Tech

Apple says iPhone 7 starts at $649, same as iPhone 6

Apple reveals iPhone 7
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Apple reveals iPhone 7

Apple officially introduced the iPhone 7 and updated Apple Watch on Wednesday.

The company said it will begin taking pre-orders on Friday for both products, which will become available on Sept. 16.

The 32 GB iPhone 7 will retail for $649, the same starting price as the iPhone 6. Customers will have to shell out $769 for a 32 GB iPhone 7 Plus.

The tech giant also eliminated the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. The new devices will be shipped with AirPod headphones and a Lightning to 3.5-millimeter headphone jack adapter, which should help mitigate backlash over the new design feature.

The iPhone 7 may also have one of the most impressive phone cameras to hit the market yet. As expected, the iPhone 7 Plus will feature two rear cameras.

Apple said that a new software feature allows users to see a live preview with shallow depth of field. Photos taken on the iPhone 7 Plus will be able to achieve a very sharp foreground and blurry background.

Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc, discusses the camera on the iPhone7 during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 7, 2016.
Beck Diefenbach | Reuters

Apple also unveiled its own wireless headphones which the company claims are more power efficient than Bluetooth devices. AirPods, as they're called, have their own communications chip, Phil Schiller, Apple senior vice president, said on stage. The headphones will be available in late October for $159.

The company said the new Apple Watch is not only water-resistant up to 50 meters, but also up to 50 percent faster. Apple also said that the Series 2 will be available in ceramic, a new material.

The Cupertino, California-based company also announced that it is partnering with Nike to launch the Apple Watch Nike+. The new Apple-branded model will be available starting Sept. 16, but the Nike version will roll out in October.

Both the Series 2 and Nike+ models will start at $369.

Shortly after CEO Tim Cook took the stage, Apple revealed new iPhone features on Twitter, including new cameras, water resistance, stereo speakers and longer battery life. The tweets were promptly deleted.

Apple shares closed modestly higher Wednesday.

Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto announced that "Super Mario" is coming to the App Store. Niantic CEO John Hanke also said that viral success "Pokemon Go" is coming to the Apple Watch.

"'Pokemon Go' on Apple Watch will help you to be the very best," said Tetsuya Nomura, product manager of "Pokemon Go."

The event started with Cook talking about Apple Music after a video was shown of him doing carpool karaoke with James Corden, host of CBS' "The Late Late Show with James Corden."

Amazon appeared to have pre-empted the announcement by publishing a page for iPhone 7 accessories about an hour before the scheduled start of the event, Gizmodo reported. Photos on the page seemed to confirm rumored features of the phone, including a dual-lens rear camera.

Those following the event could even play Apple bingo as they watched, courtesy of one Irish analyst.

— CNBC's Anita Balakrishnan, Harriet Taylor and Ari Levy contributed to this report.