Apple Unveils IPhone 7 And 7 Plus

(RTTNews) - Apple Inc. (AAPL) Wednesday unveiled its next generation iPhones, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, with a faster processor, dual cameras, as the Cupertino, California-based tech giant plans to impress its customers ahead of the holiday season and improve the sluggish sales of its flagship device.

As earlier rumored, Apple has not introduced any design changes in its latest iPhones. From the outside, the new phones look identical to their predecessors, with the screen sizes of the two smartphones same as the previous-generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch respectively.

As expected, Apple has dropped the 3.5mm headphone jack and replaced it with lightning connectors instead, which has helped the tech giant to make the new iPhone slimmer. The new iPhone will come with EarPods with Lightning connector as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter that will enable users to use old headphones as well.

The company has also launched a wireless Bluetooth-enabled earpods, called AirPods, which is priced at $159.

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are powered by Apple's new A10 Fusion chip, which Apple touts as the "most powerful chip ever in a smartphone." The new processor gives more time between charges with the longest battery life ever in an iPhone.

The new iPhones have a new 12-megapixel camera, which includes optical image stabilization on both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and a larger ƒ/1.8 aperture and 6-element lens..

Apple has phased out the 16GB version for both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, as the both the models will come in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB variants. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in silver, gold, rose gold, black finish and jet black finish at prices starting from $649.

The success of the latest iPhone is important for Apple, which reported back-to-back decline in iPhone sales in the previous two quarters. Sales of iPhones contribute about two-thirds of Apple's revenue and represent a major chunk of its profit. The sluggish sales of iPhones reflect a saturated smartphone market, sluggish demand in China -- Apple's second-biggest market after the U.S, and less frequent upgradation of iPhones by customers.

Apple also launched Apple Watch Series 2, the next generation of its smartwatch. Apple Watch Series 2 will be available in more than 25 countries beginning Friday, September 16 for price starting at $269.