Last night in San Francisco, Apple inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) launched its much-awaited iPhone 7, the latest incarnation of its ubiquitous smart phone.
As well as a number of radical changes to its layout, it is the price disparity of the phone here in the UK compared to America that has got everyone talking.
It seems nothing is safe from Brexit now, as the smartphone is set to cost around £60 to £100 more than the iPhone 6 model.
Across the pond, the price remains the same, leading some to point the finger at the fall of the pound after June’s referendum.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon was one of the first to spot the price difference.
The standard iPhone 7 will cost £60 more than its predecessor. The $ price didn't rise. Consumers now starting to feel adverse impact of ?£
— Samuel Tombs (@samueltombs) 8 September 2016
But does the phone deliver the much anticipated bang for our ever-depreciating buck?
Apple is often the pioneer of the next generation, and the iPhone’s previous forms were windows (or Macs) into the future of personal technologies.
The launch of the iPhone 7 confirmed rumours that Apple was ditching the audio jack once and for all to make way for new internal hardware.
“'The analogue headphone jack has been with us for a very long time. But the reason to move on is courage. The courage to move on and do something new that betters all of us,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, at the launch event.
Here's some new Apple headphones that are more expensive, easier to lose and you need to charge them every few hours. #courage
— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) 7 September 2016
The new waterproof model will instead use wireless Bluetooth headphones – sold separately of course.
The phone will continue to use its patented Lightening charger port; Apple will provide an audio adapter just in case you don’t fancy forking out the £159 for its ‘AirPod’ headphones.
But it seems consumers may be ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting the new tech.
John Lewis has already seen a 60% increase in sales of wireless headphones as “customers embrace the possible death of wires”.
58% of all headphone sales at the retailer are wireless models, compared to 21% last year.
Spokesperson Katrina Mills said industry advancements have made customers more willing to “embrace the unknown.”
But pruning away the audio port has allowed other components of the smartphone to bloom.
The iPhone 7 has a faster A10 processor, brighter HD display and stereo speakers with twice the volume.
Importantly its lithium battery could add up to an extra 2 hours onto its battery life.
The more expensive iPhone 7 plus also comes with a dual lens camera for improved picture quality with a wide angle.
Leaked image of iPhone 8, #Apple removes the screen, home button and camera. #courage pic.twitter.com/Va6XBGRrM9
— Kenney ?? (@KenneyNL) 7 September 2016