John Paczkowski at Buzzfeed:

A tentpole feature of the new iPhones are improved camera systems that are larger than the cameras in the devices that preceded them. The iPhone 7 now has the optical image stabilization feature previously reserved for its larger Plus siblings. And the iPhone 7 Plus has two complete camera systems side by side — one with a fixed wide-angle lens, the other with a 2x zoom telephoto lens. At the top of both devices is something called the “driver ledge” — a small printed circuit board that drives the iPhone’s display and its backlight. Historically, Apple placed it there to accommodate improvements in battery capacity, where it was out of the way. But according to Riccio, the driver ledge interfered with the iPhone 7 line’s new larger camera systems, so Apple moved the ledge lower in both devices. But there, it interfered with other components, particularly the audio jack.

So the company’s engineers tried removing the jack.

For the first time, Apple has used the same design on its flagship phone three years running. The first feature Phil Schiller mentioned is the new Darth Vader-inspired Jet Black finish, which is an unusual opening line. My guess is Apple just wanted to blast right over this fact then move on.

While I don’t think the iPhone 6 design is the best looking — or easiest to hold — I don’t think it’s the end of the world that Apple didn’t revisit the design in a radical way this year.

At first, I thought I was going to be on the hook for a Jet Black iPhone 7, but after seeing a bunch of hands-on photos from reporters on Twitter, I think the matte “Black” finish is the one for me.

The iPhone 7 brings Force Touch to the home button for the first time. This new home button doesn’t physically click, but rather a Taptic Engine gives haptic feedback when pressure is applied to the button.

This Taptic Engine sits across the bottom of the phone, behind the home button. My guess is that this move was a strike against the headphone jack staying in place, along with the waterproofing Apple has applied to the device.

The 3.5mm headphone jack is gone. Apple is putting Lightning EarPods in the box, along with a Lightning to headphone jack adaptor.¹ Phil Schiller called this move an act of “courage,” which really strikes me as the wrong word. Bold, maybe, but not courageous.

The move away from the “ancient” jack will allow Apple to move forward to better audio, as well as more innovative features inside the phone now that the jack is gone. While in time, I think the pain of this transition will fade, right now, I think a lot of people aren’t onboard with what seems like a change with half-hearted reasons behind it.

To round the audio system, Apple is now using the earpiece as a second speaker, giving stereo sound when the device is held in landscape. This system is supposed to be twice as loud as the 6S, which will welcomed by all of us who listen to podcasts around the house on our phone speakers.

Around back, both the 7 and 7 Plus have picked up better cameras. The 12 MP shooters now feature an aperture of f/1.8, which is pretty awesome when coupled with the optical image stabilization that is now present on both phones. The LED flash is better, and the FaceTime camera is now 7 MP, and should result in much better selfies.

Video capture is unchanged from last year, but Live Photos should be smoother and clearer.

The Plus, of course, now packs two cameras side by side. One is the same wide-angle lens as on the 7; the second is a f/2.8 telephoto lens. Zooming in will cause the iPhone to switch over to the telephoto lens for clearer, cleaner images.

The 5.5-inch iPhone has a second trick up its sleeve when it comes to using both cameras:

When you take a shot with iPhone 7 Plus, the dual-camera system uses both cameras and advanced machine learning to make your subject sharp while creating the same out-of-focus blur in the background — known as the bokeh effect — previously reserved for DSLR cameras. So no matter what’s behind your subject, it’s easy to create a great portrait.

The sample images Apple shared today are impressive for coming out of a smartphone, but I won’t be leaving my Canon 70D at home when I want nicer photos.

Interestingly, this feature won’t be present in iOS 10.0, but will be coming “later this fall,” according to Apple.

Inside, the iPhone 7 is faster than previous models thanks to some new silicon. This new chip is called the A10 Fusion chip, and the awkward name shares what’s going on under the hood. The A10 Fusion chip has four cores. Two are “high-performance” while the other two are “high-efficiency.” The iPhone switches between them as needed. These improvements mean this iPhone is getting 2-3 hours better battery life than the 6S and 6S Plus.

All in all, while the iPhone 7 may not bring a new design, it’s a bigger jump in terms of specs and features than a normal S phone. While I’m not thrilled about the removal of the headphone jack, I think it will prove to be a worthy upgrade for anyone with a phone older than a year. 6S users on contract, enjoy your listening to wired headphones and charging your device for another year.

There’s a little disclaimer at the bottom of the iPhone 7 tech specs page that makes me sad:

The high-gloss finish of the jet black iPhone 7 is achieved through a precision nine-step anodization and polishing process. Its surface is equally as hard as other anodized Apple products; however, its high shine may show fine micro-abrasions with use. If you are concerned about this, we suggest you use one of the many cases available to protect your iPhone.

I really like the look of the jet black in photos, but between this note and photos of the matte black option, I’m going matte.

No announcement, no press release. Just a new tag at the top of this web page.

There’s a lot to unpack from today’s keynote, but this page jumped out at me. It compares the various models of Apple Watches now for sale. The lineup is more confusing than last year.

“Series 1” Watches are last year’s model, but with a new dual‑core processor. This doesn’t seem to be the same chipset that’s in the new watch, but should still be an improvement. Gone is the single-core model that’s on my wrist today.

The “Series 2” models have a new dual-core “S2” processor, but also pack GPS, a brighter screen and waterproofing.

(I’m a big fan of both changes. The Watch needs to be faster, and I think people are going to really like having GPS.)

There is a new Nike+ model that comes with exclusive bands and watch faces, but the same core tech as found in its siblings, not unlike the Hermès models.

Apple Watch Edition is still around, but instead of gold, the case is a white ceramic that I think looks amazing. As I’m not going to spend $1,299 on a watch, it’ll be something I’ll buy for my Apple collection in 10 years or so.

A bunch of us from Relay FM have crashed the Six Colors live coverage of today’s Apple event. We’re already answering questions and talking about the one time I cracked open a raw egg that I thought had been hard boiled.

In case you are one of the three people on the planet that this would affect:

The first time you activate an earlier Xsan volume on macOS Sierra, the Xsan file system manager (fsm) upgrades your volume’s metadata to a newer format. Once this conversion begins, you won’t be able to use this volume with Xsan MDCs running OS X 10.11 or earlier.

Older MDCs won’t be able to control Xsan volumes that are created in Xsan 5. If you attempt to start a volume that has been upgraded to or created in Xsan 5 on an older MDC, the volume won’t open. When this happens, the system will deliver an ICB alert.

Here’s what Xsan is.