Apple launches Red colour iPhone 7, 7 Plus smartphones

EW DELHI: Apple has launched special editions of its flagship smartphone duo - iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus . Called 'PRODUCT RED Special Edition', the new variants of both smartphones have Red-coloured rear panels. They come in 128GB and 256GB internal storage capacities and will be available on the company's website and Apple Stores, at a starting price of $749.

Both special edition smartphones will go on sale in US, as well as 40 other countries and regions, from March 24.

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10 things Apple didn't tell you about iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus

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10 things Apple didn't tell you about iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus

Wonder what's inside Apple's new iPhones? The innards that make the world's 'favourite gadgets' what they are? Recent teardowns reports by Chipworks, teardown.com and iFixit.com have revealed the names of the companies that provide some of the most important components of these smartphones.

Also, Apple traditionally never discloses the battery, RAM and other such details too of iPhones. These teardowns reveal such specifications too.

So, read on to know the 10 things that Apple didn't tell you about its all-new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus..

Intel inside

Apple's latest iPhones officially have Intel inside. According to a teardown by research companies Chipworks and teardown.com, both owned by TechInsights, Intel is the key supplier of LTE modems in the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Intel reportedly has four components: baseband LTE modem, two transceivers and a power management chip.

Qualcomm modems

However, since Intel modems don't support CDMA, iPhone 7 versions using this technology sport Qualcomm's modems, according to Chipworks.

As per a report in Forbes, "It appears that Qualcomm-equipped phones will be sold in the US (Verizon and Sprint), China, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Meanwhile, Intel-equipped phones will be sold in the US (AT&T and T-Mobile) and most other countries in the world."

TSMC processor

The A10 Fusion processor in the iPhone 7 is being single sourced from TSMC. According to Chipworks, Apple's part number for the A10 is APL1W24, 339S00255 vs the Apple A9, which was APL1022, 339S00129.

Microphones

iPhone 7 has three microphones, one at the bottom of the phone and two at the top. The microphones at the bottom are said to have been sourced by Goertek and Knowles. As per iFixit teardown of iPhone 7 Plus, STMicroelectronics has also "scored design wins" into the device.

Flash memory from SK Hynix and Toshiba

As for flash memory, teardowns reveals marks of SK Hynix and Toshiba.

iSight camera: Sony

iPhone 7's iSight camera has a larger, F/1.8 aperture, as compared to the F/2.2 aperture used for iPhone 6s/6s Plus. The iSight camera chip was sourced from Sony and fabricated using its Exmor RS technology platform.

Touch-screen controller

According to Chipworks, the Touch Controller for iPhone 7 is manufactured by Universal Scientific Industries (USI) with markings O1 1R. It is the same as the iPhone 6S -- a pressure-sensitive 3D Touch layer that buzzes slightly when you press and hold the screen/static home button. Chipworks says that though no markings were found on the IC, it is believed to be of Analog Devices.

Wi-Fi: Murata

The Wi-Fi/Bluetooth socket has been won by Murata with a module part number 339S00199 as per Chipworks.

GPS: Broadcom

Broadcom too wins a slot in the iPhone 7 as per Chipworks. It possibly contains Sensor Hub functionality as well like BCM4773 & BCM4774 seen in Samsung devices.

Battery

According to iFixit's teardown, the battery is rated at 3.82 V and 2900mAh, for a total of 11.1 Wh, a slight upgrade over the 10.45 Wh (3.8 V, 2750mAh) of the 6s Plus, and on par with the 11.1 Wh, 2915mAh cell found in the 6 Plus.

Speaking about the launch, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, "Since we began working with (RED) 10 years ago, our customers have made a significant impact in fighting the spread of AIDS through the purchase of our products, from the original iPod nano (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition, all the way up to today's line-up of Beats products, and accessories for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch . The introduction of this special edition iPhone in a gorgeous Red finish is our biggest (PRODUCT)RED offering till date, in celebration of our partnership with (RED), and we can't wait to get it into customers' hands."

The iPhone 7 features a 4.7-inch Retina HD display, while the bigger iPhone 7 Plus comes with a 5.5-inch screen. Apart from that, other additions include a 12MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture, 6-element lens, quad-LED flash, flicker sensor and more. The smartphones' cameras use an Image signal processor to apply machine learning, for distinguishing between humans and other object in the image, adjusting the brightness and noise levels accordingly.

It's worth noting that while iPhone 7 features a single 12MP rear camera, iPhone 7 Plus comes with a 12MP dual rear camera setup having 2x optical zoom capability. Both sport a 7MP FaceTime-enabled front camera for selfies and video chats.

The two smartphones are powered by Apple's new quad-core A10 Fusion chipset, with two high-performance cores and two high-efficiency cores. It's also claimed to be 50% faster than the A9 chipset, which powers the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus smartphones.