The New iPhone and Everything Else You Need to Know from Apple’s Launch Event
It's September again and you know what that means. First, you need to dust off that leaf blower. Second, it's time for a new iPhone. Today, in its self-proclaimed "awe dropping" event, Apple announced the new iPhone 17 line, including the iPhone Air, along with the surprisingly feature-rich AirPods Pro 3 and three new Apple Watches.
There were no huge surprises in the slate, but the big announcements like the long-rumored iPhone Air and a revamped Pro phone prove that Apple is taking some big swings in terms of desig. And while the changes to the regular iPhone 17, new Apple Watches and AirPods are incremental, some of them are pretty damn exciting. I'm coming away with a lot more to be excited for than I anticipated.
I've filtered the nearly 75 minute presentation down to its best moments. There's a lot coming to new Apple devices for the rest of 2025 and in our estimation this is what's most important for the every day iPhone user to know.
The iPhone 17 and iPhone AirApple saved the best for last but I won't do that here. The iPhone 17 is officially launching later this month and while it looks quite similar to the 16, it comes with one major improvement. All iPhone 17 models have ProMotion 120hz refresh rate, which means everything you do on the phone will feel faster and smoother. Until now, this was the biggest thing preventing me, personally, from switching from a Pro iPhone to a standard version. The new chip makes the phone 20 percent faster than the iPhone 16 and 80 percent faster than the 15. Naturally it also has a brighter screen and better cameras than its predecessor too.
The new iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max have undergone a bit of a redesign. Long story short, the battery is so big and long-lasting Apple needed to invent a new thermal management system for cooling it. It's why the phones look like this now. If you think it looks funny, just remember it's function before form.
Listen, as an iPhone Pro devotee I don't entirely love it. Thankfully, Apple introduced a new phone that I fear may replace my Pro entirely. Welcome to the fam, iPhone Air.
The ultra-thin iPhone Air is the first of its kind, although for the sake of brevity its running mostly the same internals as the 17 Pro phones. It's got a large 6.6-inch screen, all-day battery life, and great all-in-one camera as well. All the best the iPhone currently has to offer shoved in the slimmest package yet. Fine, I'll bite.
Across all the new iPhones, the other major update is Center Stage front-facing camera. The new and improved selfie cam has four different modes, letting you easily take vertical or horizontal selfies no matter how you're holding the phone. As someone who vastly prefers the selfie cams on Galaxy phones, this could be a game changer.
The iPhone 17 starts at $799, the iPhone Air at $999, and the iPhone 17 Pro at $1,099. Pre-orders begin on September 12.
I was not expecting to be impressed by these, but here's the deal. The new AirPods could very well replace your Apple Watch. Sure, the noise-cancellation is apparently twice as good, the shape is slightly tweaked, and there's some snazzy new live translation features that will be great even if they work 50 percent of the time, but none of that is the selling point.
The AirPods Pro 3 have built-in heart rate sensing and workout tracking. Apple knows how many people exercise in its headphones and its giving them the option to get in on the fitness device world without becoming an Apple Watch person. This will measure biometrics and talk directly with the Apple Fitness+ app so you can make progress on your Move ring without having to strap on the watch. These won't just be plain ole earbuds, they are a health tracker of their own. Excited to see how that plays out.
The AirPods Pro 3 will debut for $249 on September 19. No new AirPods Max for now. Maybe the rumors will come true next year.
There were also new watches: the Apple Watch Series 11 , now with 5G, the Apple Watch SE 3, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3. The Series 11 and Ultra 3 come with some new features for tracking hypertension and improved battery life, but nothing to write home about. The SE is brought up to par with last year's Series 10, which is nice. All improvements, but nothing worth racing to buy a new Apple Watch for.
But hey, at least Apple is bringing back our favorite Apple watch ever—the Hermès collab. The Hermès Series 11 comes with a gorgeous knit band and exclusive "whimsical animations" for your watch face. We're big fans.
Everything announced today goes on sale on September 19, but are available for pre-order starting September 9. For the time being, there are a bunch of Apple sales on Amazon right now on all kinds of devices.
esquire
