Another September, another Apple event. Today, Apple revealed its new iPhone 17 lineup in regular and Pro models, as well as the new and very thin iPhone Air. The company also showed off the new Apple Watches—Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE—and the refreshed AirPods Pro 3.
There wasn’t much talk of software, or about Apple’s ongoing efforts to seamlessly integrate AI into all its products. But we got lots of hardware! Here’s everything Apple announced today.
New iPhones
There are four iPhones as usual, but Apple has changed things up quite a bit this year. Gone is the Plus model, and in its place is the iPhone Air, a new ultra-slim and lightweight iPhone that’s just 5.6 millimeters thick.
You only get one camera on this model, though, and Apple seems to be using high-density silicon-carbon batteries. The company is claiming the same 27 hours of video playback that the iPhone 16 Plus was capable of, even though this phone is much thinner and presumably has a slimmer battery. We’ll see how it performs when we test it. There’s a new low-profile MagSafe battery pack to accompany it in case you’re worried (or Apple is worried) about battery.
The iPhone 17 Pro models have a completely fresh look, with a new “Camera Plateau” design. The highlights here are a vapor chamber cooling system that helps regulate the heat generated by the beefier processor, and a 48-megapixel telephoto camera that hits 4X optical zoom and 8X “optical-like” zoom.
The latest update to the Watch Series 11 and Watch Ultra 3’s vaunted series of health features is hypertension notification, which Apple expects to be FDA-cleared within the month.
Blood oxygen sensor controversies aside, improved battery life, new hypertension notifications, and the addition of satellite messaging are all good reasons to get a new Apple Watch this year.
Over a period of 30 days, the watch’s optical heart sensor will check if you have symptoms of hypertension, which affects as many as one out of three of the global population and can cause everything from heart attacks to kidney disease to stroke.
This is in addition to hardware upgrades like wide-angle OLED displays that we saw on last year’s Series 10, along with—this is huge—a full 24 hours of battery life on the Series 11 and up to 72 hours of battery life on the Watch Ultra 3 in low-power mode. The Apple Watches have had notoriously poor battery life for a decade, and now you can (probably) wear your Apple Watch all through the night or for a weekend camping trip! Amazing!
The Watch SE starts at $249, the Watch Series 11 at $399, and the Watch Ultra 3 at $799. All three watches are available for preorder today and will be available on September 19. —Adrienne So
AirPods Pro 3
Apple has some fancy new nubs you can jam in your ear holes. The AirPods Pro 3 are the latest in Apple’s premium earbud lineup, and they have a few new tricks that differentiate them from the previous models.
The AirPods Pro 3 look smaller and more svelte: They have shorter stems that Apple says helps them fit even better in different ear shapes, and an expanded selection of five ear tips to help them block out more sound and make them more comfortable. New drivers and those ear tips mean the AirPods Pro 3 have better bass response, in addition to noise cancellation that Apple claims offers twice the sound reduction when compared to AirPods Pro 2 (and four times more than the first AirPods).
The Pro models get a special woven case that uses a cross-hatched design of colorful microfibers to provide a protective barrier and a nice feel. The iPhone Air gets a clear case for its unique shape, and also a silicone bumper for caseless protection that preserves its svelte silhouette.
There is also a new cross-body strap that goes over your shoulder and lets you dangle your phone at your hip. The strap will snap onto all of the new iPhone cases.
All these accessories are available to buy now and should start shipping later this week.