(Update, October 28: Globe Telecom’s reservation page just went live as well. Check out the telco’s pricing here. Update, October 29: Smart just revealed that you can get the iPhone 7 for free under Plan 2499 and the iPhone 7 Plus for free under Plan 2999. You’ll get locked in for 30 months. Update, November 5: Smart posted the complete details of its postpaid plans for the devices here.)
Last year, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were officially announced in the country on November 6. In 2014, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were launched on November 13. In 2013, it was our turn to take the iPhone 5s and 5c spotlight on November 15.
When is the Philippine launch going to be this time? Our guess is two weeks from now, probably on November 11. In that case, we are expecting Globe Telecom’s registration page to go live at any time today, October 28, as well. Hopefully, we’ll have the two telcos’ respective postpaid plans and prepaid prices by next week.
Apple iPhone 7, 7 Plus introduction video
If your EQ is low and you just can’t wait for the Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus to drop, these are some of the “places” where you can score any of the two handsets earlier than the rest of the Philippine population. Just keep in mind that it’s a risky move. If, say, you need to have your still-under-warranty, sourced-from-Hong-Kong iPhone serviced, you can’t go to authorized Apple service centers here unless you pay them. They are only allowed to repair and exchange the variants that are meant for the Philippine market. For the iPhone 6s, for example, they are only accepting those with model numbers A1688 and A1700, which you can find at the back of your device.
Our Apple iPhone 7 Plus is almost a month old, so we’re publishing a long-term review of the smartphone soon. Watch for that.
MY PARTNER RAMON LOPEZ’S THOUGHTS: Today’s announcement hints at the sentiment many in the local tech community share: The new iPhones are due out in November, just like last year, and that could spell trouble for vendors like Samsung, Huawei, LG, and Sony. The race in the premium segment just got a whole lot more interesting.
Specs of the Apple iPhone 7 (Price starts at $649 or roughly P30,500)
- Water-resistant
- 4.7-inch, 720p IPS display
- Apple A10 Fusion CPU
- 2GB RAM
- 32GB/128GB/256GB storage
- 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.8 aperture, phase-detection autofocus, quad-LED flash
- 7-megapixel front camera
- Fingerprint sensor
- iOS 10
Specs of the Apple iPhone 7 Plus (Price starts at $769 or roughly P36,000)
- Water-resistant
- 5.5-inch, 1080p IPS display
- Apple A10 Fusion CPU
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB/128GB/256GB storage
- Dual 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.8 aperture/f2.8 aperture, 2x optical zoom, phase-detection autofocus, quad-LED flash
- 7-megapixel front camera
- Fingerprint sensor
- iOS 10
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