Today, at 6pm, Apple’s special event was being live streamed and, no doubt, I was all-ears (and eyes). They announced the brand new iPhone 7/7 Plus. Some of the rumours are now reality, others are not. So, pushing those aside, here’s an overview of what to expect from Apple’s latest smartphone.
Colours
Well, hello there beautiful. Yes, the iPhone 7 will be available in Black but Apple are spoiling us because it comes in Black and Jet Black. These are going to sell out pretty quickly I reckon but Gold, Silver and Rose Gold will also be available. Those horrible antenna bands have been re-designed now too so the iPhone looks even better at the back.
Home button re-designed
The rumour was correct; Apple have re-designed the home button, getting rid of the mechanical button. It is now force-sensitive and powered by a Taptic engine, providing taptic feedback and responsiveness. Nice.
Water and Dust Resistant
This has been long overdue, when comparing it to other smartphones in the market but the iPhone 7 is now water and dust resistant (IP67 protection). I’d still be careful getting any water near my phone though. So, this doesn’t overly-excite me.
Camera improved and improved even more on the Plus model
The camera is always improved so this is no surprise. However, both models now have Optical Image Stabilisation. Previously, only the Plus version was lucky enough to have this. The camera has a larger f/1.8 aperture and a six-element lens for even sharper photos. It also has a 7 Megapixel Facetime camera and a rear 12 Megapixel high-speed sensor and the flash has been enhanced with Quad-LED, enabling 50% more light. The iPhone 7 is now capable of capturing low-light photos, which is great news. The 7 Plus has an even better camera though. It has 2 x 12MP cameras (Wide Angle and Telephoto). So, if the camera is your main reason for an upgrade, you might want to go with the Plus model 
Retina HD Display
Having a good display is key and the iPhone 7 is offering just that; a Retina HD Display that is 25% brighter than the 6S, with Cinema standard colours and great colour management.
Audio
The new iPhone has been given Stereo speakers, for the very first time. One is at the bottom and one is at the top, offering much better sound with increased dynamic range and are twice as loud.
Earpods
If you weren’t ready to say goodbye to the 3.5mm earphone jack, you need to be. The iPhone 7 doesn’t have one. Instead, Apple will be giving earphones that connect via the lightning connector, so yes that does mean you can’t charge your phone and listen to music through your earphones at the same time. However, they are also going to be giving an adapter so you can still use your old earphones. Good stuff. If you’re wondering why they decided to make this change, well their answer was “to have the courage to move on, to do something new”. It’ll be old news before you know it.
Wireless Airpods
Apple have really focused a lot on audio this year. They’ve produced some very strange looking wireless Airpods. Don’t get me wrong, they’re pretty cool but do look somewhat strange. They have sensors inside them so music only plays when the Airpods are inside your ears. They have high-efficiency playback and work with Siri too (with a double tap). The Airpods work with the iPhone and Apple Watch and offer 5 hours of listening time before charging is required. They’ll be available in October at around £120. Yikes.
Performance
Expect even better performance from the iPhone 7, with a new generation A10 Fusion Chip. It has a 64-bit Quad-Core CPU and offers 50% faster graphics performance, compared to the previous A9 chip. Apple claim it to be the most powerful chip in a smartphone. Exciting stuff.
Extra
In addition to the above, the iPhone 7 will come with the longest battery yet, offering an additional hour compared to 6s plus. Not exactly major but something new nevertheless. It will also come pre-installed with iOS 10, which will be released on the 13th of this month.
Drifting towards the App Store, it has always been missing Super Mario, wouldn’t you agree? Now, it’s finally coming to the App Store. It’s not the original game, as you may think, it’s actually somewhat similar though but Mario is the same good old Mario we know and love. The game will be called Super Mario Run and price to purchase it will be announced soon. Are you excited? I am.
Pre-order / Release Date
The iPhone 7 will be available with the following memory capacities: 32GB, 128GB and 256GB. Getting rid of 16GB was such a good idea, wouldn’t you agree?
Pre-orders will begin on 9th of September from 8:01am and the iPhone will be available on 16th of September. I don’t know about you but that seems a long time away. Super excited.
Upgrade or wait until the next one?
Next year will mark the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, so it’s a given that Apple will be going all out and really make some big changes to the iPhone. Due to that, the iPhone 7 was not given a massive makeover but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth buying. It has some decent upgrades, with the camera, performance and water/dust resistant being the primary ones. Oh, and let’s not forget how gorgeous the iPhone looks in Black. Black or Jet Black though? It’s time to make a decision.
I, for one, will be upgrading to the iPhone 7 Plus (going bigger this time round) so don’t forget to check out my hands-on review in the coming weeks.
For now, why not share your thoughts on the new iPhone 7? Will you be buying it or are you going to wait until the 2017 iPhone? Share your thoughts below.
Thanks for reading.
Sadia writes app reviews, smartphone reviews, tech tips & tutorials at XALIRATE