Topline
Apple unveiled new iPhone models at its annual release event Tuesday, revealing improvements for its flagship product alongside the launch of new AirPods and Apple Watch models.
Apple’s product release primarily revolved around the new iPhone 17, AirPods Pro 3 and Apple Watch models, improving on the devices’ pre-existing features and adding new ones like live translation and ceramic shields.
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The iPhone 17 will feature improved scratch resistance achieved through a ceramic shield, a 6.3-inch display and better front and rear camera quality. It will also have an A19 chip, Apple’s newest mobile processor, bringing faster performance, enabling advanced AI tasks and improving battery life. The iPhone 17 Pro was also revealed during Tuesday’s event, featuring an enhanced heat dissipation system, the “best battery life ever in an iPhone” and 48 megapixels for all three of its cameras, one of which will have an 8 times optical zoom and 40 times digital zoom. The Pro model will also have an aluminum frame and features a raised camera bar that encompasses the upper quarter of the device’s rearside.
The iPhone Air, Apple’s “most power-efficient” and “thinnest” iPhone ever made, will have a 6.5-inch display, an aluminum frame, is 5.6 millimeters thick, uses 80% recycled titanium and has a 48 megapixel fusion camera. It also has ceramic shielding on the front and back and comes in black, white, gold and sky blue. The new iPhone model will have the same A19 chipset as the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro.
The iPhone 17, iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro will start at $799, $999 and $1,099, respectively, marking a $100 price hike from the iPhone 16 Pro. However, storage for the phones will start at 256GBs, meaning Apple has moved on from the 128GB memory option for its newest iPhones. Pre-orders for the new models will begin Friday, a week before their release date on Sept. 19.
iPhone owners who trade in an iPhone 13 Pro or newer “in any condition” can get up to $1,100 off when buying the latest iPhones, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said during the event.
Apple said its new AirPods Pro 3 will have live translation during conversations using Apple Intelligence, the tech giant’s artificial intelligence system. The AirPods’ active noise cancellation will lower the voice of the person speaking to users so they can hear the live translation. The new earbuds, priced at $249 and set for release on Sept. 19, will feature new ear tips in five sizes, heart rate sensing and longer battery life, reaching up to 8 hours of play.
Apple also unveiled the Apple Watch 11, which has 5G connectivity built in, 24-hour battery life and is two times more scratch resistant than the previous model, with a price tag of $399. New models for the Apple Watch SE ($249) and Apple Watch Ultra ($799) were also announced.
Apple shares tumbled during Tuesday’s presentation, falling 1.6% on the day by 3:15 p.m. EDT to $234.07. The iPhone maker’s stock is now down about 6.5% since the start of the year, when shares were around $243. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index, meanwhile, is up more than 13% year-to-date.
Apple Invests Another $100 Billion Into The U.S., Trump Says—As Shares Jump 5% (Forbes)