Apple had its annual iPhone-focused dog and pony show yesterday, and there’s some actual exciting new stuff in it.
iPhone 17 family: regular, Pro, and…Air
One of the hallmarks of Steve Jobs’ return to Apple in the late 90’s was a dramatic simplification of its products, exemplified by linear “good, better, best” choices. And one of the signatures of Tim Cook’s leadership of Apple over the last decade has been more models to choose from, with accompanying complexity of decision-making. This is a Tim moment.
The iPhone 17 Pro and Air models have been redesigned — most obviously by a bump on the back (which Apple dubiously calls a “plateau”), not just in the camera corner, but along the entire width of the top edge of the back of the phone. But the new iPhone 17 Air is the one that stands out as something different and new, because it’s thinner than any iPhone that has come before it, with a titanium frame to protect against bending (an issue with certain past models). It starts at $999, but see my comments below on carrier discounts that could negate some or all of that cost.
What’s confusing is that in the past few years, the Pro (starting at $1,099) was what you got if you wanted the best camera, and otherwise you got the regular iPhone ($799); and each was available in standard and extra-large sizes.
The iPhone 17 Air represents a midpoint between the two, both price-wise and feature-wise, with some tradeoffs. You get thinness and lightness, and a screen size (6.5″) in between the regular iPhone and iPhone Pro (6.3″) and the iPhone Pro Max (6.9″). On the downside, you get less battery life, no access to the fastest cellular speeds, and the most limited camera in the new iPhone lineup — a single lens, the same as the one in the entry-level iPhone 16e. Unlike the 17 regular, there’s no “ultrawide” lens for shots below 1x. And, as with the 17 regular, any zooming in will come at the cost of picture resolution, because there is no dedicated zoom lens like the Pro has.
All new iPhone 17 models are powered by a new, higher performing processor, called the A19, and a significantly improved front camera which, in addition to higher resolution, doesn’t require that you rotate the phone to shoot landscape (horizontal); you can just tap an icon on the screen. The non-Pro models also now have the “ProMotion” display previously reserved for Pro models (I can’t see the difference, but some people swear by it and say they can’t go back). All models now come standard with 256 GB storage (this is great).
(There will also be a redesigned user interface, but all recent iPhones will receive that when they are updated to iOS 26.)
Unlike with the 14/15/16 series, there is no iPhone 17 Plus; you’d instead get a 17 Air if you want a larger screen, or a 17 Pro Max if you want an even larger screen. Also, the iPhone 16e (6.1″), 16 (6.1″), and 16 Plus (6.7″) remain in the product lineup as cheaper options; again, with choice comes complexity.
The 17 Pro has a third lens, in addition to the standard lens and the ultrawide lens, for zooming without losing resolution. Compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, the zoom lens now has a 48 megapixel sensor (up from 12 megapixels), allowing for 4x zooms with “pixel analysis” for better quality, and up to 8x zooms at equivalent quality to the 5x zooms of the previous model. The Pro also has a new cooling mechanism called a “vapor chamber” that, yes, actually involves water inside your iPhone. (Don’t tell Apple!) This allows it to keep top performance for longer when doing heavier processing before having to slow down to cool itself off, which is what the non-Pro models and previous iPhones do. The Pro Max model also now has a 2 TB (!) option, which could be great if you want to shoot pro video on the go.
A final bit on the camera, which you can skip if not interested: Apple’s engaging in a little bit of marketing flim-flam when they talk about zooming in while taking photos. On all 17 (and 16) models, they are calling the 1x lens a “fusion” lens with “optical quality” 2x zoom. What this means is that because the lens has a very large number of sensors behind it (48 megapixels), which at default settings the phone analyzes to produce a final 24 megapixel image, the phone also can “zoom in” by using a quarter of that sensor (12 megapixels) with no analysis. That’s absolutely still high quality, and it was standard on iPhones from a few years ago. But the one lens does not have magic dual properties. It’s just that the raw 1x input is high-resolution enough to offer a 2x image that’s still of high quality. They use the same method with the 17 Pro model’s telephoto lens: the 4x zoom benefits from analyzing the 48 megapixels to produce a final 24 megapixel image by default, while 8x zoom yields a 12 megapixel image with no analysis.
Buying an iPhone can be made considerably less expensive by taking advantage of a carrier discount, some of which are now available even when you buy directly from Apple. Promotional credits spread out over three years may offset some or all of a new iPhone’s price if you trade in a phone that’s already paid off; in a few cases for the cheapest models, a trade-in isn’t even required. (Apple also offers a less rewarding but straightforward trade-in program that isn’t staggered over time when you buy through them.) If you’re still paying off an iPhone with a carrier, you can pay off what you owe immediately, but you’ll forfeit the remaining compensatory monthly promotional discount. But some competing carrier deals may offer to cover what you still owe if you switch to them (you can keep your phone number, but expect a rocky 24-48 hours for messaging to stabilize). And even your current carrier may have a deal in which they cancel out whatever you owe if you upgrade. They’re changing these things all the time. Ask them! (Or us, if you’d like our help!)
AirPods Pro 3
I absolutely love love love my AirPods Pro 2 — they’re hands down one of my all-time favorite Apple products, and they receive frequent improvements via silently delivered software updates. Whoever works on that team is killing it. I consider their ability to allow me to have a conversation in a fairly buzzy environment, like a hotel lobby, in which not only can I cancel the noise around me, but you can’t hear it either, to be nothing short of miraculous. Being able to drown out airplane noise without carrying huge over-ear headphones is fantastic. They sound great for music. I love their “Spatial Audio” feature which offers simulated cinematic 3D sound for TV and movies, and Apple Music titles made available in Dolby Atmos format, some of which are revelatory. (This is not the same thing as “Spatialized Stereo” for ordinary music; I turn that off.) And when I want to hear what’s going on around me, as though I weren’t wearing them, I just squeeze the stem (this requires a settings change to not invoke Siri).
The AirPods Pro 2 were introduced three years ago, and now have a successor. The new model offers even more effective noise cancellation, even better sound, even better water/dust/sweat resistance, and longer battery life. Hell yeah. I’ll be picking these up.
There’s also a heart rate sensor with calorie burning tracker for those interested in health tracking, along with other new features for the Fitness app on your iPhone. There is also a forthcoming (via software update) wild new feature called Live Translation, in which if someone is speaking to you in a foreign language, you can hear a translation of what they’re saying in real time. Your responses get translated to their language on your screen, which you can show them. That’s bananas. I’m eager to hear how well it works. It will also be coming to AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancelling (an unwieldy product name if there ever was one).
The AirPods Pro 3 don’t come with any sort of charging cable, but you can use any USB-C cable from any vendor. (But, seriously, Tim. Come on. Give us something we can actually use out of the box without buying something else, or at least offer a bundle.)
Apple Watch 11 and Ultra 3
You know, I’m just not a watch guy. I don’t like a thing on my wrist. I don’t want one more thing to charge every day. I know some of you love yours, so I’ll just say that these new ones offer longer battery life and more health features, and the Ultra has a faster processor, and leave it at that. If you have any specific questions about it, let me know and I’ll do my best to answer.
New “Liquid Glass” appearance for iOS
As mentioned, the iPhone operating system is getting a design overhaul, and I’m sure some will like it, some won’t, and most of us will just get used to it over time, like when a magazine changes its layout. I wrote about this a bit in our last newsletter; I’ll write about it again when I’ve played with it for a while.
More over the next two months
There were no Mac, iPad, or other hardware announcements, but I wasn’t expecting there to be; the first September announcement is always about iPhones. In some years, they make other, less publicized announcements for other products in the two months following; if they do this year, I’ll tell you all about it.
We’re here
As always, we’re here for any questions or help or buying advice or setting up a new iPhone. Give us a shout, we’re always happy to hear from you!
(September 2025)