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.

Comments

Because they don't care

[crweb]

Yay, you can no longer listen to headphones at your desk and have your phone charging. Listen all day at the office, phone is dead for the walk home. GREAT Idea.

able to take SLR-quality images

[Bob the Super Hamste]

the iPhone 7 Plus has a pair of 12MP cameras that are able to take SLR-quality images

Don't lie to me.

It has a tiny little sensor that assuming has perfect glass is just providing false magnification as the lens is a f/1.8 with a pixel edge size of about 1.2um (assuming the same size sensor as in the Apple iPhone 5S) but the diameter of the airy disk would be 3.7um. So the smallest item resolvable would fill about a 3x3 grid. Granted software can get rid of some of that but it isn't going to magically make it deliver results like a full frame SLR with good lenses.

While it is probably a better camera than most other cellphones (seriously these cameras are shit) don't say it holds a candle to an older full frame DSLR or even my 40+ year old film SLR that has some really nice lenses with good film.

Re:DRM ahoy :(

[msauve]

"DSLR" is marketing. Regardless of the number of pixels (oh, look, shiny!), without the light collection abilities of the large glass which can be put on a DSLR, and the photon collection abilities which come with the larger pixel sensors which DSLRs have, a phone will never come close.

Re:Where?? What is wrong with MORE CHOICE

[squiggleslash]

That's doubly true of any non-technical people I know, who all simply use bluetooth for smaller external speakers and just do not connect phones to stereo systems at all.

I find the non-technical people I know use 3.5mm jacks to hook up their phones to car stereos. They don't like Bluetooth, it's fiddly and awkward and, if it's not your car, means you have to figure out how to pair with that model. 3.5mm "just works".

If you just keep waiting it could be nothing will ever change. If everyone waits, nothing will ever happen - by Apple doing this perhaps it will drive Android makers to form a standard.

First off, let's remember we're talking about setting a standard. Android phones already come with a "just works" digital hookup for headphones, and speakers, and 5.1 speakers, and whatever else you want - it's called a USB port.

There's a difference between Apple going first saying "Let's make a standard" and Apple going first and saying "Here's our proprietary way to do this." It certainly won't drive Android makers to encourage the use of the USB audio, because Apple's showing no signs of being prepared to adopt USB. And without universal adoption, you're just going to end up with a Betamax/VHS set of competing headphones, if Android phone makers went in that direction.

They won't, of course, they'll just carry on with the 3.5mm jack, for better or worse. I'm not a fan of 3.5mm - especially the hacky version we use today where slight voltage changes are used to signal "Play/pause/hangup/skip next track", and would like to see USB take off as a replacement. But, no, I don't see it taking off if the industry is split.