iPhone 7
Water resistance, stereo speakers and no headphone jack.
Overview
The iPhone 7 looked like the 6s at a glance but changed several things people noticed. The home button became a solid-state surface that clicked through haptic feedback using the new Taptic Engine, and the antenna bands were hidden along the edges for a cleaner back. A glossy Jet Black finish was introduced alongside the matte options.
It was the first iPhone rated for water and dust resistance, with an IP67 rating. Apple removed the 3.5 mm headphone jack, shipping Lightning EarPods in the box with an adapter, and used the freed space for a bigger Taptic Engine. The same change introduced stereo sound via a second speaker in the earpiece. AirPods debuted at the same event.
The A10 Fusion chip had two high-performance and two efficiency cores. The camera now had optical image stabilization on the smaller model, a wider f/1.8 aperture and a wide-color display. Storage began at 32GB and went up to 256GB.
Why it mattered
Removing the headphone jack was one of the most debated hardware decisions in the phone industry and pushed wireless audio forward.
At a glance
- Announced
- September 7, 2016
- Released
- September 16, 2016
- Discontinued
- September 10, 2019
- Launch price
- $649
- Chip
- Apple A10 Fusion
- Display
- 4.7"
- Storage
- 32GB, 128GB, 256GB
- Status
- Vintage
Highlights
- IP67 water and dust resistance
- Stereo speakers
- Headphone jack removed
- A10 Fusion quad-core chip
- Optical stabilization on both sizes
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Size
- 4.7-inch
- Type
- Retina HD IPS LCD with 3D Touch, wide color (P3)
- Resolution
- 1334 x 750 pixels (326 ppi)
- Refresh rate
- 60 Hz
- Brightness
- 625 nits typical
Chip
- Chip
- Apple A10 Fusion (64-bit, four cores)
- Coprocessor
- M10 motion coprocessor
Memory
- RAM
- 2GB
- Storage options
- 32GB, 128GB, 256GB
Camera
- Rear cameras
- 12MP, f/1.8, optical image stabilization, quad-LED True Tone flash
- Front camera
- 7MP, f/2.2
- Video recording
- 4K at 30 fps; 1080p at 60 fps; 720p slo-mo at 240 fps
Battery
- Video playback
- Up to 13 hours
- Charging
- Via Lightning connector
- Capacity
- 1960 mAh
Connectivity
- Cellular
- Gigabit-class LTE (up to 450 Mbps), HSPA+ 42 Mbps
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11ac with MIMO
- Connector
- Lightning
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 4.2
- NFC
- Yes (Apple Pay)
Design
- Dimensions
- 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm
- Weight
- 138 g
- Materials
- Anodized aluminum (Jet Black is polished), glass front
- Water resistance
- IP67 (up to 1 m for 30 minutes)
Security
- Authentication
- Touch ID (second generation) with haptic Home button
Software
- Launch OS
- iOS 10
- Final OS
- iOS 15.8.x
Audio
- Speakers
- Stereo speakers (bottom speaker and earpiece)
