As it happened: iPhone 7, 7 Plus launched — and UAE among the first to get it on September 16!

Dubai - 3.5mm audio jack gone, truly wireless AirPods, powerful dual-lens camera on 7 Plus among stand-out highlights

AND THAT'S IT! THANKS FOR BEARING WITH US! THE UAE AMONG THE FIRST TO GET THE NEW IPHONES!!

LATEST: Etisalat has announced that it will offer the most awaited iPhone 7 pre-order for which will begin on September 17, 2016.

Customers can pre-order iPhone 7 beginning on September 9, 2016 (11.00am local time) at www.etisalat.ae/iphone7.

Here's a look at Apple's new iPhone 7 and Apple Watch. What are your thoughts? #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/LBzo8LpCDr

— Fortune (@FortuneMagazine) September 8, 201610:47PM: UAE AMONG FIRST TO GET NEW IPHONES!

iPhone 7, 7 Plus have longest battery life among all iPhones - at least one hour better than the 6s and 6 Plus.

PRICES:

iPhone 7 - 32GB, 128GB, 256GB, starts at $649 (~Dh2,400)

iPhone 7 Plus - 32GB, 128GB, 256GB, starts at $769 (~Dh2,825)

Pre-orders September 7, ships on 13, sells on 16.

10:35PM: 2. Apple Pay: Launching in new countries this fall. Japan to get Apple Pay using Felica tech, along with Transit

1. Performance: Apple's team is just "killing it" right now, thanks to the new A10 Fusion chip. 64-bit, four-core chip, a "rocket ship". 40% faster than A9 (6, 6 Plus), twice the A8 (6s, 6s Plus). Two high-efficiency cores, runs on 1/5 power, means better battery life. Graphics chip: 50% faster than A9; 2/3 power of A9, 1/2 that of A8. "Best chip ever" will be able to bring console-level games to iPhone 7.

10:30PM: 3. Wireless: Yep. AirPods are now a reality. Uses new Apple W1 chip, its first for audio. Looks really promising! And you can access Siri with it. Switches seamlessly from one Apple device to another, thanks to iCloud. Battery charger built into case. Beats also coming out with new stuff using W1.

10:24PM: 6. Retina display: 25% brighter, 3D Touch, cinema standard. And a new filter from Instagram. New version of Instagram to roll out "later this year".

5. Audio: First time to use two stereo speakers. Puts out twice the volume of the 6s and 6s Plus.

4. EarPods: Worst nightmare for some(?) comes true as EarPods now to be used with Lightning connector. Lightning-to-3.5mm adaptor also included. With 900m Lightning-enabled devices, globally... justified(?).

The main reason for this move? "Courage" to move on to the next big thing. And of course, makes the device thinner.

10:16PM: More on cameras:

iPhone 7 Plus has two 12MP camera lenses: one wide-angle lens while the other a telephoto lens.

See that new button? Push it and make your iPhone 7 Plus work like a DSLR!

Bonus feature: New Portrait mode on camera app, with depth of field preview. Not meant to replace your DSLR, though!

10:10PM: 7. Cameras: New iPhones have OIS, f/1.8, all-new 12MP sensor, 60% faster; flash now has 4 LEDs, 50% more light. Processes pictures in 25ms, a "supercomputer" for photos. Well, basically, it's all sooooouped-up.

Sample pics: Note the low-light show; you can now edit Live Photos as well.

10:05PM: Ten new things on the iPhone 7:

10. New colours: Jet Black has a nice glass finish, and Black colours. Gold, silver and rose gold too.

9. Home button: Now force sensitive with Taptic Engine

8. It's water- and dust-resistant!

9:57PM: CONFIRMED: IT'S THE IPHONE 7

iOS 10: Siri to make things easier; HomeKit home automation app better ("really big deal", Tim says); new bubble, confetti and other effects on Messages.

And the "most advanced smartphone" is here, the "best iPhone we have ever created" the iPhone 7.

This high-gloss black finish looks GREAT.

9:52PM: Apple Watch prices: $369 for Series 2. Original Watch - now known as Apple Watch Series 1 - at $269, and now has dual-core CPU.

9:45PM: ...And a new colour for the Watch: White! And Apple Watch Nike+ also unveiled - for all you runners

9:40PM: More on Apple Watch: Brightest screen on any Apple device, and now with GPS. Plus a new hiking app.

9:36PM: New Apple Watch! "Apple Watch Series 2" not just water-proof; it's now swim-proof! Up to 50 metres. How does that work? The speaker will also be the one to eject the water out! Will also give you a good swimming workout, complete with lap counts.

9:31PM: Here's how Pokemon GO will look like on the Apple Watch. A more complete package with those extra personal stats. Doubles as a workout as well!

9:26PM: Alright, on to the new stuff. First up, Apple Watch. (Apparently, only Rolex tops the Apple Watch worldwide.)

COO Jeff Williams on stage. New App - "Breathe" - which reminds you to everyday to relax, along with an SOS app for emergencies.

AND POKEMON GO IS COMING TO THE APPLE WATCH!!

9:18PM: Apple's ConnectEd giving away tonnes of iPads, Macs and Apple TVs to schools. Way to go for education. Real-time collaboration also unveiled.

9:10PM: On App Store: Over 140b apps downloaded, 106% growth year-on-year. Has made iPhone and iPad "most popular gaming devices" globally. And #NINTENDO is coming to iOS! Welcome Mario! WEEEE!! Gear up for "Super Mario Run"! Coming in time for the holidays.

9:04PM: Tim Cook's on stage (after a singing entrance). First update: Apple Music has "great, new, simple and intuitive"on iOS 10.

8:55PM: Here's how it's looking like at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.

Welcome to our blow-by-blow coverage of Apple's newest flagship iPhones! Stick around and be among the first to find out what's new!

Here's what we can expect on the next set of iPhones, as obtained by AppleInsider:

- New A10 chips, with CPUs seen to hit 2.45GHz clock speeds, a 20-30 per cent boost to performance

- 3.5mm audio jack gone; units to ship with Lightning EarPods and a 3.5mm-to-Lightning adaptor

- 32GB, 128GB and 258GB of storage, eliminating 16GB and 64GB options

- New True Tone displays, similar to that used on the iPad Pro line-up

- 3GB of RAM for the 7 Plus; 2GB will remain for the 7

- Two new colours: dark black and piano black, although a blue option is rumoured; space grey to bid goodbye

- Two 12MP dual-rear camera for the 7 Plus, one using a wide-angle lens while the other using a telephoto lens

- Boosted ambient light sensors on both cameras of both iPhones to improve performance in low-light conditions

- Second external speaker and integrated amplifier for better sound

- IPX7 water-resistance, meaning both phones can take a bath for up to one metre for up to 30 minutes

- 3D Touch 2.0, with more distinct haptic feedback

- Home button replaced with non-clicking touch sensor with haptic feedback

- Antennae bands on rear gone for cleaner look

Rumours of a third iPhone briefly surfaced - one said to have a curved screen - but those whispers have since died down. Also, truly-wireless EarPods - "AirPods" - also made the rounds, but have also seem to hit a brick wall.

Apple may also announce updates to its other products.

- iMac: New graphics chips from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The current 21.5-inch iMac comes with Intel chips, either HD Graphics 6000 or Iris Pro Graphics 6200, while the 27-inch version is shipped with three AMD Radeon options - R9 M380, R9 M390 and R9 M395.

- MacBook Air: USB-C port(s) to be added. The present 11- and 13-inch MacBook Air units both come with two USB 3.0 ports, as well as a Thunderbolt 2 port (note that you can also use Thunderbolt for other connectivity cables, as long as you have the right adaptor).

- MacBook Pro: A report earlier this month says that a thinner version of the MacBook Pro is in the works. It said that the standout feature is a digital function key above the keyboard - internally code-named the "Dynamic Function Row" - which allows oft-used tasks to be done faster. This feature, however, will require the upcoming Sierra Mac OS, which is expected to be launched as early as September. The new operating system will also bring Siri to the Mac, support Apple Pay and an auto-unlock feature fort the Apple Watch, among others. The current Mac OS version is El Capitan.

- iPad: Updates included are a ramped-up Pencil, specifically with the ability to annotate objects on more apps including Safari, Mail and iMessage, pretty similar to what Samsung has on its Note devices; at present, the Apple Pencil is only tailored to specifically-developed apps. Expected new hardware for Apple's tablet include faster display technology. A new 10.5-inch iPad Pro is said to be released next year, after the original 12.9-inch and latest 9.7-inch models.

- Apple Watch: With the Weibo photo leak showing a battery, it is also seen that the new Apple Watch 2 will be unveiled. Furthermore, updates to the original Watch are also expected.

Again, these are not official specs of the new iPhones. As a matter of fact, Apple hasn't even officially confirmed that the new phones will be called what practically everyone is calling it.

Tonight, at 9pm Dubai time, we're all about to find out.

- alvin@khaleejtimes.com

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