The iPhone Air floated as if defying gravity in the dramatization during Apple’s Sept. 9 virtual event. Screenshot: TechnologyAdvice/Mary Weilage
Apple unveiled on Sept. 9 its much-anticipated iPhone 17 line, as well as the iPhone Air, new smartwatches, and AirPods 3.
The iPhone 17 line will be released on Sept. 19 and will feature new cameras and advanced chips, Apple announced during today’s virtual event. Additionally, Apple debuted its thinnest phone ever: the buzzy iPhone Air.
Another surprise about today’s Apple event is what was not announced: There was no update on expanding Apple Intelligence. The company has not emphasized generative AI to the same degree as its rivals, though features like Live Translation show the company is integrating the technology in specific ways.
The rumors are true — Apple is releasing an astonishingly thin iPhone Air. The titanium, 5.6mm device is designed to be both lightweight and highly durable. Inside sits the A19 Pro chip, which can run GPU-intensive generative AI and performs even more quickly than the previous A19 chip.
“This huge leap in design and engineering is only made possible through Apple innovation, especially Apple silicon,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, in a press release.
The iPhone Air also features the N1 chip for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread connectivity, and the C1X modem. Dual Capture Video can film from the front and back at the same time, showing the user’s reactions to sports games or concerts, for example.
To save space, iPhone Air uses only an eSIM, not a physical card.
Despite the tiny size, iPhone Air still offers all-day battery life, Apple said. If you need more battery, there’s a specialized MagSafe battery that extends run time to 40 hours. Some software functions in iOS 26 intelligently adapt to battery conditions.
“A slimmer iPhone 17 will be a breath of fresh ‘Air’ for a device portfolio that was beginning to look distinctly mundane after several cycles of tepid and incremental innovation,” said Forrester VP Principal analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee in an email to TechRepublic.
Worried about dropping that tiny phone? A crossbody strap accessory with magnetic attachments holds the iPhone Air like a crossbody bag. We’ll see whether this becomes part of Silicon Valley fashion.
The iPhone Air starts at $999 and will be available on Sept. 19. Preorders begin on Friday, Sept. 12, in 63 countries and regions. At the time of launch, users in 22 other countries will be able to purchase the phone.
While the iPhone Air shakes up Apple’s usual form factor somewhat, the iPhone 17 line is a more incremental shift. As usual, there are three model options: the base model, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. All iPhone 17 models will run iOS 26 with the upcoming Liquid Glass look and start with 256GB of storage.
The new iPhone versions are:
iPhone 17 Pro includes professional video tools for editing and post-production, including support for ProRes Raw, Genlock, and other tools for content creators and streamers. Users can even film “bullet time” (extreme slow motion usually captured with multiple cameras) scenes with built-in tools.
“This new iPhone lineup represents the biggest leap ever for iPhone,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during today’s event.
Like the iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 line won’t hold physical SIM cards; instead, Apple opted for eSIMs only.
The newest set of Apple earbuds features “spatial listening” to precisely control air flow, improving bass. Active Noise Cancellation with new foam-infused ear tips delivers twice the ANC compared to the previous generation or four times more than the first generation of AirPods, Apple said.
AirPods 3 also include Live Translation with Apple Intelligence. To complete a conversation, the AirPods connect to an iPhone and display spoken words in the target language on the screen. If the person the user is speaking with also wears their own AirPods Pro, they can skip the phone, and both will hear the translated speech.
To improve the fit, Apple made each AirPod smaller and refined the shape. Ear tips now come in five sizes. A heart rate sensor fits inside the AirPod, working with an on-device AI model to do movement and calorie tracking. These AirPods have longer battery life, too, at eight hours compared to six hours for the previous generation.
AirPods Pro 3 will retail for $249 on September 19. Preorder starts today.
The newest smartwatches from Apple are the Apple Watch Series 11. Each model offers 5G connectivity, more scratch-resistant glass, health features including chronic high blood pressure detection and a sleep score, and up to 24 hours of battery life.
watchOS 26 adds gesture controls like the one-handed wrist flick to stop notifications, timers, or alarms. It also incorporates Apple Intelligence in workout tools. watchOS 26 will also feature the Liquid Glass design language that Apple has rallied around this year. Plus, watchOS 26 enables the classic and useful Notes app on the watch.
The Apple Watch Series 11 is available in 42mm and 46mm sizes starting at $399. For tech aficionados on a budget, the Apple Watch SE 3 retails for $249. The rugged and high-end version, Apple Watch Ultra 3, starts at $799.
All three Apple Watch options — the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 — will be available on Sept. 19
In other Apple news, the tech giant reached $9 billion in sales in India, which was its best fiscal year in the country. Apple also opened two new retail stores in India.
Megan Crouse has a decade of experience in business-to-business news and feature writing, including as first a writer and then the editor of Manufacturing.net. Her news and feature stories have appeared in Military & Aerospace Electronics, Fierce Wireless, TechRepublic, and eWeek. She copyedited cybersecurity news and features at Security Intelligence. She holds a degree in English Literature and minored in Creative Writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
