Recap of Apple's iPhone 7 event (07/08)

I watched the live stream of Apple's September 7 event & as usual, I was impressed by their presentation. 

Again, nothing new here, they started it with updates and here's the important ones:

1. Apple Music now has 17 million subscribers.
2. 5,00,000 games in the iOS App Store.
3. Mario is coming (officially) to iOS! It is an endless runner game (like Temple Run & Subway Surfers). It will come later this year.

And now on to the much anticipated product announcements:

1. Apple Watch series 2

The Watch series 2 is (according to Apple) completely re-engineered allowing it to be waterproof (upto 50 meters), unlike the last one which was only splashproof. The most significant upgrades are the newly designed speaker which has been resigned to allow for the aforementioned waterproofing, a brand new processor and graphics (called the Apple S2) featuring a dual core processor which is 50% faster and a new GPU which is 100% faster than the first generation Watch. The display is now 2x brighter (1000nits to be precise), it has built-in GPS for tracking your runs without needing to have your iPhone in your pockets & the gold edtion has been replaced with a glossy ceramic version. The Apple Watch series 2 will start at $369.

2. Apple Watch series 1

If you think $369 is too much to shell out on an accessory for an iPhone, you're not alone. Apple knows about it, I guess, because they've updated the painfully slow first generation Apple Watch with the new dual core processor found on series 2. The updated first gen Apple watch will be called series 1 to differentiate it from the original one and will cost you $269.

3. Apple iPhone 7 & 7 Plus

It's 2016, an even numbered year, which means we should be getting a redesigned iPhone, right? Technically speaking, it is redesigned..... but it is in many ways an iterative update to what was already a great phone. The iPhone 7 also plays catch-up with its Android competitors by including a quad-core processor (2 performance cores & 2 power saving cores) like the Snapdragon 820, waterproofing & dual stereo speakers. Apple to remove 2 iPhone standard designs which have existed ever since the first iPhone back in 2007: the 3.5mm headphone jack (which Apple popularized with the iPhone) and the single Home button thats been there on every iPhone ever. Don't worry, on first sight you might not think that the home button is missing because the Touch ID fingerprint sensor is still there in that very location. Unlike previous iPhones, this one is pressure sensitive like the displays of newer iPhones, Apple Watches and the touchpad of newer Macbooks. The lightning port serves as the new digital headphone port & Apple is kind enough to bundle new Lightning EarPods and also a Lightning to 3.5mm jack adapter in the box of every 7 & 7 Plus.

Apple also upgraded the cameras. The iPhone 7 features a 12MP camera with optical stabilization, a f/1.8 aperture, 6 element lens, 4 LED flash, a new ISP and a wide colour gamut like the displays, which aside from the colour gamut and max brightness are untouched from the previous phones. The 7 Plus rocks the same camera on the back with a second 12MP telephoto camera for better zooming. They now break the tradition of previous iPhones by making 32GB the base storage and adding a 256GB option too. Speaking about adding options, the new iPhones now come in a glossy black called Jet black & a new matte black which replaces Space Grey. The silver, gold & rose gold versions also remains. The iPhone 7 & 7 Plus will start at $649.

4. Apple AirPods

We knew this was coming, but we didn't know it was coming so soon. Apple's new iPhone natively supports 2 types of headphones/earphones, first through Lightning and the second is wireless. The new EarPods take care of the first type & Apple introduced the AirPods to cover the second type. The AirPods are completely wireless. They aim to provide the same listening experience for up to 5 hours and can be used with their charging case for up to 24 hours. 

Preorders for, Apple Watch series 1 & series 2 and the iPhone 7 & 7 Plus will begin on September 9 and they will start shipping on September 16.

If you liked the article, click right here to check out my first thought on the Apple's new devices.