APPLE has unveiled a dizzying array of new gadgets including a shockingly thin iPhone Air, an iPhone 17 Pro with 39-hour battery life, hi-tech AirPods that let you understand other languages, and an Apple Watch that monitors for hypertension.
The company is hosting its special iPhone launch event, where it shows off new tech products just in time for Black Friday and Christmas.
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I’m Sean Keach, The Sun’s Head of Technology and Science, and I’m out in California where Apple chief Tim Cook has just unveiled loads of new products.
It’s at the company’s ‘Awe Dropping’ event, which was announced just two weeks ago.
ULTRA-THIN!
The iPhone Air is a brand new addition to the line-up.
Apple calls it “impossibly thin”, and said it’s the thinnest iPhone ever.
It’s made from titanium and Apple says it’s “more durable than any previous iPhone”.
It comes in space black, cloud white, light gold, and sky blue colour options.
WHAT WAS ANNOUNCED?
Here are all the new gadgets from today’s Apple event…
- iPhone 17
- iPhone Air
- iPhone 17 Pro
- iPhone 17 Pro Max
- Apple Watch Series 11
- Apple Watch Ultra 3
- Apple Watch SE
- Apple AirPods 3
It replaces the old iPhone 16 Plus, which was a larger version of the company’s regular iPhone 16.
The iPhone Air is indeed larger than the iPhone 17 – but only in screen size (6.5 inches).
Viewed from the side, the iPhone Air is a supermodel. It’s razor thin at just 5.6mm.
By comparison, the iPhone 16 was 7.8mm – chunky by comparison.
This isn’t the thinnest smartphone ever made, but it’s shockingly svelte and a major feat for Apple.
It uses a 48-megapixel Fusion camera system that pairs a wide-angle shooter with an integrated 2x telephoto zoom.
You can also shoot video with both the front and rear cameras at the same time, which is great for posting to social media.
There will be plenty of interest in the iPhone 17 Air’s battery life.
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Usually when smartphones are significantly slimmed down, it means shrinking the battery.
After all, there’s less room to squeeze one in.
And that usually results in you having to recharge more often.
We won’t know how the iPhone 17 Air fares until we test it, but gadget fans will likely get on just fine as long as it can carry you through a full day of use.
There’s an adaptive power mode that learns your habits in the new iOS 26 software to help boost your battery life.
And Apple promises that you’ll get “all-day battery life” from it.
There’s also a new ultra-slim MagSafe battery pack accessory that you can stick on the back, if you feel like you’re not getting enough juice.
There’s also no room for a SIM card slot. So you’ll have to use an eSIM for this model.
I-LIKE!
The iPhone 17 is getting a few upgrades. It’s probably not enough to upgrade from the iPhone 16, but it’s a decent lot.
One of the big changes is the introduction of a slightly bigger 6.3-inch screen, up from the old 6.1-inch panel.
lt comes in lavender, mist blue, black, white, and sage.
And it’s not just any display either.
Apple has finally rolled out its 120Hz ProMotion panels across the range. The 120Hz is the refresh rate – that’s how many times the screen can update to a new image per second.
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The higher the refresh rate, the smoother Apple can make animations and scrolling.
It’s also handy for watching live sports or gaming, because the display can truly handle the high frames per second.
There’s Apple’s new A19 chip inside, which is both speedier and more efficient than the old one.
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Even if you don’t care about raw iPhone power, efficiency is good for battery life.
The new camera lets you switch between portrait and landscape photos without having to turn your phone.
And Apple says that your selfie camera can now shoot much more stable footage.
It has “all-day battery life” and starts with 256GB of storage.
IPHONE SCREEN SIZES – A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
Here’s how iPhone screen sizes have changed over the years – as measured in inches diagonally from corner to corner…
- iPhone (2007) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 3G (2008) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 3GS (2009) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 4 (2010) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 4S (2011) – 3.5 inches
- iPhone 5 (2012) – 4 inches
- iPhone 5S (2013) – 4 inches
- iPhone 5C (2013) – 4 inches
- iPhone 6 (2014) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 6+ (2014) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone 6S (2015) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 6S+ (2015) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone SE (2016) – 4 inches
- iPhone 7 (2016) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 7+ (2016) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone 8 (2017) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 8+ (2017) – 5.5 inches
- iPhone X (2017) – 5.8 inches
- iPhone XS (2018) – 5.8 inches
- iPhone XR (2018) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone XS Max (2018) – 6.5 inches
- iPhone 11 (2019) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 11 Pro (2019) – 5.8 inches
- iPhone 11 Pro Max (2019) – 6.5 inches
- iPhone SE 2nd gen (2020) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 12 Mini (2020) – 5.4 inches
- iPhone 12 (2020) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 12 Pro (2020) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 12 Pro Max (2020) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 13 Mini (2021) – 5.4 inches
- iPhone 13 (2021) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 13 Pro (2021) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 13 Pro Max (2021) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone SE 3rd gen (2022) – 4.7 inches
- iPhone 14 (2022) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 14 Plus (2022) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 14 Pro (2022) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 14 Pro Max (2022) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 15 (2023) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 15 Plus (2023) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 15 Pro (2023) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 15 Pro Max (2023) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 16 (2024) – 6.1 inches
- iPhone 16 Plus (2024) – 6.7 inches
- iPhone 16 Pro (2024) – 6.3 inches
- iPhone 16 Pro Max (2024) – 6.9 inches
- iPhone 16e (2025) – 6.1 inches
GOING PRO
The top-of-the-range smartphones this year are the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
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They’re basically identical except for the fact that the Pro has a 6.3-inch screen, while the Pro Max display is a gargantuan 6.9 inches. That’s not far off a mini tablet.
Apple has switched the body of the Pro models away from titanium and is now using aluminium.
Titanium is obviously very posh. So it might seem counterintuitive given these are posh phones.
But is light (which is important on these heavier mobiles), and can also do a better job at getting rid of heat.
The big design change is on the back of the phone.
Normally your iPhone’s cameras sit on a little bump. This allows Apple to squeeze in better camera hardware that wouldn’t otherwise fit on phone’s slim body.
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On previous Pro phones, this camera bump was confined to the top-left corner of your mobile’s rear.
Now, this bump spans all the way across the back of your phone from left to right.
This is probably good news for people buying the new iPhone 17 Pro. It’ll immediately make clear that you’ve got the posh new model to anyone nearby. If you’re going to fork out upwards of £1,000/$1,000 on a phone, you might as well get bragging rights.
And Apple has introduced a new vapour cooling system inside the iPhone to help them run cooler.
The better your iPhone can manage heat, the more impressively it can perform.
WHAT IS VAPOUR CHAMBER COOLING?
Here’s what you need to know…
So how does a vapour chamber work?
Your phone would contain a small amount of liquid coolant (deionised water), packed inside a metal chamber.
This liquid would absorb heat generated by your iPhone’s hard-working processor.
It would then evaporate and turn into a gas as it gets hot.
And then it would touch against the cooler metal surface of the chamber, dissipating the heat and turning back into a liquid.
This carries heat away from the processor, allowing it to run cooler.
Heat has a significant negative effect on processor performance, so keeping it cool is a big deal.
The iPhone 17 Pro promises 40% better sustained performance versus the iPhone 16 Pro, according to Apple.
That’ll benefit gamers, anyone doing video editing, or people using a lot of AI that runs on the system (and not on the cloud over the internet).
The Pro Max also has the “best battery life ever in an iPhone”, according to Apple.
It can deliver up to 39 hours of video playback apparently, which is enormous.
The iPhone 17 starts at $799, while the iPhone Air starts at $999, and the iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099, or $1,199 for the Max.
Pre-orders start on Friday, September 12, with the release date set for Friday, September 19.
WATCH THIS!
There are a few minor upgrades to the core Apple Watch.
The new model is called the Apple Watch Series 11, with 5G support and a new Liquid Glass interface design that looks glossier.
But the big upgrade is its ability to alert you to possible hypertension.
It doesn’t give you exact blood pressure readouts, so it’s not as detailed as a proper medical at-home device.
But it’ll monitor trends and flag if it thinks there might be an issue of hypertension.
That’s extremely useful, as it might flag up a major health issue for people who otherwise wouldn’t have realised.
And the watch can also give you a sleep score to let you know how you’re sleeping.
Apple is also promising 24-hour battery life for this model.
There’s a new version of Apple’s cheapest smartwatch: the Apple Watch SE.
It has 18-hour battery life with eight hours of juice from just 15 minutes of charging, and can track your sleep during the night for a sleep score.
And it also gets 5G and sleep apnea notifications, just like the Apple Watch Series 11.
Apple’s top-end smartwatch has been given a big upgrade.
The new Apple Watch Ultra 3 packs in an upgraded display that’s even brighter, especially from off-angles.
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The display is now bigger – the largest ever on an Apple Watch – and packs in slightly more pixels.
And the brightness can drop extremely low so that you can have a working second-hand that always appears even when the display isn’t “active”.
There’s built-in satellite connectivity so you can get emergency help, send messages, or share your location with Find My even without cellular signal.
And Apple is promising a staggering 42 hours of battery life, and the watch will come in black and natural titanium colour options.
Apple Watch SE 3 starts at $249, while Series 11 starts at $399, with the Ultra 3 coming in at a lofty $799.
AIRPOD UPGRADE
AirPods are one of the big star’s of Apple’s show.
And they’ve received a major upgrade with the new Apple AirPods Pro 3.
The AirPods Pro is Apple’s more premium line of wireless earbuds with a small body, powerful active noise cancellation to shut out the din around you, plus bonus features to check your hearing health and the ability to track your head position for immersive Spatial Audio.
Now they’re even fancier with the introduction of the AirPods Pro 3.
Apple says they deliver twice the active noise cancellation compared to the old model – or four times better than the original AirPods Pro.
For the first time, Apple has fitted the AirPods Pro with a heart rate tracking feature.
That way, you can monitor your heart rate even if you’re not wearing an Apple Watch.
Apple has also added a Live Translation feature that lets you understand foreign languages being spoken to you in real time.
The new Apple AirPods 3 start at $249, and they’ll be available from September 19.
Apple’s big showcase takes place in the company’s Steve Jobs Theater.
It’s inside the iPhone maker’s Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California.
There are rumours that Apple could hold another event in October and possible in Spring to make more announcements.
These could include new iPad and Mac models, although nothing official has been confirmed.
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