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Apple Launches the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus; Feature Water-Resistance, Lack Headphone Jack (www.bgr.in)

Apple on Wednesday unveiled its new flagship smartphones: the iPhone 7, and the iPhone 7 Plus. Both the iPhones look similar to the last year's iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, but offer a range of new features. Chief among those features are water and dust resistance, stereo speakers, improved cameras (the iPhone 7 Plus has a pair of 12MP cameras that are able to take SLR-quality images. It offers bokeh capability). And yes, the new iPhones indeed lack the headphone jack. "it's the best iPhone we have ever created," Apple CEO Tim Cook said. The home button is getting taptic feedback, similar to that of the MacBook.

So why is Apple removing the headphone jack? Apple's SVP Phil Schiller said, "courage."The company also announced AirPods wireless earphones. A pair of these will be priced at $169. The iPhones will go on sales starting September 16 in several regions including the United States In places like India, however, it will be available starting October 7.

5 of 551 comments (clear)

  1. BS on the bokeh by Solandri · · Score: 5, Informative

    iPhone 7 Plus has a pair of 12MP cameras that are able to take SLR-quality images. It offers bokeh capability

    Bokeh is a function of the lens diameter relative to the subject distance (and distance of other objects from the focal plane). For a given scene, cannot be created any other way other than a physically bigger lens. You know the penumbra during an eclipse (the area experiencing a partial eclipse during a solar eclipse)? That corresponds to bokeh. There is nothing you can do on the ground to enlarge this area. It is purely a function of geometry. (Mathematically, it's the point distribution function of the lens.)

    You can fake it in software. I've been saying for over a decade that two small lenses with some lateral separation should allow an algorithm to estimate distance and blur the parts of the picture outside the focal plane appropriately to simulate bokeh. But it's not real bokeh, it's a digital manipulation.

  2. Re:DRM ahoy :( by David_Hart · · Score: 4, Informative

    WTF is "SLR-quality" supposed to mean? (Question being asked by someone who knows what SLR is).

    The actual claim by Apple is that it provides "DSLR-like depth" by adding a "bokeh effect" feature. This is achieved through using a two camera system built-into the phone. There is no claim of SLR Quality. The Slashdot article summary is incorrect in this regard...

  3. Re:Courage, it didn't come, doesn't matter by imgod2u · · Score: 4, Informative

    They include the dongle with the phone...

  4. Re:Because they don't care by Moridineas · · Score: 4, Informative

    That's the stupidest damn thing; should've at least been a splitter adapter.

  5. Re: DRM ahoy :( by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 5, Informative

    That that is an absolute lie, total BS. A bulky 3.5mm jack is 0.5cc. Assuming the previous life of their 1715mA/3.7V battery was 14 hours, they are now adding another 245mA/3.7V worth of battery to it, to get those 2 additional hours. That translates to an energy density of around 6.4 MJ/L, about three times what the best LiPo batteries can give. Not a chance.

    If it lasts longer, it's not from a bigger battery, it's from more efficient components elsewhere. They're feeding you a line and you're swallowing it.

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!