It’s September again, and the Apple carnival has rolled into town.
With the much anticipated upcoming iPhone already leaked even before the launch (as usual) people were not exactly waiting with bated breath.
Nonetheless, a new iPhone has graced us with its presence, along with some other new additions to the Apple family.
Let’s take a look.
iPhone 7 / Plus
Yes folks, it actually happened – Apple has finally deprived us of the headphone jack.
Now what comes in the box is a EarPod which will connect through the Lightning port – so no more charging AND listening to music.
The new iPhone also has a new camera and flash in tow.
Finally, you will get optical image stabilisation in the smaller iPhone, that is backed by an all-improved 12-megapixel camera. Beside it now lies a Quad-LED True Tone flash offering 50% more light than the old dual ones.
The Facetime camera also gets a boost, now standing at 7 megapixels with image stabilisation as well for crisper selfies.
So now that its smaller sibling has all the good stuff, what’s there left to differentiate the Plus mode?
Well, flip the new Plus face down, and you will be greeted with TWO cameras instead of one.
At the back now lies two lenses, with a sensor under each. Each lens has a specific focal length – 0ne is a wider 1x zoom range, while the other offers 2x zoom.
Don’t just view them as separate cameras though, as both lenses and cameras can be used simultaneously to create sharper images, and those with a shallow depth of field, like in a dedicated camera.
New Colours, Better Battery And Water Resistance
Both iPhones have Apple’s new A10 chip embedded within, and more than just giving you more power under the hood, they will also bring improvements to overall battery life.
Hopefully this translates to better up time for the regular iPhone, as the Plus was always known to have enough stamina for days.
On another note, goodbye Space Grey.
Today Apple unveiled two more colour options for the iPhone – Jet Black and Black. Black is simply Space Grey but a lot darker. Jet Black on the other hand, is one shiny dude, and also has a caveat for anyone aiming to get it.
Lastly, did we mention that the new iPhone is also IP67 water and dust resistant?
It can now survive a trip underwater for 30 minutes – just don’t do anything crazy with it. Trips to the toilet are a lot less scary now with your new iPhone 7.
AirPods
I think all of us have braced ourselves for this day, when a purchasing decision for a new iPhone will inevitably have us buying a wireless headphone if you don’t already own one.
Apple is trying to make that pain a bit more bearable with the launch of the AirPods – minus the cables, but with some cool features.
With a promise to only use a third of the power of traditional wireless earphones with Apple’s own W1 chip inside, the AirPods also feature a touch control which you can use to activate Siri, as well as sensors to detect if its in your ears, which it will use to play and stop music accordingly.
And to address the elephant in the room, yes, it really does look like someone just yanked the cable off the EarPods and called it a new product.
Apple Watch 2
Along with the new iPhone and AirPods, Apple today also announced the second generation Apple Watch with WatchOS3 and a myriad of fitness focused functions.
Now, the second generation Watch is also water resistant so you can safely wear it out both to the gym or just for everyday use. If you’re adventurous enough, you can even swim with it, but only up until a depth of 50 meters.
Lastly, the Watch now has an in-built GPS on board.
You will be able to record precise distance, pace and speed for outdoor workouts such as walking, running or cycling, without taking an iPhone with you.
Users can begin an outdoor workout immediately as Apple Watch Series 2 uses Wi-Fi, GPS and locally-stored satellite data to quickly identify their location.
Apple also unveiled some pretty new watch bands, if you like a little customisation.
Availability
From this Friday, 9 September, you will be able to pre-order from the Apple store online for any iPhone you desire, with the phone expected to be delivered into your hands by next Friday, 16 September.
Be fast though, this will definitely be another round of fastest fingers first that Apple fans have to go through annually.
Update: Singtel has announced that pre-registration for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus has been opened at noon on today, Thursday 8 September. Simply head to http://iphone.singtel.com to snag yourself a spot.
Update: Starhub and M1 have also announced that customers can now register their interest at their respective websites.
The phones are still expected to arrive next Friday, 16 September.
