuds packing some smart and innovative technology. The AirPods will be available late October for $159. You can find more details on AirPods in our dedicated post here.

Apple is also offering an updated line of leather and silicon cases to complement the two new devices as well as a $99 Smart Battery Case for the iPhone 7 available in White and Black colors. The Leather cases for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus start at $45 and $49 respectively, while the Silcone ones are available for $35 and $45 respectively. Lightning Dock is also available in new Black color option to make Jet Black and Black iPhone 7.

Price

iPhone 7

32 GB — $649 (unlocked)
128 GB — $749 (unlocked)
256 GB — $849 (unlocked)

iPhone 7 Plus

32 GB — $769 (unlocked)
128 GB — $869 (unlocked)
256 GB — $969 (unlocked)

Release Date

Apple has confirmed that pre-orders for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will begin September 9th, with shipping starting one week later on September 16th in the following first-wave launch countries as outlined by Apple: “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.”

Customers in second-wave countries are expected to start ordering from September 23rd.