Starting from the design, the iPhone 7 is now water- and dust-resistant. With an IP67 certification, it can last up to 30 minutes under a meter of water.
The iPhone 7 looks almost the same as its predecessor, but with few key changes. The main among them is the new place of the antenna bands. They are now on the top and bottom edges on the back. Subjectively, this makes the iPhone 7 look a bit cleaner.
Apple has two black offerings – Jet Black and just Black, as well as Gold, Silver and Rose gold.
The headphone jack is gone, just as rumored. Now, plugging headphones will happen through the lightning port only. Of course, you could go wireless with a pair of Bluetooth headphones, too.
Apple includes new EarPod headphones with lightning cable in the retail box as well as a 3.5mm to Lightning port adapter. A new major addition to the phone’s audio prowess is the stereo speaker setup.
Another major change is the new Home button – it’s now pressure sensitive, as opposed to physically clicking. Instead, the new Home button uses haptic feedback, akin to the MacBook Force Touch trackpad.
At the top and bottom, the iPhone 7 sports stereo speakers. It boasts 2x the volume of the iPhone 6s as well as an improved audio range.
The iPhone 7 weighs 138 grams (5 grams lighter than the iPhone 6s) and measures 138.3mm x 67.1mm x 7.1mm – the same as the predecessor.
Camera
The iPhone 7 features an updated 12MP camera with f/1.8 six-element lens and optical image stabilization. The sensor is 60% faster and 30% more efficient than the previous camera system.
The LED flash is also updated and now consists of four LEDs.
The front-facing camera got its resolution boosted to 7MP and records 1080p video.
Performance
Apple has equipped the iPhone 7 with a new-generation A10 Fusion chip. It features a quad-core CPU with 3.3 billion transistors – two high-performance cores and two power-saving ones. They run 40% faster than the A9 chip and two times faster than the A8.
The other two are high-efficiency cores, which run at 20% of the power needed for the high-performance cores.
There’s new GPU as well. It’s a six-core one and is 50% faster than the A9’s GPU and draws just 66% of the power.
Battery life
Naturally, the battery life has been improved in the iPhone 7. Apple says it lasts two hours more than the iPhone 6s.
Display
The iPhone 7 keeps its 4.7″ Retina display. However, it’s now 25% brighter and sports a wider color gamut (not specified by how much).
Apple also hinted at updated 3D Touch layer, but details are scarce.
Pricing
The iPhone 7 starts at $649 for the 32GB base model. It will also come in 128GB and 256GB.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are going to be available on September 16, with pre-orders starting on September 9.