iPhone 7 is here and it’s Apple’s best smartphone yet

Introduced to the world on the 7th of September 2016, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus not only boast good looks but feature the latest tech and some of the coolest accessories iPhone enthusiasts could have imagined. If you have been looking at iPhones for sale, you might want to hold out until the new iPhone hits South African shelves.

With an official release date of 16 September, 2016, for countries like the US and China, South Africa at this stage does not have an official release date. Some sources do however speculate that it will be available locally in time for the festive season, but we will keep you updated on that. (See update below.)

Design of the hot new iPhone 7

A unibody design, a reengineered home button, a jet black finish and an enclosure that is splash and water resistant – the first iPhone that offers this – are just some of the design features that make this Apple iPhone stand out from its older siblings.

Carefully crafted from strong 7000 Series Aluminium, the iPhone 7 and Apple iPhone 7 Plus were introduced in a matte black and high-gloss jet black, but if this doesn’t quite do it for you, both phone models are available in that signature Apple finishes that include Rose Gold, Silver and Gold.

Highlights of the Apple iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus

Running on iOS 10, which has been Beta but is officially launching for all iPhone users on 13 September, 2016, it is no surprise that this newest offering from Apple is packed to the rafters with awesome features and cool tech. Here are some of the (very cool) highlights of the new iPhone:

Say Cheese!

The camera in these iPhones for sale are a big deal. Equipped with a new camera system, the iPhone 7 has a Quad-LED True Tone flash and an awesome 12 MP camera. Featuring optical image stabilisation, you can also look forward to a 7 MP FaceTime HD Camera, a six-element lens, an f/1.8 aperture and advanced colour capture.

The iPhone 7 Plus boasts two entirely new camera systems. Shooting as one, these two cameras are both 12 MP – one wide-angle (like found in the base model) and one telephoto camera allowing for higher quality zoom.

The dual-camera system allows for sharp videos and photos with is 2x optical zoom and, the 10x digital zoom allows for shooting at up to 10x for those pics and 6x for your videos.

Coming soon to the 7 Plus is Depth-of-field. Using the dual camera system, you will be able to capture those stunning photos where faces in the foreground are sharp while creating a beautiful, out of focus blurred background. Something reserved for DSLR Cameras, this feature will allow you to capture those stunning portraits.

This Apple iPhone offering, in terms of its camera, also boast the following:

• Auto and Tap-to-focus Focus Pixels.
• A six element lens that has a sapphire lens cover.
• Up 63 megapixel panorama and an improved local tone mapping.
• A hybrid IR filter, backside illumination sensor and a Quad-LED True Tone flash.
• Optical and automatic image stabilisation, exposure control and face and body detection.
• Automatic HDR photos, burst and timer modes and geotagging for your photos.

It’s all about the video

In terms of video recording capabilities, the new Apple iPhone 7 will most definitely not disappoint. With playback zoom and video geotagging, you can record 4K videos at 30 frames per second, 1080p HD videos at 30 or 60 frames per second and 720p HD videos at 30 frames per second.

Featuring face and body detection, continuous autofocus and playback zoom, the world of recording is at your fingertips. Slow motion video support is also available for 1080p videos at 120 frames per second and 240 frames per second for 720p.

Other awesome features you can look forward to include optical image stabilisation, cinematic video stabilisation for 1080p and 720p video and, of course, noise reduction.

Display – Will you look at that face!

Retina HD Display makes this new iPhone one of Apple’s most colourful and brightest display to date. Making use of the same colour space as the digital cinema industry, your photos, videos and even messages will come to life in vibrant colour.

Featuring a wide colour gamut, you can expect to see cinema standard colours that will blow your mind. Making use of more shades of the colour spectrum to create images, you will be able to see and capture the beautiful colours of the world around you.

The iPhone 7 has a 4.7” Retina HD Display with a 1334 x 750 resolution while the iPhone 7 Plus has a 5.5” Retina HD Display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

The display for the Apple iPhone models also have a finger-print resistant oleophobic coating, P3 wide colour display, display zoom and a typical maximum brightness of 625 cd/m2.

3D Touch baby

3D Touch allows your Apple iPhone 7 to respond to subtle taps, in turn allowing you to not only see what your tap can do, but feel the device’s response as well. Creating an interactive experience, 3D Touch is integrated throughout the operating system allowing you to interact with a variety of apps.

Raw Power

The A10 Fusion Chip (which has 64-bith architecture) along with its’ embedded M10 motion coprocessor are a major deal in these iPhones for sale. According to Apple, this is the most powerful chip in a smartphone and some of the amazing features it brings to the table include the longest battery life ever in an iPhone.

Two times faster than its older brother, the iPhone 6, the A10 fusion chip boast a new architecture allowing for faster processing using less power. In terms of graphics speed, the new iPhone is up to three times faster than the iPhone 6.

The chip’s CPU flaunts a new four-core design – two high-efficiency cores and two high-performance cores.

The high-performance cores blow its older brother out of the water, being able to run at twice the speed. The high-efficiency cores on the other hand are capable of running at just the fifth of the power of the high-performance cores.

The iPhone 7 has also grown up in terms of storage capacity flaunting a line with capacities that include 32 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB.

Do you hear that?

Two times louder than the iPhone 6S, this newest Apple iPhone (for the very first time ever) comes with stereo speakers. Your device also comes with EarPods and a Lightning connector that allows you to turn up the tunage and enjoy.

Note that, should you want to use your old headphones, simply make use of the headphone jack connector and, voila! AirPods are another great feature, but more on that later on in the post…

Wi-Fi and LTE

Three times faster than the iPhone 6, the iPhone 7 boasts LTE Advanced, allowing for data download speeds of up to 450 Mbps. With up to 25 LTE Bands, the new iPhone supports voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling.

AirPods for the new iPhone

Available late in October (for overseas markets), AirPods are wireless headphones that, after a simple setup, are always connected to your Apple devices. These smart little things can sense when they are in your ears and even pauses when you take them out.

Double tapping the AirPod will even activate Siri. These headphones also makes use of a voice accelerometer – this means that they will recognise when you speak. Making use of beamforming microphones, the AirPods filter out external noises and sounds, focussing on your voice when you are talking to Siri or making a call.

These cool headphones are powered by an Apple W1 Chip that is in charge of managing battery life, a stunning Wi-Fi connection and improved sound, to name but a few of its tasks.

The W1 chip, along with motion accelerometers and optical sensors, allows the AirPod to know when you are listening and when you are not. These features are in charge of automatically controlling the microphone and audio, allowing you to listen using either one or both of the AirPods, and kick into action as soon as you put them in your ears.

Superior sound is another great feature you can expect with the AirPods. With high quality AAC audio, your tunes have never sounded this good and your mom’s voice has never been clearer.

I know what you’ve been thinking: Battery life! What about the battery life?

Well, the AirPods allow up to five hours of listening greatness on one charge. The charging case in turn holds multiple charges for more than 24 hours. Should you run out, 15 minutes in the charging case will give a reported three hours of listening time.

Automatic setup allows you to seamlessly switch between your Apple devices. From your Apple Watch to your Mac to your Apple iPhone, simply select AirPods on your device and BAM, sound.

Technical Specifications of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus

Now that you know more about what these iPhones for sale can offer you in terms of design and features, it is time to take a quick look at its specifications and performance.

	iPhone 7	iPhone 7 Plus
Capacity	23 GB | 128 GB | 256 GB	23 GB | 128 GB | 256 GB
Width x Length	67.1 mm x 138.3 mm	77.9 mm x 158.2 mm
Weight	138 grams	188 grams
Display	4.7” Diagonal LED-Backlit widescreen Multi-touch display wit IPS Technology	5.5” Diagonal LED-Backlit widescreen Multi-touch display wit IPS Technology
Resolution (pixels)	1334 x 750 at 326 ppi	1920 x 1080 at 401 ppi
Contrast Ratio	1400:1	1300:1
Camera	12 MP Camera	12 MP Wide Angle Camera 12 MP Telephoto Camera
Aperture	f/1.8	Wide Angle – f/1.8 Telephoto – f/2.8
Camera Zoom	5x Digital Zoom	10x Digital Zoom 2x Optical Zoom
Battery Usage – Wireless Talk Time	Up to 14 hours (on 3G)	Up to 21 hours (on 3G)
Battery Usage – Internet Use	Wi-Fi – Up to 14 hours 3G – Up to 12 hours LTE – Up to 12 hours	Wi-Fi – Up to 15 hours 3G – Up to 13 hours LTE – Up to 13 hours
Battery Usage -Wireless Video Playback	Up to 13 hours	Up to 14 hours
Battery Usage – Wireless Audio Playback	Up to 40 hours	Up to 60 hours

iPhone 7 Price

Though South Africa does not have an official iPhone 7 price yet, the US prices for these devices start at $649 for the entry level iPhone 7 and $769 for the entry level iPhone 7 Plus. ITWeb has reported though that, conservatively, the smallest model in the range will have a retail price of around R 10 000.

As we learn more about the iPhone 7 price in South Africa, we will update this post.

October 2016 Update: The iPhone 7 is now available in South Africa. Officially available since the 14th of October, 2016, you can expect the following iPhone 7 prices.

• iStore starting retail prices for the iPhone 7:
  35GB: R 12 999
  128GB: R 14 999
  256GB: R 16 999
• iStore starting retail prices for the iPhone 7 Plus:
  35GB: R 15 499
  128GB: R 17 499
  256GB: R 19 499

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