Apple release water-resistant iPhone 7

The new iPhone 7 and 7 plus unveiled during Apple's live event in San Francisco. Picture; PA

The tech giant’s chief executive Tim Cook announced the phone at an event in San Francisco, though a social media glitch saw the firm’s Twitter account – only recently activated – accidentally reveal the news early.

A new version of the Apple Watch, called the Series 2 and with greater focus on health and exercise tracking, was also announced, including a special Nike+ version for runners.

The Watch, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will go on sale on 16 September, with pre-orders for the devices beginning tomorrow.

Apple has made the iPhone dust and water resistant for the first time, and redesigned the device's camera. Picture PA

The iPhone 7 will start at £599 in the UK for the 32GB model, which makes it £60 more expensive than the iPhone 6s.

Instead of the traditional headphone connection, iPhone packages will now come with earphones that fit into the phone’s lightning port, currently used for charging and data transfer.

However, Apple also revealed new wireless earphones, called AirPods, that will connect to both iPhone and Apple Watch remotely.

Meanwhile, an adaptor that enables traditional headphones to continue to plug into the iPhone will also be included in the box.

The AirPods contain sensors that can tell when they are in a user's ears, and can be connected to an iPhone or Apple Watch. Picture; PA

The iPhone 7 has also had its camera redesigned, with a second lens being added to the larger iPhone 7 Plus that will enable users to capture more zoomed images without losing picture quality.

The lenses across the two phones now contain a 12 mega-pixel sensor.

Other new features include the home button of the new phones, which can now detect how firmly it is being pressed and provide vibration-based feedback.

The handsets can be submerged in water up to depths of 1m (3.2ft) for 30 minutes at a time.

Mr Cook said of the smartphone: “It has become the industry gold standard.

“iPhone is the phone by which all others are measured and it has become a cultural phenomenon.”

In July, the tech giant revealed it had sold the one billionth unit of the device, while Mr Cook said the Apple Watch was now the world’s second most popular watch brand and most popular smartwatch.

Analysts say the new iPhones could help Apple recover modestly from a recent dip in sales.

But with few expected dramatic changes from previous models, Apple watchers aren’t expecting the kind of big spikes in consumer demand that the company saw two years ago, when it introduced larger screens.

Apple sold nearly 92 million iPhones in the first six months of this year, about 15 percent fewer than the same period last year. The launch comes a week after the European Commission demanded Apple pay up to ¤13 billion (£11bn) in back taxes to Ireland – a ruling the firm is appealing against.