Coverage: Apple unveils iPhone 7, new watch

Apple rolled out the latest model of its iPhone as well as a new iWatch and several other gadgets designed to keep the technology company’s revenue and profits growing.

Dan Seifert of The Verge had the news about the iPhone:

Apple has officially announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus today. The new iPhone features a design that’s very similar to last year’s iPhone 6S (and the year prior’s iPhone 6), with a rounded aluminum body. But what’s entirely new is the phone’s water resistance, which means you can get the iPhone 7 or the larger iPhone 7 Plus wet without worry. Also new is the long-rumored dual camera system, stereo speakers, and a darker black color scheme. And, as expected, the iPhone 7 does not have a headphone jack, rendering countless 3.5mm headphones useless with the device (or requiring the use of an adapter).

The new phone may look very similar to last year’s models, but instead of the matte metal finish we’ve become used to, it has a glossy, mirrored design. The new color is called jet black and is much darker and richer than the space black of years past. Apple is also releasing a standard black model, along with gold, silver, and rose gold.

Apple has redesigned the iconic home button for the iPhone 7, making it force sensitive like the Force Touch trackpads used in recent MacBook laptops. The phone has also gained the Taptic Engine haptic feedback system from the Apple Watch, which provides different vibration feedback for various alerts.

Geoffrey Fowler of The Wall Street Journal was not overwhelmed with the new phone:

Apple’s latest flagship phone delivers practical improvements—plus a little headphone-jack “annoy-ovation”—on a tried-and-true design. These were long overdue. But Apple is only catching up to the competition, not flying past it.

One of Apple’s accomplishments in the past decade has been setting the pace for technology. Every other year, the company has taught us to expect a lust-worthy smartphone, a gadget worth waiting in line for. The iPhone 7 shows Apple is either struggling to keep up with its own pace—or trying to reset our expectations.

This doesn’t necessarily spell doom for Apple. There are many good reasons customers remain loyal to it, and plenty of good reasons for anyone currently using a two-year-old iPhone to upgrade. Apple’s retail stores and customer support are peerless. Its products tightly integrate software with their hardware, making them (usually) easy to use. Its phones work well with all the other Apple devices in your home and office.

Lori Grunin of CNET examined the new iWatch:

We welcomed the next generation of the Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 2, which is all about activity (notably running and swimming). It’s rugged, submersible to 50 meters (water is ejected via the speaker) and added calorie burn for swimming to fitness lab. On the inside, it’s got a new dual-core system and graphics-acceleration chip, and on the outside it has a brighter, higher-resolution display for better visibility in sunlight. Also new: a built-in GPS, a ceramic version and new Hermes and Nike+ editions.
Apple recapped the wunnerful features WatchOS 3 is bringing to its smartwatch, as well as announcing Pokemon Go for the Apple Watch and a Pokemon Go Plus wearable band that allows heads-up playing in conjunction with your iPhone. It also showcased the Watch’s ability to share data between the game and your fitness apps.

Pricing: $369 for Apple Watch Series 2. But Apple’s also upgrading the original Apple Watch design, called Series 1, with a dual-core processor for $269. They’ll be available September 13.