Apple abandons headphone jack in new water-resistant iPhone 7

US tech giant Apple has launched the latest version of its smartphone range, as the iPhone 7 made its debut at an event in California on Wednesday.

The new phone will see the introduction of a range of features, including the ditching of a traditional headphone jack and water resistance.

The company revealed the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus handsets at the event in San Francisco in the midst of controversy surrounding an EU Commission ruling in which it was ordered to pay €13bn in taxes owed to Ireland.

Apple's sales and market share have both gone down in the last year as competition increases in the saturated smartphone market.

However, the latest iPhone is expected to spur sales, particularly after main rival Samsung was forced to recall 2.5m Galaxy Note 7 devices after battery problems.

Users of the new device will have to switch to wireless audio output, as Apple have also released its own set of AirPods in what has been described as an attempt to free up space for other gadgets.

Despite claims by many that the previous version of the iPhone was water-resistant to a certain extent, the company have officially equipped the iPhone 7 and its plus version with the ability to be submerged under water of one metre, for up to 30 minutes at a time.

The larger Plus version will also be provided with a dual lens camera, bringing higher quality to photos taken with the phone.

Reaction to the introduction of AirPods has been mixed, but Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller said that they have more advantages than disadvantages.

"AirPods are simple and magical to use, with no switches or buttons, automatically connecting to all your Apple devices simply and seamlessly," Schiller said.

Apple also released the latest version of its wearable technology, the Apple Watch 2, at the event.