Apple's iPhone 7, 7 Plus hit stores September 16
The tech giant's newest smartphone will cost $649 and be available in stores next week.
Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals the iPhone 7 in San Francisco on Wednesday.
People wanting to get their hands on Apple's latest iPhone only need to wait until next week. The tech giant unveiled its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus on Wednesday, saying the devices will be available online and in stores on September 16. Preorders begin September 9.
This is supposed to be a year of big changes for the iPhone, but instead Apple rolled out only a few tweaks to its smartphone. It enhanced the camera, upped the battery life and added water resistance. The biggest change Apple made was removing the headphone jack, which prompts people to now use wireless earbuds.
More from Apple's event
Yet Apple CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday that the iPhone 7 is the most advanced smartphone the company has ever made.
"It's the best iPhone that we have ever created," Cook said during Apple's annual fall event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in downtown San Francisco. "It makes all the things you do every day so much better."
The iPhone is Apple's most popular device and biggest moneymaker. The company gets more than two-thirds of its sales from the smartphone, and in July it confirmed it sold its billionth iPhone since Steve Jobs introduced the device to the world in 2007. But there are signs of slowed growth. Apple reported its first-ever drop in phone sales in April and that trend continued into the summer.
Apple is scheduled to begin selling the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in retail stores September 16. People can preorder the devices directly from Apple's online store on September 9 at 12:01 a.m. PT. Following Apple's typical pricing system, the base-model iPhone 7 will cost $649 without a two-year carrier contract and the iPhone 7 Plus will cost $769. Customers can also buy the smartphone with installment plans through their cellular service carriers.
Check out all of today's Apple news.
