iPhone 7 specs, price, release date: Apple unveils new iPhone with no headphone jack, 2 camera lenses

Apple introduced the public to its latest products during a big press event in San Francisco on Wednesday, Sept. 7.

This time, the most highly anticipated Apple offering onstage was the iPhone 7 and its premium twin, the iPhone 7 Plus.

Contrary to what many had expected, the new iPhones are not mere variations of their predecessors; instead, Apple unveiled an iPhone 7 with all the bells and whistles: a dual camera system, stereo speakers, a revamped home button, a replacement to the headphone jack, and even a new color variant.

On Wednesday, Apple officially became the third major smartphone manufacturer to remove the standard 3.5-mm headphone jack from its latest product offering.

Apple replaced the traditional audio jack with its lighting port and will include Apple EarPods with a lighting connector for the new iPhone. Alternatively, those who purchase an iPhone 7 can also listen to music with their old earbuds or headphones by connecting to an adapter that plugs into the lightning jack. In addition, the tech giant also announced its $160 AirPods, which connect to the iPhone 7 wirelessly and will be available for purchase in late October.

Apple also updated the camera on its iPhone, introducing a new dual-lens camera with a telescopic lens that can zoom in to 10x and a wide-angle lens. This new marquee feature, however, is only available on the iPhone 7 Plus.

"This is the best camera ever made on any smartphone," Phil Schiller, Apple's marketing chief, said at the iPhone 7 launch.

On top of these, the new iPhone is the first to have stereo speakers, which are found on the top and the bottom of the phone and are reportedly twice as loud as previous iPhone speakers.

The iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus will be available in five colors — silver, gold, rose gold, black, and jet black. Apple retired its 16 GB iPhone model and is making the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus available in 32, 128, and 256 GB variants.

The iPhone 7 costs $649 for the 32GB model, $749 for the 128GB model, and $849 for the 256GB model. The iPhone 7 Plus retails for $769 (32GB), $869 (128GB), and $969 (256GB).

In the U.S., preorders for the new iPhones began on the Apple website and all major carrier websites at 3:01 a.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 9. The phones will be shipped out to those who preordered them on Friday, Sept. 16, which is also when it become available in stores.