Apple iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus
Apple’s flagship money-earner received it’s yearly iteration today. Big selling points that much fanfare was made over is around it’s new “jet black” offering, something they clarify on their shop pages as being more susceptible to scratching, so buyers beware!
Internally is a new 64-bit four-core processor called the A10 Fusion. Two of the four cores are “high-performance” whilst the other two run at 1/5 the power. The idea being mundane tasks like checking your email can be done on the lower power cores and increase your battery life. The integrated GPU is said to be 50% faster than the former A9 processor and brings “console like gaming” to mobile according to Nintendo who announced their upcoming title “Super Mario Run” is coming to iOS first in December.
The new iPhone’s front facing camera has been upgraded to 7MP from 5MP for those selfie-loving folk but the real improvements are on the back. The standard iPhone 7 now received image stabilisation, a larger aperture of f/1.8 and a 12MP sensor that’s 60% faster than its predecessor.
On the iPhone 7 Plus this is further improved with the addition of a second rear lens. One a 12MP wide-angle lens, the other a 12MP telephoto. This marks the first time an iPhone has had optical zoom, which combined with software zoom mean images can be magnified up to 10x. You can also do a lot more with a software enhanced shallow depth of field which uses the dual lenses to stitch together images to make one.
Finally the iPhone 7 will also include a full stereo speakers to make those annoying people more annoying on public transport who play their music out loud. The flash has been upgrade to a new “True Tone” system featuring 4 LEDs, “water resistant” but not proof and the display has received an iPad Pro treatment, now 25% brighter.
Oh and there’s no headphone jack. Goneski!
The iPhone 7 is available for pre-order this Friday & ships September 16 starting from A$1079 and A$1269 for the Plus.
More info: iPhone 7 – Apple (AU)
AirPods
Well it looks like our own James Croft may very well be the first in line here. Apple have gone and released a set of wireless headphone for their newly announced headphone-jack-less iPhone 7. But they couldn’t have done it in a more Apple-douche way if they tried.
They’ve gone and created a new chip again, the W1, to essentially usurp or hide the usage of Bluetooth LE and enable a connection to the phone, watch and any other Apple device that will support them to come. Sure it makes pairing them simple and easy but it’s a standard breaker again.
With that said the AirPods will give you up to 5hrs listening time and their little charging battery pack home will extended that up to 24. Putting them inside the case for 15 minutes will supposedly give you 3 hours of listening time.
They use beam forming speakers in combination with accelerometers to drown out background noise and provide a “superior” listening experience. The also include IR senses, not for heart rate but to detect when you’re wearing them or not and shut them off to preserve battery life.
I think they look pretty awful personally and continuing with the current Apple earbud shape has me very concerned as they don’t stay in my ears at all. Especially while running!
The AirPods are available in late October for A$229.
More info: AirPods – Apple (AU)
Apple Watch Series 2
Built-in GPS. Water resistance to 50 metres.1 A new lightning-fast dual-core processor. And a display that’s twice as bright as before. Full of features that help you stay active, motivated and connected, Apple Watch Series 2 is designed for all the ways you move.
Apple pretty much covered off their feature set in their blurb for me here. The biggest selling point is the included GPS making it easier for runners (and now swimmers) out there now not needing to bring their phone along too.
The water resistance is cool too but hey, it’s a watch and it’s 2016, it should’ve been like that with version 1.
Further to that there’s a new ceramic model and the gold version seems to have disappeared. You also get an upgraded CPU (the series 1 is getting a bump too for a new lower price) and the screen is twice as bright.
The Series 2 is available for pre-order Friday and ships September 16 starting from… ouch A$529.
More info: Apple Watch Series 2 – Apple (AU)