MacRumors

While iFixit was busy tearing down the iPhone 7 Plus, the experts at Chipworks opened up an iPhone 7 to take a close look at the chips included on the device's logic board.

The new A10 Fusion chip at the heart of the iPhone 7 is the most significant feature to be examined, with Chipworks noting the chip is indeed manufactured by TSMC with a die size of roughly 125 square millimeters. The iPhone 7 is also confirmed to include 2 GB of memory, compared to the 3 GB found on the iPhone 7 Plus.

The A10 is also extremely thin, due in large part to the InFO packaging technique used by TSMC which was seen as a major factor in TSMC winning exclusivity for A10 production.

[W]hatever node is being used, the A10 processor is incredibly thin, giving credibility to the reports that TSMC’s InFO packaging technique is being used.

The A10 sits below the Samsung K3RG1G10CM 2-GB LPDDR4 memory. This is similar to the low power mobile DRAM as the one we found in the iPhone 6s. Looking at the X-rays we see the four dies are not stacked, but are spread out across the package. This arrangement keeps the overall package height to a minimum. Assembled in a package-on-package assembly with the A10 InFO packaging technique reduces the total height of PoP significantly.

On the cellular modem side, Chipworks found an Intel part that is likely the XMM7360, paired with two SMARTi 5 RF transceiver chips and a power management chip also from Intel.

As we previously noted, Apple is producing two different models of both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, with models for AT&T and T-Mobile users not including support for CDMA networks. This is apparently a result of a modem supplier split between Intel and Qualcomm, with Intel's current chips unable to support CDMA networks due to licensing issues. iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models with Qualcomm modems can support both GSM and CDMA networks.

Finally, Chipworks notes that flash storage for the iPhone 7 is also being at least dual-sourced, with Hynix and Toshiba chips being found in its two teardown phones.

For the rest of the details on the chips found in the iPhone 7, check out Chipworks' full rundown.

Update: Chipworks has confirmed the A10 Fusion chip is still made on TSMC's 16 nm FinFET+ process and has shared an annotated die shot of the chip.

As the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 go on sale around the world today, Apple has begun collecting photos from Apple retail locations and shared them on its website. This morning, CEO Tim Cook tweeted the short blog post, depicting customers excitedly purchasing the new devices at Apple locations across the globe.

Specifically, there are images from Apple Passeig de Gràcia in Spain, Apple Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, Apple Omotesando in Tokyo, and Apple Sydney in Australia.

Thanks to time zone differences, a few customers in New Zealand began receiving their iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus pre-orders yesterday, sharing a few unboxed images of the smartphones online. In the Sydney Apple location, a group of students who had been waiting in line for the iPhone 7 Plus in Jet Black -- which was confirmed to be sold out on Wednesday -- walked away with $100 gift cards and two iPhone 7 models each.

With hype surrounding the iPhone 7, the Apple Watch Series 2 hasn't received as much attention. Apple's wearable device has faced a few pre-order snafus of its own, however, with Best Buy informing early pre-order customers that their launch day shipments would be delayed nearly two weeks. The retailer did the same thing for a few unfortunate iPhone 7 customers, and in compensation offered gift cards to be put towards a future purchase at Best Buy: $50 for Apple Watch pre-orders and $100 for iPhone 7 pre-orders.

For plenty of customers who pre-ordered early last Friday, their shipments should be arriving as the day progresses. If you're waiting for your own device, be sure to check out the MacRumors forums to view iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 launch day posts from other members.

Hardware review YouTube channel JerryRigEverything has put the new iPhone 7 through an intensive durability test, concluding that Apple has designed a "solid phone" with good build quality, but with a couple of reservations.

The latest video shows how a black matte iPhone 7 stands up to scratching, applied heat, and bending. In the first test, the screen stands up to a utility knife with no problems. However, when a harder level 6 mineral pick is applied it incurs damage, suggesting that coins and keys won't scratch it, but care should be taken to protect it against other abrasive materials that can be found in pockets and purses.

The iPhone 7 screen also lasts almost 10 seconds on contact with an open flame, after which the pixels get warm and turn off before completely recovering within seconds. In conclusion, screen durability is described as being "on par with typical smartphone screen hardness".

On the back of the phone, the anodized aluminum casing on the matte black model holds up well against key scratches, leaving hardly a mark, but it can't stand up to the cut of a razor blade.

Elsewhere, the new Taptic Engine home button stands up to the assaults of a razor blade, but suffers a deep scratch with a mid-level hardness pick. JerryRigEverything claims that this proves it is regular glass and not sapphire, contradicting Apple's own specifications for the phone.

Similarly, the rear camera lens on the iPhone 7 is demonstrated to be scratch-resistant when a razor blade is used, but it scratches deeply with a level 6 hardness pick. According to the reviewer, sapphire would be expected to withstand up to level 9, so the lens isn't sapphire either, but Apple would disagree. Meanwhile, the buttons are confirmed as metal, while the antenna bands remain plastic.

From a purely durability perspective, JerryRigEverything calls the removal of the headphone jack on the new iPhone "an extremely bad move", owing to the fact that two accessory types – headphones and charging cables – must now use the same port, doubling the rate of wear and tear. Another reason to use wireless headphones instead, perhaps.

Lastly, the bend test confirms the iPhone 7's aluminum chassis isn't susceptible to bending like the iPhone 6, which received plenty of criticism for this. However, waterproofing adhesive between the screen and the frame does begin to tear when significant pressure is applied, suggesting that sitting on the phone is still inadvisable.

Update: Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller has confirmed that the top of the home button and the lens cover are both made of sapphire.

iFixit has published a work-in-progress iPhone 7 Plus teardown that provides a closer look at the smartphone's internal components, including the battery, display, cameras, logic board, and Taptic Engine for the new pressure-sensitive Home button. Interestingly, the smartphone now opens to it side rather than to the top.

iFixit said the adhesive strip sealing the iPhone 7 Plus is "considerably stronger" than the strip it found in the iPhone 6s Plus, while opening the device revealed lots of glue running along the perimeter of the smartphone. The teardown experts believe the excess glue could be part of Apple's efforts to add water resistance.

The space previously occupied by the 3.5mm headphone jack on older iPhone models now houses the Taptic Engine and a plastic bumper internally covering the cosmetic speaker holes to the left of the Lightning connector. The small plastic piece is likely another waterproofing measure by Apple.

The teardown confirms the 5.5-inch model has a 2,900 mAh battery, which is just over 5% larger than the 2,750 mAh battery in the iPhone 6s Plus. The battery is rated at 3.82V and 11.1Wh of energy. Apple says the iPhone 7 Plus has up to 1 hour longer battery life than the iPhone 6s Plus.

The iPhone 7 Plus camera array is as expected, including two separate sensors, two lenses, and optical image stabilization on the wide-angle lens.

Meanwhile, the logic board contains Apple's A10 Fusion chip, 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM from Samsung, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X12 LTE modem for international markets (iFixit purchased their iPhone from Japan). Flash storage is supplied by Toshiba, while audio chips are supplied by Cirrus Logic.

Other interesting anecdotes include the continued use of pentalobe screws, rubber gaskets on the SIM tray and around the ring/silent switch for waterproofing, and confirmation that the pressure-sensitive Home button is still removable. Additional photos can be found on the iFixit website.

iFixit said it will start its iPhone 7 teardown following its iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2 teardowns.

Slice Intelligence has shared new data that suggests the iPhone 7 Plus has outsold the iPhone 7 in the United States, marking the first time Plus-sized iPhones have proven more popular than 4.7-inch models, based on e-receipt data from nearly 32,000 customers who belong to the research firm's panel.

The data shows that, in the first 48 hours of availability, 55 percent of customers ordered the iPhone 7 Plus, compared to 41 percent for the iPhone 6s Plus and 35 percent for the iPhone 6 Plus. The 5.5-inch model is a more attractive option this year given it has dual cameras, while the 4.7-inch model retains a single-lens camera.

55.9 percent of customers who pre-ordered an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus had previously purchased at least one iPhone between 2014 and now, according to Slice Intelligence. 34 percent of customers had not purchased any smartphone since 2014, while the remaining shoppers switched from Samsung, LG, and Motorola.

Meanwhile, given the lack of Space Gray this year, Black has emerged as the new most popular iPhone color, accounting for 46 percent of pre-orders. Jet Black is also a popular choice, selected by 23 percent of customers, although limited supply of Jet Black models has pushed shipments of Jet Black models to November, likely leading many customers to choose Black, Gold, Rose Gold, or Silver instead.

Rose Gold models, first introduced on the iPhone 6s, represented 15 percent of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus pre-orders, while Gold and Silver models trailed behind with 9 percent and 8 percent of orders respectively.

For the past three iPhone launches, over 60 percent of pre-orders over the first two days were on the middle storage option, according to Slice Intelligence. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus continue that trend, with 128GB proving most popular at 67 percent, followed by 32GB at 14 percent and the all-new 256GB tier at 19 percent.

Slice Intelligence tracks e-receipts from 4.2 million online shoppers in the U.S., allegedly the largest panel of its kind, that sign up for the company's value-added services such as Slice and Unroll.me. Slice, for example, is a free app for tracking packages, receipts, price drops, product recall alerts, and more.

Slice Intelligence has charts with more detailed information on its website.

Some customers who pre-ordered an iPhone 7 or an iPhone 7 Plus from Best Buy are getting some bad news less than 24 hours before the official launch date, with Best Buy sending out delay notification emails this evening.

We've heard several reports from disappointed customers who are now seeing delayed shipments of their iPhone 7 Plus models that were originally scheduled to deliver on launch day, September 16. It is not clear if Best Buy has also delayed some iPhone 7 models.

According to the emails customers are receiving, they can now expect to receive their devices on October 7, a full three weeks after launch. As compensation for the delay, Best Buy is offering customers a free $100 promo code to be used on a future Best Buy purchase.

Yesterday, Best Buy also began notifying customers who pre-ordered the Apple Watch Series 2 that their devices would be delayed. Customers who originally had a delivery scheduled for 9/16 will not get their new watches until September 28.

Supplies of the iPhone 7 Plus and the Jet Black iPhone 7 are highly constrained, leading Apple to announce that no iPhone 7 Plus models and no Jet Black iPhone 7 models will be available for walk-in purchases tomorrow, with stock having been fully depleted during pre-orders.

Apple recommends customers instead place orders for the iPhone 7 Plus online, where many models list shipping estimates of two to three weeks, and up to November in the case of the Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus. Apple Stores are expected to have some iPhone 7 stock available for walk-in customers, and carrier stores may also have very limited quantities of the iPhone 7 Plus.

Five students from Sydney, Australia, namely Bishoy Behman, Mazen Kourouche, Marcus Barsoum, Matthew Alvarez, and Paul Behman, were the first customers in the world to walk out of an Apple retail store with an all-new iPhone today, although without the specific model they had been hoping for.

The students had been taking turns waiting since Wednesday morning local time for the chance to purchase an iPhone 7 Plus in Jet Black, but Apple later announced that no iPhone 7 Plus models in any color, or iPhone 7 models in Jet Black, will be available on launch day for walk-in customers.

The students were disappointed, but ultimately walked away with two iPhone 7 models each and $100 Apple gift cards provided by the store. Some customers who lined up elsewhere were provided with Apple gift cards of lesser value, but others received nothing, suggesting it was not a companywide initiative.

Despite rainy and windy conditions, and the lack of iPhone 7 Plus availability, the video below shows that hundreds of customers still showed up at the flagship Apple Sydney location for the launch today.

Just a few hours earlier, the first iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus pre-order deliveries began in New Zealand, and orders are now beginning in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. The first-wave launch will continue through to Alaska and Hawaii as the date reaches September 16 across the world.

Apple has not indicated when stores will receive more iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus shipments, but in-store reservations will resume on September 17 at 8:00 a.m. local time in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong, and on September 17 at 6:00 a.m. local time in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.K.

Just a day after Apple CEO Tim Cook shared his views on augmented reality in an interview with Good Morning America, Business Insider has unearthed two recent hires Apple poached from companies with expertise in augmented and virtual reality.

Zeyu Li, who served as a principal computer vision engineer at Magic Leap, is now working at Apple as a "Senior Computer Vision Algorithm Engineer." Magic Leap, for those unfamiliar, is a startup developing a head-mounted display similar to the HoloLens from Microsoft, designed to project virtual objects into the real world.

Yury Petrov, a former research scientist at Facebook-owned Oculus, is now serving as a "research scientist" at Apple. According to his LinkedIn profile, Petrov studied virtual reality experiences, prototyped optics, and developed computer simulation software. Despite his vague title, given his expertise, it's reasonable to imagine he's working on similar projects at Apple.

Psychophysical and physiological studies of visual and multisensory experience of virtual reality (VR) including user experience factors in head-mounted displays (HMD). Determined perceptual constraints on HMD hardware parameters. Research and development of novel optical systems for HMD. Prototyped optics of superior quality. Developed a popular Matlab library for computer simulations in optics (Optometrika). Research and development of new types of VR controllers. Prototyped controllers significantly increasing user enjoyment of VR. Research and development of 3D audio stimulation for VR.

Rumors have suggested Apple has a dedicated team exploring augmented and virtual reality and how the emerging technologies could be used in future Apple products. Apple has been building up its team over the course of the last several months through new hires and acquisitions of companies like Metaio, Flyby Media, and Faceshift.

Apple is said to be working on developing several prototype VR/AR headsets, and Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken about augmented reality several times over the course of the last few months.

In July, Cook said Apple is "high on AR in the long run" and said Apple continues to "invest a lot in this." Earlier this week, he said that he believes augmented reality, rather than virtual reality, is "the larger of the two" because it allows people to "be very present" while using the technology.

In addition to the new hires, developer Steven Troughton-Smith recently discovered Apple has included references to a "HeadMountedDisplayRenderingTechnique" in SceneKit code since iOS 9, perhaps already laying the groundwork for future products.