Apple‘s big iPhone 17 launch event is over – and now the dust has settled on a flurry of announcements, it’s time for us to recap all of the big highlights.
As the event’s ‘Awe Dropping’ name suggested, there was a lot of news. We got four new iPhones, including the long-rumored iPhone Air, plus three new models for Apple Watch fans, including the flagship Apple Watch Ultra 3.
With the AirPods Pro 3 also shown off at Apple’s big shindig, there’s a lot to catch up on – fortunately, we’ve done all of the hard work and gathered all of the highlights in one place below…
1. The iPhone just got thinner
After months of rumors, the iPhone Air is here, replacing the iPhone 16 Plus with a new thin-and-light design.
And oh how thin it is – just 5.6mm, making it the slimmest iPhone ever.
Nor has Apple had to make big compromises to slim it down to that size; the iPhone Air packs the same A19 Pro chipset as the iPhone 17 Pro, a 6.5-inch display with ProMotion, a single 48MP rear camera, and a new 18MP main camera with Center Stage.
As for battery life, Apple only says it lasts “all day” – but we’re keen to test that claim for ourselves.
How much will you pay for this svelte form factor? The iPhone Air starts at $999 / £999 / A$1,799 for the base model, which has 256GB of storage, but you can upgrade to 512GB or 1TB if you have deeper pockets.
As with the other iPhone 17 models, it will be available for preorder on September 12, and to buy from stores on September 19, and you can check out all of the best iPhone 17 preorder deals with us already.
2. And the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max levelled up too
Apple is very proud of its Pro-level iPhones this year, with the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max bringing seemingly meaningful upgrades to the table in almost every department.
The most obvious change is the new phones’ design. Both the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max feature a large camera block that runs horizontally across their respective rear panels, which Apple is calling a “full-width camera plateau.”
This re-jigged module is important for two reasons: first, it’s allowed Apple to introduce a 48MP telephoto camera, and second, it’s freed up space for “the largest ever battery in an iPhone.”
Other upgrades for this year’s Pro models include a vapor chamber cooling system and an A19 Pro chipset, both of which will help the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max live up to their billing as the best iPhones Apple has ever made.
Pricing-wise, you’re looking at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,999 for the Pro, and $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,149 for the Pro Max – so unchanged from the previous models, although there is now a 2TB version of the Pro Max, which will cost $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,799 and which is therefore the most expensive iPhone ever.
2. While the standard iPhone 17 got more powerful
Mixing things up a little this year, Apple’s new standard iPhone, the iPhone 17, has a suite of upgrades that might just make it a proper generational step up from its predecessor.
Naturally, you get a more powerful chip in the form of the A19, but that chip helps get an extra eight hours of video playback out of the battery.
And battery life doesn’t appear to suffer from the final inclusion of a 120hz ProMotion display, either, with a coating of Ceramic Shield 2 glass to keep the high refresh-rate display away from scratch damage.
The new 48-megapixel ‘Fusion’ camera system lets two rear cameras provide main, 2x optical zoom telephoto, 48MP ultra-wide, and 1x macro photography. If this system yields impressive photos, it could be the one to beat this year and into next.
As icing on the smartphone cake, Apple hasn’t increased the price of the standard iPhone, with it starting at $799 / £799 / AU$1,299; a minor blessing in the face of turbulent tariffs.
4. Center Stage has arrived on the iPhone 17’s front camera
Selfie cameras may not be the most glamorous phone feature, but Apple went big on them this year – giving all of its new iPhones front-facing cameras with new square sensors and handy Center Stage tricks.
Center Stage works much like its Mac equivalent, automatically keeping you in the middle of the frame during video calls and zooming out if you’re doing a group selfie. That square sensor also means you won’t have to turn your iPhone sideways to take a landscape selfie, as it can just switch to the best aspect ratio.
Naturally, there’ll be some cropping involved, but Apple’s bumped the front camera resolution to 18MP to help compensate. It’s a small but helpful quality-of-life upgrade for selfie fans.
5. But there’s no sign yet of the fabled iPhone Fold
Other tech companies are fond of teasing forthcoming devices before they’re ready for their full unveiling – and indeed, Apple initially showed off its Vision Pro a full six months before its release. But sadly, there was not a hint of the much-rumored iPhone Fold and today’s Apple event.
Is it real? When will it arrive? How much will it cost? We have no more idea now than we had 10 minutes before the ‘Awe Dropping’ event.
Except… those new iPhone Airs do look like the kind of slim phones you’d need to make if you were going to release a slim foldable in the near future… so watch this space.
6. The AirPods Pro 3 look like a proper upgrade
Our 5 things you need to know about Apple’s all-new AirPods Pro 3 feature is the place to go to get the full scoop, but in a nutshell: AirPods Pro 3 are here, bringing Live Translation and heart-rate monitoring to Apple’s ice-white buds.
Said buds are now smaller than before and boast five ‘foam-infused’ ear tip options, although the now-traditional launch price of $249 / £249 / AU$399 remains.
There are also claimed improvements to the battery life, ANC and waterproofing, which is now listed as IP57.
Any disappointments? No temperature sensing was mentioned and no IR cameras, but still, that Live Translation feature looks very interesting indeed…
Tempted? Check out the best AirPods Pro 3 preorder deals now and start saving…
7. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 got a bigger screen
Yes, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 looks the same at first glance as the Ultra 2, but a new wide-angle OLED display means a bigger screen and slimmer bezels without changing the case size, making it the biggest Apple Watch display yet.
Like the Series 11 (below), it offers 5G cellular connectivity, and new to the Ultra is satellite emergency messaging features. Ultra 3 also gets a battery life boost, this time from 36 to 42 hours of battery life in smartwatch mode.
It also gets all the new metrics, including Hypertension, Sleep Score and watchOS 26’s new AI Workout Buddy.
It won’t come cheap, though: prices start at $799 / £799 / AU$1,399. Still, we’ve got an Apple Watch Ultra 3 preorders page to help you find the best deals.
8. Apple Watch Series 11 has gone 5G
The Apple Watch Series 11, meanwhile, was treated to a few new landmark features of its own.
The Series 11 gets 5G connectivity for LTE models, made possible by a new antenna architecture, and a scratch-resistant ceramic screen coating. Plus, the long-rumored LED blood pressure monitoring feature has landed, in the form of Hypertension, and sleep tracking is improved with the new Sleep Score.
Finally, the standout feature: 24 hours of battery life means an upgrade, at last, from the old paltry 18 hours.
Prices start at $399 / £369 for the GPS-only, 42mm model, rising all the way up to $529 / £499 for the cellular 46mm size. We’ve got an Apple Watch 11 preorders page if you’re looking for a good deal on Apple’s new models.
9. And there’s an Apple Watch SE 3 too
The new cheap Apple Watch rounds out the range, with the same S10 chipset as its sibling watches – enabling the SE 3 to replicate a lot of the tricks of last year’s Series 10, such as Double-Tap and Wrist Flick hands-free gestures.
You can also play media from your new, cheaper watch, assuming you want to. No battery life increase for the SE 3, but it does get Fast Charging as a consolation prize.
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mark.wilson@futurenet.com (Mark Wilson)
