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Yesterday, it was Apple’s turn to take to the stage (or street, or empty Apple store, in this instance) and announce some new products.
We now have brand-new AirPods Pro, a refreshed Apple Watch line-up, and the new iPhone 17 range. Oh, and an all-new iPhone described as “the most durable” so far. And the thinnest. And with “MacBook Pro levels of compute”.
They’ve been busy.
Although Apple Intelligence was mentioned during most of the product segments, this was clearly an event focused on design. Indeed, it started with a Steve Jobs quote: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
As someone who is rather fed up with the avalanche of AI-infused products and software experiences, this event was going to be right up my street.
AirPods Pro 3
Did you know that AirPods Pro are the best and most popular headphones in the world? Well, they are, according to Tim Cook. And they’re not even headphones.
However, I understand where they’re coming from. In 2022, I compared AirPods Pro 2 with AirPods Max and got a right old roasting for it in the YouTube comments section. How could I compare a pair of over-ear headphones with Apple’s admittedly very capable in-ears? It was illogical.
Only, it wasn’t, because Apple’s in-ears happen to be the most over-ear headphone-like earbuds I’ve ever used. Particularly when it comes to noise cancelling. AirPods Pro 2 raised the bar significantly from the previous generation with noise-cancelling and transparency that is yet to be topped by any other manufacturer.
Related: AirPods Pro 2 review
Now, we have AirPods Pro 3, which have four upgrades I’m very interested in.
The first is audio. AirPods Pro 3 promise a wider sound stage, better bass response, and improved mid range – I presume – which will help bring vocals “into focus”. Bearing in mind that AirPods Pro 2 are still one of the best-sounding earbuds I’ve ever heard, I’m intrigued.
The second update is noise-cancelling. It has, somehow, been further improved to be twice as effective as AirPods Pro 2 and a whopping four times better than the first generation. They’ve done this with ultra-low noise microphones, new foam-infused ear tips, and software tweaks. Bring it on.
Thirdly, we have fitness. AirPods Pro 3 have built-in heart rate monitoring, which means you can go out for a run with just your iPhone and earbuds and enjoy tracking for up to 50 different workouts. That’s right – no Apple Watch needed. It’s unlikely to cannibalise sales of Apple’s wearable, but it does at least provide a health tracking option for people who don’t have one.
Apple’s last earbud release: AirPods 4 review
Lastly, and most impressively, there’s live translation. This does what it says on the tin – pop AirPods Pro 3 into your ears while chatting to someone who doesn’t speak your native tongue, and whatever they say is relayed in your language through the earbuds, instantly. The other person can also see your responses in their language on your iPhone. If you’re both wearing AirPods Pro 3, the conversation is even more transparent (if you’ll excuse the pun) because you’ll both only hear responses in your native language.
There were rumours that this feature would only be announced but made available at a later date, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. What’s more, if you dig deeper, you discover that it isn’t exclusive to AirPods Pro 3 – if you’ve AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4 with ANC, you’ll be able to enjoy this potentially game-changing feature, too.
Oh, and they’re also supposed to fit more people’s ears better, due to a smaller design. Fitment has never been a problem for me with AirPods Pro, and I can only hope that this particular change won’t have the opposite impact for yours truly.
Worth it? Read my AirPods Max review!
This looks like a strong update to AirPods Pro – particularly when you throw in the addition of two more hours of battery life. I can’t wait to get my hands on a pair.
Apple Watch
There was a long segment at the start of the Apple Watch reveal yesterday that focused entirely on the central role Apple’s wearable has played in saving people’s lives. It was brilliantly produced (obviously) and rather moving.
I’m lucky enough not to have required any of the health warning features built into the Apple Watch, but the knowledge that they’re present is one of the reasons it usually returns to my wrist after I’ve spent time reviewing the competition.
Best Apple Watch alternative? Garmin Venu X1 review
This year’s Apple Watch line-up is definitely an iterative step forward, but there are some nice and thoughtful tweaks. The Series 11 has got even thinner than the model it replaces, and has twice as much screen scratch resistance.
The Apple Watch SE 3 now has an always-on display, gesture control, and a wrist temperature sensor. In fact, Apple’s entry-level Apple Watch is so close to the Series 11 that we’re entering microscopic levels of differences between the two.
Previous generation: Apple Watch Ultra 2 review
Apple also announced the Apple Watch Ultra 3 yesterday, which looks identical to its predecessor but packs in a brighter, larger display, satellite connectivity, and up to 42 hours of battery life. The latter, in particular, is what I’m interested in. It’s getting better and more ultra-like. Hopefully.
All three watches also get a new Sleep Score feature (a standard tick box these days for any wearable and slightly overdue on Apple’s behalf), and the Series 11 and Ultra 3 also gain hypertension detection. Oh, and Apple made a big deal about 5G connectivity on those two models, as well.
Here’s what I love about the Apple Watch Series 10
This isn’t the most exciting year for the Apple Watch, but that’s only because there’s no significant redesign, and judging yesterday purely on that would be churlish. I’ll be giving the Apple Watch Ultra 3 a thorough test.
iPhone 17
Apple has done it. Finally. We now have a 120Hz variable refresh rate display on the non-Pro iPhone, which leaves just the iPhone 16e, at the time of writing, with the fixed 60Hz screen.
So, that’s one less thing to moan about. Time to move on.
That new display is also brighter (3,000 nits peak) and gains the always-on display feature, which, once again, has been present in most of the Android competition for the same price – and lower – for quite some time.
Apple was keen to ram home the word ‘durability’ throughout yesterday’s presentation, and the iPhone 17 has gained three-times better scratch resistance thanks to Ceramic Shield 2, which sits atop that new display. There’s also a new seven-layer anti-reflective coating.
Read my iPhone 16 review!
The obligatory new chip (the A19) is present with lots of increased CPU, GPU, and AI performance, and the iPhone 17 also gains eight hours of additional battery life for video playback, thanks in part to the presence of ProMotion. Oh, and there’s faster charging, too.
The rear cameras on the iPhone 17 have received some nice upgrades, but the biggest talking point will be on the other side of the phone. The selfie camera on the iPhone 17 is now called the Centre Stage front camera, which features the widest field of view Apple has ever used for selfies. It also has the largest sensor, and, crucially, it’s square. This means it can take photos in both portrait and landscape without you having to rotate the phone – and it can account for multiple people within the frame without you having to do the usual hand-stretching gymnastics.
That alone could sell more iPhone 17 devices than any of the other updates.
iPhone Air
The rumours – unusually these days – were true: Apple has been working on a brand-new iPhone form factor, and it’s the thinnest yet.
Nearest competitor? Check out my Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review
Samsung was first to the post with the S25 Edge in May – a phone which, as noted by MKBHD, “nobody asked” for. Is the same true for the iPhone Air? Only Apple can answer that; they’ve obviously made it for a reason, and one would assume that for a new product to gain a thumbs-up from Mr Cook, there would need to be notable demand. Or a much wider, forward-thinking strategy at play.
The iPhone Air looks stunning. This year, Apple has introduced a design element to the top end of its iPhone lineup (and the Air definitely sits within that bracket) called the ‘plateau’. To you and me, this means ‘long camera bump’, and I’m not adverse to it at all. At least it won’t wobble on table surfaces.
The plateau is the only element of the iPhone Air design that could be considered ‘chunky’. The rest of it is beautifully thin – 5.6mm, to be exact (the S25 Edge is 5.8mm) – and, smartly, in my opinion, surrounded by premium-looking polished sides.
“So this is what the future feels like,” says Apple’s official webpage for the iPhone Air, clearly nodding towards how much of an impact this design will have on future generations of regular iPhones.
My favourite iPhone? iPhone 16e review
There are two concerns I have about very thin phones, and I think they’re shared by everyone: battery life and the camera system. For the former, Apple spent a great deal of time explaining how the combination of the new A19 Pro chip, efficiencies inherent within iOS 26, and a resolute focus on increasing battery size (for instance, the iPhone Air is the first worldwide eSIM-only iPhone) has contributed to ‘all-day battery life’, or up to 27 hours of video playback. I’ll reserve judgment until I’ve used it for a good period of time.
On the camera front, just like the S25 Edge, the iPhone Air sports just one lens. Although Apple was keen to highlight that this effectively provides more than one camera option – namely a 48MP 26mm main, and a 2x telephoto, with several popular focal lengths in between. There’s no wide-angle to speak of, although the iPhone Air does gain that fancy Center Stage front camera.
I plan to swap my iPhone 16e daily driver for the iPhone Air and run it long term. I’m fascinated by this form factor and want to see what concessions, if any, one has to make in the two aforementioned areas. This is important for a phone which starts at £999.
Is the iPhone Air also a precursor to a foldable iPhone? Maybe.
iPhone 17 Pro
Apple has done away with Titanium. That’s right – it lasted precisely two generations. In its place, we have the first unibody iPhone design for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, which is made from aluminium.
There will no doubt be multiple Reddit threads about this already, but I couldn’t care less.
Look at the orange one.
Just look at it.
The iPhone 17 Pro lineup gets the A19 Pro, the best-ever battery life in any iPhone, and a camera system which offers the equivalent of eight pro lenses in your pocket. Oh, and a couple of video additions that a tiny proportion of users will love (ProRes RAW support and something called Genlock).
I’ll be trying out the iPhone 17 Pro Max (or possibly just the Pro), because I have to – it’s my job. But I can’t look past the fact that the iPhone Air is the most tantalising proposition this year, and I think that’ll be the case for a lot of people in my position.
Final thought
I love iPhone season, not least because it also brings with it new Apple Watches and new AirPods. It would have been lovely to see a new Apple TV and maybe updated HomePods yesterday, but it would be unfair to suggest that Apple has been lacklustre with this year’s update.
Stay tuned for my thoughts on the AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Ultra 3, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but in the meantime, let me know what you think about the latest announcements in the comments section.
1 Comment
Yep quite a show and my order for AWU went straight in. The rest are very good year on year upgrades to keep the iPhone up with the latest android phones. Im glad to see Apple plough their on furrow and not try to attach 1001 gimmicks that flood the other phones, most used once and then forgotten.