Apple has made an embarrassing iPhone 7 marketing gaffe as plans emerged for a solution to the tech giant’s much-published wireless headphone troubles.

As part of its launch on Thursday (AEST), advertising imagery for the iPhone 7 was adorned with the tagline “This is 7”, which seemed innocent in English.

But not in Hong Kong, where the Cantonese translation converts to “This is penis”. Why? Because in Cantonese “seven” is pronounced “tsat” which is a slang term for “penis”.

The word is not that offensive – it is commonly being used in Hong Kong to describe someone or something funny, or to softly mock someone, Quartz reported.

Rival tech behemoth Samsung had a similarly awkward marketing mishap when it launched its “Note 7”, which translated to “a stick of penis” in Cantonese.

Meanwhile, an enterprising inventor (or possibly a great prankster) has come up with a way to unite Apple’s wireless ear buds or “AirPods”.

The AirPods were one of the highlight’s of the iPhone 7 launch, which also introduced Apple’s first phone without a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Shortly after their release, a webpage popped up selling “AirPod Straps” or a piece of wire to connect the two totally separate AirPod buds.

AirPod Strap webpage creator Robert Bodely told Mashable “we definitely plan on selling these”.

Hoax or not, looking at the design of the AirPods, it would seem something like the AirPod strap would be quite useful for those prone to losing wearable tech. AirPods cost $229.

Scratch-prone ‘jet black’ sold out until November

Apple’s aesthetic changes on the iPhone 7 were subtle to say the least, highlighted by new handset “colour” jet black.

That didn’t mean fans were put off by the new hue.

Fans went so crazy for jet black during the weekend’s pre-sale that there are no more available until November.

But there was a downside to the jet black colour, hidden in the fine print on Apple’s website. The jet black iPhone 7 is particularly prone to scratching.

“Its surface [jet black iPhone 7] is equally as hard as other anodised Apple products; however, its high shine may show fine micro-abrasions with use,” the fine print read.

“If you are concerned about this, we suggest you use one of the many cases available to protect your iPhone.”

Australia pays more than the US

The New Daily reported last week that the cost of an iPhone in Australia had become more expensive, compared to 57 other nations.

A look at the price difference of the iPhone 7 comparing the Australian and US recommended retail price (RRP) is similarly sober reading. The smallest price difference between the Australian RRP (inc. GST) and the US RRP was $99 (AUD) for the 32GB iPhone 7.

This difference became larger through each memory size increase in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The biggest gap was for the 256 GB iPhone 7 Plus, which is $302 more expensive in Australia when compared with the US.

See the differences below: