Apple Inc is out to make a splash with new waterproof iPhones and a smartphone game starring Nintendo Co’s beloved “Mario,” but it has raised eyebrows by eliminating headphone jacks in a push for wireless.
The iPhone 7 and larger iPhone 7 Plus, with sophisticated camera technology, improved water resistance and other features, were shown off to applause on Wednesday at an Apple event in San Francisco.
The flagship devices with boosted memory capacity are to be sold at about the same price as the models they replace, starting at US$649 for the iPhone 7 for US customers, with deliveries in 25 countries beginning on Friday next week.
Photo: AFP
However, gone is the traditional headphone jack, requiring audio to be delivered via Apple’s proprietary “lightning” connector or by wireless — and that may ruffle feathers.
Lightning connectors were designed from the outset to handle high-quality audio, Apple vice president Phil Schiller told the audience, addressing concerns about the headphone jack removal.
“It comes down to one reason; courage, the courage to move on,” Schiller said of the decision to get rid of the traditional headset port. “Our smartphones are packed with technologies and we all want more, and it is all fighting for space in that same enclosure. Maintaining an old, single-purpose connector just doesn’t make sense.”
Apple “AirPods” wireless ear pieces and adaptors to plug wired headsets into Lightning ports will come with iPhone 7 models, Schiller said.
Apple might be setting the stage for a dramatically different iPhone model to debut next year on the 10th anniversary of the smartphone first introduced in 2007, Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin said after the event.
“It could be a first step for Apple making this completely wireless, and maybe next year a new iPhone with wireless charging,” he said.
The new smartphones come with Apple seeking to reverse declines in sales of the iPhone in an increasingly saturated global market, and boost its Apple Watch.
While Apple has touted total iPhone sales of 1 billion, the number sold in the quarter ending June 25 fell 15 percent year-on-year, and analysts were split on whether new iPhones would help Apple regain momentum.
On the wearables front, the new Apple Watch Series 2 is to feature GPS, allowing people to gather fitness data during an outdoor workout.
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