AKIPRESS.COM - Apple Inc. announced on Wednesday improvements to the iPhone that stopped short of a major overhaul, hoping that the upgrades will revive sagging sales of its flagship product, WSJ reports.

The new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus offer longer battery life, more storage and brighter screens than their predecessors, but eliminate the traditional headphone jack.

Buyers of the iPhone 7 Plus, which at $769 is Apple’s most expensive new model ever, will also get a new two-camera system that promises richer photos and videos.

But the new phones lack a must-have feature, like the larger displays that debuted with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in 2014, igniting a meteoric sales surge.

That breaks an Apple tradition of major design changes every other year and poses a crucial question for the new models: Will users find enough value in the improved features to upgrade from older models?

In their immediate assessments, analysts were divided. “There’s a fairly compelling set of stuff here, especially if you’re coming from an iPhone 6,” said Jan Dawson, chief analyst with Jackdaw Research. In particular, he cited the dual camera, which he believes will eventually be included in lower-cost Apple phones. Apple also doubled the storage on base models, to 32 gigabytes, from 16.

Others were more skeptical. “I think it is a minor upgrade,” said Chetan Sharma, an independent consultant. He said Apple may benefit from Samsung Electronics Co. ’s recall of its most recent model, which could prompt users of the competing Android operating system to try Apple’s iPhones.