AirPods Pro 3 carry the same price tag as last year but don't ship with a charging cable inside the packaging. Apple flaunts in its marketing material that AirPods Pro 3 use a mix of sensors to support 50 different workout types and come with an Apple Intelligence-powered assistant called Workout Buddy.

However, wearing your AirPods during workouts or running sessions increases the chances of them getting damaged. You might want to know how much a repair will cost, or you want to replace a lost AirPod.

Apple has updated the price estimation tool on its website to give us an idea about the repair costs for the AirPods Pro 3. This comes alongside the updated repair estimates for the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 series.

Here's a comparison of the estimated out-of-warranty repair costs between different AirPods Pro models:

Note: Apple might revise these costs at a later point in time.

A key takeaway from the price estimation tool is that you won't incur any additional costs compared to the previous generation. In fact, the repair costs for all three Pro models are the same.

When dealing with most cases like battery service or physical damage, Apple's standard policy is to replace the affected item. If you have an AppleCare+ or AppleCare One plan active, it covers unlimited repairs for accidents like drops or spills for a $29 service fee.

According to Apple, the estimated costs are for a single AirPod (left or right) or a charging case. Those with an AppleCare plan pay only "one incident fee to replace a single AirPod or both AirPods, with or without a Charging Case."

AirPods Pro 3 are currently up for pre-order in over 50 countries and regions, including the US. The $249 wireless earbuds will start shipping and land in physical stores on September 19.

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Posted Saturday 13 September 2025 at 2:02 pm AEST (my time).

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The iPhone 17. This year's "standard" iPhone received some long-anticipated changes and upgrades, primarily in the display area. The screen is now bigger, and it supports a 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate with always-on mode. This makes the iPhone 17 the first of Apple's non-Pro models. There is also the more powerful Apple A19 processor, 256GB of base storage, two 48MP rear-facing cameras and the new 18MP front-facing cameras with Center Stage support. The iPhone 17 also has a better battery with faster charging.

The iPhone Air is a new thing for Apple this year. This device replaced the Plus model from the previous generations, offering potential buyers a stylish, ultra-thin smartphone that is only 0.22 or 5.64 mm thick. Unlike the rest of the lineup, it is made from polished titanium and has only one 48MP rear-facing camera. Despite the thinness, Apple crammed the A19 Pro chip inside with a five-core GPU, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. Also, the iPhone Air has a 6.5-inch display with ProMotion, always-on mode, and 3,000 nits of peak brightness.

As for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, the flagship models are thicker than the Air (0.34 inches or 8.75 mm) and made of a special aluminum alloy. Displays remain mostly the same (only the brightness is now at 3,000 nits), while the most important changes focus on a new triple 48MP Fusion camera, the more powerful Apple A19 Pro chip with a six-core graphics, and notably bigger batteries. Apple says that eSIM variants of the iPhone 17 Pro Max can play up to 39 hours of video on a single charge.

And here are detailed specs of each device:

Apple's entire 2025 iPhone lineup will be available for preorder on Friday, September 12. Shipments begin on Friday, September 19.

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Posted Friday 12 September 2025 at 6:39 pm AEST (my time).

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Unlike the iPhone 17, which retained the previous design introduced with the iPhone 16, the iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max has been redesigned. Instead of titanium frames, these phones now use aluminum alloy unibody cases with Ceramic Glass at the front and back. Apple says that the new alloys are lighter and stronger than titanium frames in the iPhone 16 Pro and 15 Pro. The camera module is also new, with the iPhone 17 Pro now featuring a "plateau" with antennas surrounding it.

Displays have not changed much. Sizes and resolutions are the same, except for the peak brightness, which is now at 3,000 nits instead of 2,000 nits (outdoors).

Apple also increased the base storage from 128GB to 256GB, upgraded the processor from the A18 Pro to the A19 Pro with faster CPU and GPU cores, and introduced the new Apple N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

The new camera platform hosts a new array of three 48MP Fusion cameras with up to 8x optical zoom and ProRes video recording with Genlock support. Also, the front-facing camera now has an 18MP square sensor and Center Stage support. This allows you to take portrait or horizontal images while holding your iPhone however you want it. Plus, the smartphone can expand the field of view when it detects another person in the viewfinder. Other new features for the front camera include Dual Capture (record from two cameras at once), Center Stage for video calls and ultra-stabilized video recording.

Finally, Apple equipped its Pro-grade smartphones with larger batteries that promise up to 33 hours of video playback (39 hours in the Pro Max model) and faster charging with a 40W charger (up to 50% in just 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes like before).

Here are the key changes summed up in a list:

• A brighter display at up to 3,000 nits outdoors
• Aluminum unibody with Ceramic Glass back instead of titanium frames
• The new A19 Pro chip with the N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, plus the C1X modem with faster performance and better efficiency
• 256GB base configuration with optional 2TB in the iPhone 17 Pro Max
• A reworked 48MP Fusion triple-camera setup with Dual Capture, ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2, and Genlock support
• A new front-facing 18MP camera with a square sensor and Center Stage support
• Bluetooth 6
• Bigger batteries with faster charging
• More expensive: now starting at $1,099 instead of $999

Here is how the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max compare to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro lineups:

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will be available for pre-order on Friday, September 12. Shipments begin on Friday, September 19.

Are you buying one?

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 1:52 am AEST (my time).

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Five years ago today, Microsoft began shipping its infamous Surface Duo to customers that had pre-ordered it in the United States. It was Microsoft's big return to the smartphone market, with a design and form factor that was supposed to set the stage for a new category of devices that featured dual-screens.

Unfortunately, the Surface Duo was immediately met with criticism from reviewers and early adopters, most of which found the device to be incredibly buggy on the software side. The hardware was also mixed bag, with a beautiful premium design, marred by questionable choices around cameras, silicon, and connectivity.

What really didn't help was the price — $1,400 for an experimental device from a company that has a track record for abandoning hardware that can fit in your pocket was a huge ask, and it was one that most people couldn't commit to. That meant Surface Duo was already on the backfoot, fighting an uphill battle for marketshare and revenue.

It didn't take long for Microsoft to realize that Surface Duo was not going to be the hit they wanted it to be. The product was essentially broken at launch and needed more time in the oven to get the software into a state where it wasn't degrading the overall user experience.

However, a trip to Apple.com will make you realize that several old products are missing from the catalog. Here are some of the iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods that the Cupertino giant has discontinued after the Awe Dropping Event:

• iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus
• Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch SE 2
• AirPods Pro 2

It's an annual ritual for Apple to discontinue older devices after announcing new versions with upgraded specifications. It's an attempt to simplify its product lineup and also encourage users to buy the latest devices.

While Apple includes the version number for products like iPhone and Apple Watch, it simply mentions its wireless headphones as "AirPods" and "AirPods Pro." This could lead to a confusing situation for some buyers.

These discontinued Apple products might still be available at online resellers and authorized resellers, who might continue selling them until supplies last. Such products can also be spotted in the second-hand smartphone market or as refurbished units.

In the long term, Apple starts calling a discontinued product "vintage" after five years from its date of discontinuation. The product is added to the "obsolete" list seven years after it was discontinued.

That said, Apple's current smartphone lineup now includes the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 16e, and last year's base model, iPhone 16. In the smartwatch department, Apple now has the Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Hermès based on Series 11. For AirPods, the company now has AirPods Pro 3, AirPods 4, and AirPods Max.

All the new products announced at the Awe Dropping event are now available for pre-order. They will be up for sale next week on September 19.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 1:02 pm AEST (my time).

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CUPERTINO, Calif.—We're a long way from the days when a new iPhone launch just meant one new phone. It shifted to "basically the same phone in two sizes" a decade or so ago, and then to a version of "one lineup of regular phones and one lineup of Pro phones" in 2017 when the iPhone 8 was introduced next to the iPhone X.

But thanks to Apple's newly introduced iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 lineup gives new phone buyers more choices and trade-offs than they've ever had before. Apple's phones are now available in a spectrum of sizes, weights, speeds, costs, and camera configurations. And while options are great to have, it also means you need to know more about which one to pick.

We've gone hands-on with all four of Apple's new phones, and while more extensive tire-kicking will be required, we can at least try to nail down exactly what kind of person each of these phones is for.

The iPhone Air: Designed for first impressions

From the front, the iPhone Air looks like a normal, slightly-larger-than-usual iPhone.

Andrew Cunningham

 

You have to look at it from the side (and hold it) to get a better sense of why it's interesting.

Andrew Cunningham

 

There's no more iPhone mini, and there's no more iPhone Plus. Now we have an iPhone Air, and it is very much its own thing.

The phone is just over two-thirds the thickness of the iPhone 17, not counting what Apple now calls a "camera plateau" that stretches across the top of the device. It's 0.22 inches thick and weighs 5.82 ounces, compared to 0.31 inches thick and 6.24 ounces for the iPhone 17. You have to go back to the iPhone 12 (5.78 ounces) to find a full-size iPhone that's equally light, and that one had a 6.1-inch screen instead of the Air's more expansive 6.5 inches.

Those don't look like huge numbers on paper, but when you're holding the iPhone Air, it does make a substantial difference. While the camera plateau makes it look top-heavy in photos, in reality, it's light, and that weight is distributed evenly enough that it feels as well-balanced as any of the other iPhones.

The combination of a large-ish screen and light created a strong perception of lightness, compared to the iPhone 17 or especially the 7.27-ounce iPhone 17 Pro. I also found that the shiny titanium frame, while a fingerprint magnet, did slide around in my hand less than an aluminum finish.

It's a phone built to make a strong first impression, whether you're holding it in an Apple Store or just after an Apple event in a throng of YouTubers who are all throwing elbows so that they can film each individual phone in the hands-on area for 20 minutes apiece. But I do worry that living with the Air would be frustrating in the long haul, specifically because of battery life.

The camera plateau might make the iPhone Air look unwieldy, but it feels well-balanced in practice.

Andrew Cunningham

 

Pushing the limits of the USB-C port.

Andrew Cunningham

 

Again, on paper, the numbers Apple is quoting aren't so far apart. The Air is rated for 27 hours of local video playback, compared to 30 hours for the iPhone 17 and 33 hours for the 17 Pro. But there's a bigger gap between the numbers for streaming video—22 hours, 27 hours, and 30 hours for the Air, 17, and 17 Pro, respectively—that suggests that any activity that's actively using the A19 Pro chip or wireless communication is going to drain the battery even faster.

Extrapolate that out two years, when your battery is going to be operating at somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of its original capacity, and a midday charge starts to sound like an inevitability. It's telling that a thickness-and-weight-increasing external battery accessory was announced in the same breath as the iPhone Air.

Apple's official acknowledgement of and solution to the battery life issue is a $99 external battery that attaches with MagSafe and charges the phone wirelessly; by Apple's estimates, it adds roughly 13 hours of runtime on top of what you get from the internal battery.

Doesn't this defeat the purpose of having an iPhone Air, I hear you asking? Maybe so! But it is at least a better aesthetic match for the iPhone than a chunky third-party brick, and one that's pretty easy to detach and put away once it's done its job and charged your phone. It has its own separate USB-C port for charging, and a small status light (orange when charging, green when charged) below the Apple logo. The magnetic connection feels sturdy enough that it would be hard to dislodge the battery by accident, but I can't say that it absolutely couldn't fall off if you were trying to jam the phone into a pocket or bag and caught the battery on something.

I can say that the iPhone Air probably isn't for me, because the main things I want from a phone are more battery life and better cameras—I can appreciate something smaller and lighter, but only if it doesn't compromise that other stuff (I got exactly this kind of upgrade when I jumped from an iPhone 13 Pro to a 15 Pro). That's fine—when you introduce four phones at once, you don't need to appeal to every iPhone user with every one of them. But I do wonder whether people will find the Air more convincing than they apparently found the now-departed iPhone mini and iPhone Plus.

The iPhone 17 Pro: Industrial design

Apple's iPhone 17 Pro.

Andrew Cunningham

 

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.

Andrew Cunningham

 

If you look at the iPhone Air and you say, "I would actually take a thicker, heavier phone if it had a bigger battery in it," Apple does already make that phone for you.

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are more of a design departure from the standard iPhones than they have been in years past, with a distinctive aluminum unibody design and a gigantic camera plateau that replaces the old (and already substantial) three-lens camera bump on the older Pros.

Frankly, I'm not in love with the look of this new design—the aluminum unibody design may be good for durability, but it requires Apple to leave cutouts for other wireless-permeable materials all over the phone's body, and the result is a two-tone design and a lumpy profile that gives the impression that form follows function on this one. It's the iPhone equivalent of a polished concrete floor—utilitarian with a trendy veneer. It's a phone I would be happy to put in a case.

It's also a bit disappointing that the iPhone 17 Pro continues the Pro phones' drift back upward in weight—we went from 7.27 ounces to 6.6 ounces from the iPhone 14 Pro to the 15 Pro, then to 7.03 ounces for the 16 Pro, and now right back to 7.27 ounces again. But weight is obviously incidental to other features for many Pro users, and the 17 Pro does at least do cool things that make the increased weight worth it.

The two-toned design, festooned with cutouts, makes the phone look a bit uneven to me.

Andrew Cunningham

 

Another cutout on the top for cellular reception.

Andrew Cunningham

 

The blue color's different sections are somewhat better-matched than the orange one's, but it's still noticeable.

Andrew Cunningham

 

The one feature that's easy to wrap your arms around in just a few minutes with the new phone is the upgraded telephoto camera lens, which shifts to a 48MP sensor that enables Apple's Fusion Camera functionality for telephoto shots for the first time.

If you don't know, the Fusion Camera system shoots 48MP images and then shrinks them to 12 or 24MP, depending on the phone you're using—benefiting from the extra detail captured by the 48MP sensor, but keeping photo sizes manageable. To create "optical zoom," the camera instead crops a native-resolution 12MP image out of the center of that sensor. Quality is reduced somewhat because you lose the benefits of the "pixel binning" process that is used to turn 48MP shots into 12MP or 24MP shots, but you're still capturing native-resolution images without digital zoom.

Adding that to the telephoto lens for the first time doubles the amount of zoom Apple can offer—it starts at 4x zoom, and can go as high as 8x before you start relying on digital zoom.

Standard lens, iPhone 15 Pro.

Andrew Cunningham

 

3x telephoto lens, iPhone 15 Pro.

Andrew Cunningham

 

Default camera lens, iPhone 17 Pro.

Andrew Cunningham

 

4x telephoto lens, iPhone 17 Pro.

Andrew Cunningham

 

4x telephoto lens in 8x mode, iPhone 17 Pro.

Andrew Cunningham

 

We were able to do a bit of shooting with the iPhone 17 Pro's telephoto camera on the Apple Park campus. Compared to my iPhone 15 Pro and its 3x telephoto lens, the default 4x zoom on the iPhone 17 Pro already gets us a little closer, and the 8x zoom option gets you a lot closer. Zoom all the way in to the orange "hello" and you'll notice some fuzziness and less-than-tack-sharp details, but for photo prints or sharing digitally the results are impressive.

The extra weight and unfinished look of the iPhone 17 Pro don't make as good a first impression as the iPhone Air did, but I suspect iPhone Pro users (myself included) will find its larger battery and better camera to be acceptable trade-offs. It will be the easier phone to live with in the long term, in other words.

The iPhone 17: Still the default

In between the industrial chic aesthetic of the iPhone 17 Pro and the lightness of the iPhone Air is the regular iPhone, which looks a whole lot like last year's but might actually get the most noticeable functional upgrades of all three of them.

I'm mainly talking about the ProMotion screen, a 120 Hz OLED display panel with a dynamic refresh rate that can go as low as 1 Hz when the phone isn't being used. Both ProMotion and the always-on screen feature that it enables have been exclusive to the iPhone Pro for years, even as higher-refresh-rate screens have spread through midrange and budget Android phones.

That extra smoothness is tough to give up once you've gotten used to it, and it pairs especially well with the extra motion and bounciness present in Apple's new Liquid Glass interface. Fitting 6.3 inches of screen into a phone the same size as the 6.1-inch iPhone 16 also heightens the edge-to-edge screen effect. And both ProMotion and the larger screen help put some space between the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 16e, Apple's current "budget" offering that comes in just $200 under the price of the regular iPhone.

The other major functional upgrade for people who just walk into the store (or log on to their carrier's website) and buy the default iPhone is that the base model has been bumped up to 256GB of storage, a reasonably generous allotment that should keep you from having too much trouble with gigantic movie files or years-old gigabytes-large iMessage conversations that you just can't bear to delete.

This looks like an iPhone, and it feels like an iPhone, and there's not a lot to convey from a quick hands-on session other than that. In this case, a lack of surprises is a good thing.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 12:59 pm AEST (my time).

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An incoming new iPhone model called the iPhone Air has been one of the worst-kept secrets in tech lately, and now Apple has confirmed it at its annual iPhone reveal event.

The 6.5-inch iPhone 17 Air combines the CPU and GPU of an iPhone Pro with the camera system of a regular iPhone, all in an extra-thin design (5.6 mm), with a treated titanium frame that is likely to appeal to style-conscious users and some business consumers.

Like the iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Air has a ProMotion display with a variable refresh rate up to 120 Hz—something that was reserved for only the Pro iPhones up until this year. The Air's display also has always-on functionality and claims 3,000 nits of peak brightness. It has Apple's new Ceramic Shield 2 protective coating on both the front and the back, which the company claims will make it more durable and anti-reflective.

On the inside, it has the new A19 Pro chip. That includes a 6-core CPU with two performance and four efficiency cores. During its presentation, Apple dedicated much of its time talking about the A19 Pro chip for the Air, hyping up efficiency improvements. Overall, it claims to offer 20 percent better performance than last year's iPhone 16 Pro.

Notably, Apple has added "neural accelerators to each GPU core," offering 3x peak compute compared to the A18 Pro.

The main system-on-a-chip is not the only place where Apple has put the focus on new silicon. There's a new Apple-made chip, dubbed the N1, that handles Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. And there's also the C1X, a cellular modem that succeeds the C1 from just a few months ago; it purports to be twice as fast as before and to use 30 percent less energy than the iPhone 16 Pro.

Of course, to make an iPhone notably thinner, you have to give something up. It looks like the main sacrifice here is going to be the cameras; the iPhone 17 Air appears to use basically the same camera system as the iPhone 17, rather than the most robust system in the iPhone 17 Pro.

That means just one big lens on the back. The rear camera is 48MP but takes 24MP photos by default, and like the other base iPhones, offers 2x zoom using the same sensor with a cropping and machine-learning solution.

The 18MP front camera gets all the same upgrades as the iPhone 17 did, with a wider field-of-view and four different composition options for varied selfie situations.

Oh, and there's one major camera feature that will appeal to streamers and their ilk: You can simultaneously record video with both the selfie cam and the rear camera.

The iPhone 17 Air will exclusively use eSIM worldwide to save on internal space, and Apple was pretty vague when talking about battery life, saying only that it would offer "all-day battery life" despite its thin form factor. It might be telling that the company dedicated part of its presentation to talking about a new, low-profile MagSafe battery attachment, though, and the only specific number it gave was 40 hours of video playback with the MagSafe battery attached.

The iPhone 17 Air will come in four colors. The Air starts at $999 with 256GB of storage. Preorders start this Friday, and the devices will ship on September 19.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 12:57 pm AEST (my time).

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CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple's basic iPhone 17 is the one most people will use, and the new iPhone Air will get attention for its thin design and novelty. But the iPhone Pro series is still the absolute best the company has to offer, and that continues to be true of the new iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max that Apple announced today.

The new phones start at $1,099 and $1,199 for the Pro and Pro Max, respectively, each with 256GB of storage. Preorders start this Friday, and the phones will be available on September 19.

While the best feature of the iPhone 17 is its screen, the screens are virtually the only thing not to be overhauled for the iPhone 17 Pro, though they do get the more scratch-resistant, anti-reflective Ceramic Shield 2 coating. The new designs have a new aluminum unibody enclosure, with a glass cutout on the back to allow for wireless charging and a huge new camera bump that Apple calls the "camera plateau," stretching all the way across the back.

All three of those lenses on the camera plateau are now 48MP Fusion Cameras. At the default zoom levels, these condense 48MP images into smaller photos, using "pixel binning" to improve quality. But at the higher zoom levels—and the telephoto lens can now go up to 8x—the phone can simply crop a native-resolution chunk out of the center of the image, delivering what Apple calls "optical-quality zoom." Apple has used Fusion Cameras for the Pro's other sensors before, but this is new for the telephoto sensor, which Apple says is also 56 percent larger than the old telephoto sensor.

The inside also contains other improvements. A new A19 Pro chip, the same one used in the iPhone Air, includes a six-core CPU with two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, plus a six-core GPU; Apple also said the chip included more memory than the 8GB that came with the iPhone 16 Pro, though it didn't say how much.

That A19 Pro is paired with a new vapor chamber cooling system that uses de-ionized water to move heat away from the processor and dissipate it through the aluminum frame. Apple says that thanks to the combination of the new chip and new cooling system, the A19 Pro in the iPhone 17 Pro has up to 40 percent better sustained performance than the iPhone 16 Pro.

Battery life has also gotten a bump. Thanks to the removal of the physical SIM tray (and the removal of the internal area where a physical SIM tray could go), Apple has squeezed a larger battery into both Pro phones, delivering "the biggest battery in any iPhone." Apple says the battery should be good for up to 39 hours of video playback.

We're on the ground at Apple's product event in Cupertino and will bring you more impressions of the new phones' look and feel later today.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 12:56 pm AEST (my time).

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At its fall product event today, Apple updated its line of smartwatches, including the introduction of features for monitoring blood pressure and analyzing the quality of your sleep.

Apple Watch Series 11

The Apple Watch Series 11.

Credit: Apple

The Apple Watch 11 is supposed to be able to alert users about "possible hypertension" by using data from an optical heart rate sensor "to analyze how a user’s blood vessels respond to the beats of the heart," per its announcement.

According to Apple's presentation, the smartwatch will look for chronic hypertension over 30-day periods. Apple's presentation noted that the Watch Series 11 won't be able to identify all hypertension, but the company said that it expects to notify over 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension during the feature's first year of availability.

The feature is based on machine-learning and training data built from multiple studies examining over 100,000 people combined, Apple noted.

The Watch's hypertension alert.

Credit: Apple

Apple said it expects the blood pressure monitoring feature to receive Food and Drug Administration clearance soon and to get approval in 150 regions this month.

The new watch will use a 5G modem and also introduce a feature that provides wearers with a "sleep score" that's based on the duration of their sleep, the consistency of their bedtime, how often they awaken from their sleep, and how much time they spend in each sleep stage. The Watch will analyze those factors every night and then provide a breakdown of how each score is calculated. The feature is based on an algorithm tested with 5 million nights of sleep data, Apple said.

The new Watch analyzing sleep.

Apple

 

The Watch's sleep score feature.

 

Other updates include the use of INX glass with ceramic coating that's supposed to make the Watch Series 11 two times more scratch-resistant than its predecessor.

The Apple Watch Series 11 is $399.

Apple Watch Ultra 3

Also new this year is the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which also supports hypertension notifications and sleep scores.

Another one of the biggest updates here is the bigger display within the same-size case, created through the use of smaller bezels. Apple didn't confirm the size of the screen, but the Watch Ultra 2's screen is 49×44 mm.

The new OLED screen is also supposed to be brighter when viewed from an angle, compared to its predecessor. Again, we don't have specific numbers yet, but the Ultra Watch 2 claims a max brightness 2,000 nits.

In addition to supporting 5G and satellite connectivity, the Watch Ultra 3 is also supposed to have double the radio and antenna strength of the Watch Ultra 2, thanks to new designs.

Apple's priciest watch also has a bigger battery, with a 42-hour battery life claim. Its predecessor claims up to 36 hours of battery.

The Watch Ultra 3 will be $799.

Apple Watch SE 3

The Apple Watch Se 3 will be available in 40 mm and 44 mm.

Credit: Apple

Finally, Apple is also upgrading its budget Apple Watch SE with an Apple S10 chip, a notable upgrade from the S8 used in the preceding Apple Watch SE 2. With this chip, the Apple Watch SE 3 will be the first Watch SE to have an always-on display.

 

Additionally, the SE 3 will get the ability to track sleep scores and deliver sleep apnea alerts, like the Watch Series 11 can. It also adds the abilities for retrospective ovulation estimates and wrist temperature monitoring, "which can provide insight into overall wellbeing and adds to the other key health metrics available in the Vitals app," Apple's presentation said.

 

Apple's new budget smartwatch has the same 18-hour battery claims as the SE 2 but is supposed to be able to charge twice as fast.

 

The Watch SE 3 is $249.

 

Preorders for the new Apple Watches start today, and the devices will be available on September 19.

 

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 12:54 pm AEST (my time).

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CUPERTINO, Calif.—September means iPhones, and as expected, Apple has taken the wraps off a new iPhone 17 at its event today. The iPhone 17 will start at $799 for a 256GB model. Pre-orders start Friday, and the phones will be available on September 19.

The updated OLED screen is the hero of the iPhone 17, bringing several features to the base iPhone that the iPhone Pro has enjoyed for years. The iPhone 17 steps up from a 6.1-inch to a 6.3-inch display, the same increase that came to the iPhone 16 Pro last year, and Apple has also added 120 Hz ProMotion support to the basic iPhone for the first time.

A 6.3-inch 120 Hz screen is the headlining feature of the new iPhone.

Apple

 

The iPhone 17 is powered by the Apple A19 chip.

Apple

 

The refresh rate adjusts dynamically based on what you're doing, and can go as low as 1 Hz in the low-power always-on display mode. Apple has also improved the scratch-resistance of the display with Ceramic Shield 2, which the company says is three times as scratch-resistant as the old screen. The screen can also hit 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness.

Helping to power that new screen is an updated Apple A19 chip. It still uses a 6-core CPU with two large cores and four smaller efficiency cores, a 16-core Neural Engine, and a 5-core GPU that Apple says is about 20 percent faster than the one in the Apple A18.

The camera system also gets a fairly substantial upgrade, though it's still short of what Apple ships in its Pro phones. The two-lens camera system includes a 48MP main sensor that's also capable of 2x telephoto shots thanks to the Fusion Camera feature, as well as a 48MP wide-angle camera. The front-facing camera has also been given a new 18MP Center Stage sensor that's nearly twice as large as the old one, and it's square instead of rectangular, so Apple can offer the same framing options regardless of whether you're shooting in portrait or landscape mode.

Apple says the new iPhone should also deliver better battery life, at least in some cases—up to eight additional hours of video playback compared to the iPhone 16.

As predicted, Apple has discontinued the large-sized iPhone Plus, leaving the iPhone available in just one 6.3-inch size. Its body comes in five colors: lavender, blue, white, black, and sage.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 12:53 pm AEST (my time).

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Apple's popular AirPods Pro in-ear headphones are getting a substantial upgrade. The new model, dubbed AirPods Pro 3, greatly improves active noise cancellation (ANC), performs live translations, and tracks your heart rate like a fitness wearable.

This will have to be subjected to third-party testing, but Apple made some intriguing claims about AirPods Pro 3's performance during its iPhone and Apple Watch announcement today. Namely, that they'll have twice the ANC performance as AirPods Pro 2 and four times as much as the original AirPods Pro.

Additionally, Apple claims that voices will sound "more natural" in Transparency, the mode meant to allow nearby sounds to be heard even while you have the earbuds in. Those who've used earlier iterations of Transparency will likely note that voices can sound a little bit filtered, so that could be a nice-to-have improvement.

Those upgrades come alongside better promised battery life, too. Apple says AirPods Pro 3 will last up to eight hours while listening to music with ANC, and up to 10 hours in transparency with the hearing aid mode enabled.

That about covers it for upgrades to existing AirPods Pro features, but there are two major new features in AirPods 3.

Apple's presentation ventured into what was once sci-fi territory with live translation via Apple Intelligence, which is basically Star Trek's universal translator—just a little bit clunkier. When you turn it on, the AirPods will listen to people around you speaking a different language, and a synthesized voice will translate the phrases they're saying as they come in.

As before, you can also hold your phone's Translate app up for someone to see and speak in your own language to see it translated to text on the screen for them.

It gets even stranger when two people each with AirPods Pro 3 are speaking with each other; in that case, everything both ways is translated via that synthesized voice in their ears.

Back in the realm of classic tech functionality, Apple also says AirPods Pro 3 will now have a heart rate sensor for use during workouts—and that will come with some of the same kind of Health and Fitness app integration (and workout tracking) capabilities you get with an Apple Watch.

There's a new sensor in the earbuds, and that, in tandem with the accelerometer and machine-learning algorithms, allows for the calculation of your heart rate. To accompany that feature, Apple has upgraded the AirPods Pro's sweat and water resistance to IP57.

There are now five different sizes for AirPods Pro 3.

Apple

 

Here's Apple's summary sheet for the new AirPods Pro.

Apple

 

Lastly, AirPods Pro 3 claims to be the "most stable and best-fitting AirPods ever," thanks to both a subtle redesign and the fact that ear tip attachments now come in five sizes instead of three.

Like their predecessors, the new AirPods Pro will retail for $249. Preorders start today, and AirPods Pro 3 will ship and become available in stores on September 19.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 12:52 pm AEST (my time).

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Apple just announced the AirPods Pro 3, the first major update to the product in three years. Apple is introducing a new heart rate sensor in the AirPods Pro 3, as well as improved active noise cancellation (ANC), and a live translation feature. You’ll be able to preorder the AirPods Pro 3 today for $249, and they’ll start shipping on September 19th.

Apple is upgrading the audio quality in AirPods Pro 3, with a widened sound stage and improved noise cancellation. Apple says the AirPods Pro 3 will deliver the “world’s best ANC,” thanks to foam-infused ear tips for greater noise isolation. Apple claims this will enable twice the ANC than the previous generation of AirPods Pro, and “deliver the world’s best ANC of any in-ear wireless headphones.”

The new AirPods Pro 3 ear tips.

Image: Apple

 

Perhaps the biggest upgrade on the AirPods Pro 3 will be the new heart rate sensor. Apple is using its smallest heart rate sensor on the AirPods Pro 3, which is a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that “shines invisible infrared light pulsed at 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow.”

The sensor works with the AirPods Pro accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS, and a new on-device AI model on an iPhone to track heart rate, calories burned, and activity. There’s also a new workout experience, Workout Buddy, in the iPhone fitness app that uses Apple Intelligence to track workout data and fitness history.

The AirPods Pro 3 heart rate sensor.

Image: Apple

 

Apple is also bringing a new live translation feature to the AirPods Pro 3. ANC will lower the volume of the speaker and play audio back to you in your own language. “When enabled, Live Translation helps users understand another language and communicate with others by speaking naturally with AirPods,” explains Apple. “To interact with someone who doesn’t have this hands-free capability, there’s an option to use iPhone as a horizontal display, showing the live transcription of what the user is saying in the other person’s preferred language.”

Apple is also improving how AirPods Pro 3 fit in people’s ears. Apple says it has analyzed more than 10,000 3D ear scans and made each AirPod Pro smaller. The design is shaped to better fit inside the ear canal, and there are now five sizes of ear tips. Apple has even made the AirPods Pro 3 more durable, with IP57 sweat and water resistance.

In addition to the AirPods Pro 3, Apple is also bringing several new features to its AirPods with the release of iOS 26 this fall. AirPods will be able to be used as a camera remote for the camera app in iOS 26, and AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 will now support studio-quality audio for songs, videos, podcasts, and more. Apple is also improving the call quality in iOS 26 for AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2, as well improving charging reminders and pausing audio if you fall asleep.

All of the new AirPods Pro 3 features.

Image: Apple

 

Apple last made a major update to its AirPods Pro line with the second-generation debut three years ago, with improvements to sound quality, noise cancellation, and a built-in speaker in the charging case. Apple then updated the AirPods Pro 2 in 2023 with dust resistance and a USB-C charging case instead of the company’s Lightning port.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 3:55 am AEST (my time).

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Arguably the most famous Android launcher just lost its founder and original developer. Kevin Barry, who has been the only person working on Nova Launcher for the past year, has announced that he has left Branch and is no longer involved with Nova Launcher.

Nova Launcher has been considered one of the best Android launchers for years. Its customization options and excellent performance made it stand out in the crowded launcher space. The app has stagnated lately, but it undoubtedly has earned a place in history. Many features you see on modern launchers were inspired by Nova Launcher.

Branch Metrics, a mobile analytics company, acquired Nova in 2022. At the time, former CEO Alex Austin said that Nova Launcher would be open-sourced if Barry left the company. With a new CEO in charge of Branch, it's unclear if that will still occur.

Barry has, however, been preparing Nova Launcher to be open-sourced. He shared the following in a farewell post:

"For the past several months I have been preparing the Open Source release of Nova Launcher. This work included cleaning up the codebase, reviewing licenses, removing or replacing proprietary code, and coordinating with legal to ensure a proper release. When Branch acquired Nova in 2022, Branch then-CEO and founder Alex Austin made several public commitments to the community about Nova's future."

Barry has since been asked to stop working on the launcher, including work to make the app open source.

A Change.org petition has been created to make Nova Launcher open source, though it only had 3,011 votes at the time of publication.

Shake to Summarize is now rolling out to Firefox users on iOS. The feature is simple: in TLDR cases (too long, didn't read), shake your iPhone a bit (don't drop it), and Firefox will generate a summary of your webpage. Alternatively, you can tap the thunderbolt icon in the address bar or tap three dots > Summarize Page. Mozilla says that page summarization works with articles up to 5,000 words. Here is what the company says about the new feature:

On mobile, browsing often means quick checks on small screens, squeezed in between everything else you’re doing. We built Shake to Summarize on iOS to give you a clear summary with one move. That way, you can get what you need more easily and keep going.

Here is what the page summarization looks like on Firefox for iOS:

Mozilla understands that privacy is very important for its audience, so it provided more details on how Shake to Summarize works. On the iPhone 15 Pro or newer with iOS 26 and newer, Firefox generates page summaries using Apple Intelligence with on-device processing. If you have an older iPhone or one running iOS 18 or older, Firefox will send the page text to Mozilla's cloud-based AI, which creates the summary and sends it back.

Shake to Summarize will start rolling out to iPhone users today. Initially, the feature is only available on English systems in the United States. If you want to learn more about this feature, Firefox has a dedicated support page with all the details about page summarization and the available settings on iOS.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 3:47 am AEST (my time).

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A Weibo leaker, who goes by the name Instant Digital, said that Apple will launch the AirPods Pro 3 in the second half of the year. Apple will follow up next year with a second, upgraded version of AirPods Pro 3, featuring one key difference: a tiny infrared camera.

This corroborates a recent post from supply chain analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, who said that a "more significant hardware upgrade with the IR camera-equipped model is anticipated in 2026." The Weibo leaker's post offers more clarity on the launch schedule, suggesting that the upgraded version will not be called AirPods Pro 4.

Looking back a few pages in Apple's history, it's unlikely the iPhone-maker will maintain just a year's gap between AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Pro 4. Apple launched AirPods Pro in 2019, followed by AirPods Pro 2 in 2022. The company has since pushed a platter of new updates, including USB-C support, dust resistance, Hearing Aid, and the ability to turn AirPods into a camera remote.

It was previously reported that the infrared cameras on the upcoming AirPods Pro will power air gestures. If it turns out to be true, it would be a step up from the head gestures Apple introduced on the AirPods Pro 2.

Apple might ditch the pressure-based squeeze controls seen in the current models for air gestures, as per the leaker, who added that Apple might charge a premium for the next year's advanced version of AirPods Pro 3, possibly exceeding $280.

It remains to be seen whether the Cupertino giant sells both models side-by-side. It won't be a first for the company as it's already doing the same with AirPods 4, which were launched in two variants last year.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 1:59 pm AEST (my time).

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Historically, making a thin phone meant trading the usual battery for one that's slimmer and less robust. And what good is a thin phone with poor battery life? Up-and-coming silicon-carbon battery technology may be the answer.

The technology has been creeping into view. It has been in research for decades, and it's already in use with notable products. The Whoop fitness trackers have had a silicon-carbon battery since 2021. Chinese phone brands Xiaomi and Honor have more recently used the tech in their phones; OnePlus employs it in the OnePlus 13, and even Nothing embraced it in its new Phone (3). So far, the technology's application has been split by form factor, with folding phones enjoying thinner designs and candy bar phones earning bigger battery capacities

Apple is expected to debut the iPhone 17 Air this week, and it's rumored to be a mere 5.5 mm thick, making it the slimmest iPhone ever. The company may be using a silicon-carbon battery to ensure it can get close to or match the battery life you'd expect from a modern-day iPhone.

Most phones are somewhere between 8 to 9 millimeters thick. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is 8.2 mm, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 8.25 mm, and the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL is 8.5 mm. But phone makers have been shedding millimeters like it's nobody's business, and 2025 has seen a blossoming of super-slim devices.

This past spring, Samsung introduced the Galaxy S25 Edge, merely 5.8 mm. The even more recent Galaxy Z Fold7 is impressively 4.2 mm when unfolded, but Huawei's tri-folding phone, the Mate XT Ultimate, beats it at 3.6 mm unfolded. Smaller brands like Tecno are getting in on the action, teasing a super-thin phone at MWC 2025, and subsequently announcing a 5.93-mm handset.

It's not the first time that phone makers have chased thinness as a feature. The early 2010s saw a similar race from the same players; at Apple's 2012 September event, the first words about the iPhone 5 were that it was "the thinnest phone we have ever made,” and at 7.6 mm thick, Apple went so far as to call it the world's thinnest smartphone at the time. We've even seen thinner since: the Oppo R5 from 2014 was 4.85 mm.

With the new thinness wars, only a select few of these companies are utilizing silicon-carbon batteries so far, like Huawei and Honor. Samsung seems to be more cautious, opting to use a standard lithium-ion battery and finding ways to make its display more power-efficient to make up for the smaller battery capacity. (Given the company's history with batteries, it's understandable.) But these tweaks weren't enough—the Edge's battery life is still lackluster.

So what exactly is a silicon-carbon battery, and how could it impact the iPhone 17 Air?

In a lithium-ion battery, lithium ions travel from the anode to the cathode as your phone discharges during use. When you charge your device, those ions travel from the cathode back to the anode, and rinse and repeat. The anode is usually made of graphite.

A “silicon-carbon battery” is actually a misnomer. These batteries are still lithium-ion batteries; however, the graphite anode has been replaced with a silicon-carbon anode. Silicon can store approximately 10 times the number of lithium ions by weight than graphite, according to Rick Luebbe. He's the CEO of Group14, one of the top companies in the silicon battery space. Other players include Enovix, Sila Nanotechnologies, and Nexeon.

The graphite anode takes up a large amount of space in a typical lithium-ion battery—around 60 percent, Luebbe says, depending on the battery design. A silicon anode takes up less space in the battery, resulting in the ability for a higher energy density by expanding the cathode.

It's worth noting that a company like Group14 or Sila isn't actually making the battery; these silicon anodes are what is known as a drop-in product. “We are powder makers—magic black powder,” Luebbe says. The powdered silicon-carbon anode is sent to battery manufacturers like ATL, which produces batteries for smartphones and laptops. A company like ATL can simply replace its graphite powder with the silicon-carbon mixture without disruption.

A phone maker can take one of two approaches. You can make your smartphone roughly the same thickness as before, but now increase the energy capacity of the battery, like the OnePlus 13. That could ensure longer battery runtime. Or, since the battery doesn't need to be as large anymore, you can keep roughly the same energy capacity as prior models and take advantage of the space savings to slim the phone down.

Manufacturers like Honor, OnePlus, and Nothing use silicon-carbon in their latest candy bar phones. These devices maintain their standard thickness for the most part and feature increased battery capacities. For example, the OnePlus 13 has a bigger 6,000-mAh battery and is thinner than its predecessor, but its 8.5 mm thickness is on par with most traditional phones.

Apple has taken the second approach with caveats. Rumors suggest the iPhone 17 Air's battery capacity will sit around 2,900 mAh, a steep drop from prior iPhone models, especially at the 6.6-inch screen size. But the company is supposedly making up for it with power-saving tricks to make sure battery life remains similar to other iPhones, including Apple's more efficient C1 modem that debuted on the iPhone 16e earlier this year.

Luebbe declined to comment on whether Group14’s silicon-carbon composite is being used in the iPhone 17 Air's batteries; Sila Nanotechnologies and Enovix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The problem with silicon batteries is that they expand. When you lithiate raw silicon, Luebbe says it can expand up to three times its initial volume. Lithium-ion batteries also swell; you've probably heard of or maybe even experienced this, as it can happen for a myriad of reasons. It means something has gone wrong, and the battery is now a safety risk.

It's this problem that researchers and companies have spent decades trying to solve, and the solution lies in the carbon part of the name. It starts to get a bit technical here—and each silicon anode company has its own proprietary process—but Luebbe says Group14's approach is to start with a porous carbon material.

“Imagine a carbon sponge, but the pores of that sponge are on the single-digit molecule wide, we're talking less than 10 nanometers wide,” he says. These pores are filled with silane gas (the silicon), but only about halfway. The particle you're left with is made up of silicon, carbon, and void space. When the lithium ions head over from the cathode to the anode and the silicon lithiates, it expands to fill the void spaces of the particle.

“It mitigates the expansion at the particle level, so the battery doesn't see the expansion, so it stabilizes the battery, and you get excellent cycle life," Luebbe says. "That's the critical insight in the invention: really learning how to internalize that expansion, so that it's insulated from the battery chemistry and mechanical operations.”

Vincent Chevrier has been a researcher in the silicon field for 15 years and is a partner at battery consulting firm Cyclikal. He says while silicon is here to stay as a material to be used in lithium-ion batteries, there are still a few challenges for broader adoption, namely cost.

Companies like Group14 use silane gas instead of solid silicon, which yields better battery performance, but could be 10 times the cost. That could make it harder to sell their composite to battery makers, and it could drive up the prices of consumer electronics. The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to cost around $1,099, a potential $200 bump from the iPhone 16 Plus it's expected to replace, though there could be other factors affecting its price, like tariffs.

Chevrier also says he often sees silicon-carbon makers inflate the energy density claims. Group14, for example, says on its website that its silicon batteries can deliver up to 50 percent more energy density than conventional lithium-ion batteries. But if the material is just dropped in to replace graphite and not much else is changed with the battery, you're more likely going to see a 10 percent boost in energy density with a switch to a silicon-carbon anode. Redesign the battery cell, and then it'd be possible to see an increase of up to 30 percent.

Silicon-carbon batteries also have worse cycle life than graphite. That's how many full charge to discharge cycles (zero to 100 percent) a battery goes through before its capacity degrades below 80 percent. In terms of the energy efficiency of silicon—how much of the energy put in the battery ends up as heat and how much is stored as energy—Chevrier says “more energy is lost to heat than graphite.”

Graphite could have the potential to achieve 5,000 charge cycles, whereas Group14's composite sits at 1,000 cycles, or about 3 years, depending on how often you fully charge the phone. However, Chevrier points out that current batteries with graphite anodes do not hit 5,000 charge cycles because companies like Apple cram higher energy density, which stresses the battery but keeps the phone operating throughout the day. That's why the iPhone's battery doesn't last as long as it did after two years of use. iPhone 16 batteries can retain 80 percent of their capacity at 1,000 charge cycles. Switching to silicon-carbon may not necessarily make much of a difference in the lifecycle of the battery, despite claims otherwise.

So It Goes

The crucial thing to remember is that despite the advances in batteries over the years, including silicon-carbon anodes, new technologies arrive at the same time to claim a slice of that excess power. The growing list of artificial intelligence features running locally on phones is increasing, and they'll happily sip up more power if they can get it. That means you may not enjoy longer battery life even if a device maker stuffs in a silicon-carbon anode and expands battery capacity.

In the case of the iPhone 17 Air, Apple is taking the space-saving advantage of silicon-carbon anodes and experimenting with a thin and lightweight design to see if consumers will bite, without resorting to a smaller screen. It could also prove to be a testing ground for a future folding iPhone—Apple would ensure it won't be dramatically thicker than a traditional iPhone.

Whether or not the company will succeed in delivering just the right amount of battery life in this design will have to wait until we can finally take the Air out for a spin.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 3:00 am AEST (my time).

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Since the pandemic in 2020, Apple has switched to a virtual-first approach for its events, livestreaming a pre-recorded keynote instead of announcing products in front of a real audience. This allows the Cupertino giant to have more control over the narrative and present products with better visual appeal.

The Awe Dropping event is expected to go about in a similar way. However, the company does invite a limited number of people, including members of the press, to watch the livestream at Apple Park.

Apple will kickstart the iPhone 17 launch event on September 9 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 5 PM GMT / 10:30 PM IST / 6 PM BST, depending on your timezone. You'll be able to watch the official livestream on Apple's YouTube channel, Apple.com, and the Apple TV app. You can also return to this story once the livestream starts.

Just like every year, there are a lot of expectations from Apple this time. It's another story that the company has been struggling to fulfill its promises from last year and is getting mocked by its rivals.

Apple is expected to release four models this year: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the new iPhone 17 Air. The Air would be Apple's ultra-thin and portable answer to the Galaxy S25 Edge and a replacement to the 'Plus' model.

However, rumors around the Air suggest that its hardware features might turn out to be a deal breaker for some. As per previous reports, iPhone 17 Air will come fitted with a single rear camera and a smaller battery to compensate for the thinness. Let's hope it doesn't become another reason for an apology for Apple this time.

There are contradictory rumors regarding the Dynamic Island, where supply chain analyst Ming Chi-Kuo expects it to remain "largely unchanged." On the other hand, more recent rumors claim Apple will shrink the Dynamic Island on its Pro iPhones. It's said that the iPhone 17 series will feature more RAM and kick off a three-year cycle of major design changes.

AirPods Pro will likely get a version upgrade after three years, introducing a new heart rate sensor that we've already seen on the PowerBeats Pro 2. Apple Watch Ultra, Watch SE, and Apple TV 4K have also been sitting without an upgrade for the last few years now, but it could change this time. Features like blood pressure monitoring and a revamped Health app are reportedly on the radar for this year's Apple Watch upgrade.

Image via DepositPhotos.com

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 2:56 am AEST (my time).

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There’s probably a lot of market research out there by fancy people who analyze consumer data trying to answer one question: Why do people choose an iPhone? Is it a reputation for better privacy? Long-term reliability? Targeted ad campaigns? I think it’s a lot simpler than anyone wants to acknowledge: Their previous iPhone no longer works.

They’re fed up with an aging battery, or they’re tired of a dated processor chugging through app screens. Maybe their previous iPhone ate it altogether. They’ll pick up whatever-number-we’re-on-now (soon to be 17, with a supposedly “awe dropping” reveal tomorrow) because they like their old phone well enough. It’s familiar and reliable, so why change things up? The point is: Most people are buying an iPhone out of habit, rather than as the result of a conscious decision.

I think five or seven years ago, the choice to buy an iPhone was more of an active one. People really liked what the iPhone offered — a robust app ecosystem, a streamlined operating system, and an excellent camera. But over the past decade, the list of things you “need” an iPhone for has gotten shorter as Android has caught up. You can even get a Pixel phone with what is essentially MagSafe these days.

The standard iPhone 17 might be the only one that substantially resembles its predecessor.

Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

To be sure, that’s partially the reality of a mature product category. The appearance of must-have upgrades has slowed down, and people are buying phones less frequently than they used to as a result. But even if the pace of innovation has declined and people are holding on to their phones longer, shouldn’t a phone that’s four or five years newer than the one you’re trading in feel like a real upgrade?

It looks like there’s good news on that front. Rumors point to some significant upgrades for the base model 17, like the long-awaited addition of a ProMotion screen. The features Apple has slowly trickled out over the last few years — Dynamic Island and Camera Control — haven’t exactly set the world on fire, but the compounding effect might make them feel like more substantial upgrades in the hands of, say, an iPhone 13 owner.

Beyond the base model, it seems that Apple is taking some bigger swings. Rumors point to a significant redesign for the Pro phones: the camera bump will stretch out, we’ll get a vibrant orange color option, and the Plus model will slim down into a strikingly thin iPhone Air. If that’s all accurate, there won’t be any risk that you’ll mistake an iPhone 14 Pro for a 17 Pro. Not to mention that the 17 will be the first time many people get a look at Liquid Glass, the new design language in iOS 26. The polarizing, slightly sci-fi redesign leans into a future where augmented reality demands more transparent UX elements. It calls attention to itself in a way that Apple’s previous iOS designs have shied away from.

Is the sum of all these upgrades an iPhone that will get people excited to upgrade? I doubt it, but maybe that’s not the point. More likely, it’ll signal to the people already resigned to upgrading their old iPhones to a new iPhone that there’s something fresh waiting for them, even if many of the year-over-year changes are superficial.

And then there’s what’s not here. It feels like the smarter that Siri we were supposed to have by now — the one with AI that’ll make your life easier, etc. — is the missing guest of honor. This was Apple’s big attempt at not just a new feature, but a whole new way to use your phone. What’s rolled out of Apple Intelligence hasn’t offered much, and the biggest promises still aren’t ready.

Even without it, the snowball effect of the last few years’ worth of feature upgrades — plus some bold new visuals — might make potential buyers sit up and take notice. But a keen observer might find the overhaul a little shallow; a flashy makeover that only goes skin deep. Will it be “awe dropping?” I don’t know about that. But for most people? I bet it’ll be just enough.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 2:55 am AEST (my time).

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Before this update, Live Photos were sent as static images or low-quality GIFs, stripping them of their sound. The new functionality provides users with a more authentic and immersive experience.

When a Live Photo is shared, a small Live Photo icon will appear on the thumbnail. Recipients can tap a dedicated button to view the photo in live mode, which plays back the content’s correct movement and audio. If the user saves a received Live Photo to their gallery, it’ll be preserved as a Live Photo within the iOS Photos app.

With this update, WhatsApp is ensuring this feature is compatible across different operating systems. When an Android user receives a Live Photo, it will appear as a motion photo on their device. Neowin covered the fact that WhatsApp for Android was implementing motion photo support a month ago.

When an Android user sends a motion photo to an iOS user, it will appear as a Live Photo. This seamless conversion across the two platforms will help to eliminate fragmentation and ensure that users don’t need to worry about compatibility issues when sharing dynamic photos between devices. If you do want to remove the motion, then there’s the option to send the photo as a static image using a new toggle in the gallery sheet.

The feature is currently restricted to a limited number of users as part of a controlled test. Access is available to a limited number of beta testers who have installed the most up-to-date version of the WhatsApp beta for iOS from the TestFlight app. Interestingly, WABetaInfo says that some stable users have also received the feature.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 2:54 am AEST (my time).

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One of them is about the rumored Crossbody Strap for iPhone 17, courtesy of the leaker Sonny Dickson. The leaker has shared images of what is claimed to be an orange-colored Crossbody Strap.

The unreleased iPhone 17 accessory has been on the rumor mill in recent months. It will reportedly feature a magnetic system to support iPhone 17 cases and a flexible magnetic metal core along its entire strap length, allowing users to easily attach and detach it. It's believed that the Crossbody Strap might also work with AirPods Pro 3 in addition to the rumored TechWoven cases for the iPhone 17 series.

For those wondering how much battery juice the iPhone 17 series will have, here is some tea from leaker ShrimpApplePro. The leaker published an image on X, revealing the alleged battery capacities for each model in the iPhone 17 series based on the Chinese regulatory database:

• iPhone 17 Pro Max: 4,823 mAh (with SIM card tray), 5,088 mAh
• iPhone 17 Pro: 3,988 mAh (with SIM card tray), 4,252 mAh
• iPhone 17: 3,692 mAh (not specified)
• iPhone 17 Air: 3,036 mAh (with SIM card tray), 3,149 mAh

Apple sells iPhone models with a SIM card tray or eSIM-only, depending on the region. For instance, iPhone models sold in the US no longer come fitted with a physical SIM card. The shared document mentions two battery capacities because the absence of a SIM card tray makes room for a bigger battery.

The iPhone 17 Air is going to be one of the highlights this year. However, Apple is reportedly focusing on thinness and portability at the cost of battery life. While the iPhone 17 Air is expected to sit between the Pro and standard models, its rumored inferior camera setup could make it a less convincing deal.

Of course, Apple's Awe Dropping event won't be limited to the iPhone 17 series. AirPods Pro 3 are expected to share the stage with the latest iPhones after a three-year wait. Supply chain analyst Ming Chi-Kuo said he expects AirPods Pro 3 to launch in the second half of 2025, without specifying a launch date or specific features.

Apple was previously spotted testing health sensors and introduced a heart-rate sensor in the Powerbeats Pro 2. The upgrade is expected to be included in this year's Pro model. The analyst added that "a more significant hardware upgrade with the IR camera-equipped model is anticipated in 2026."

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 2:52 am AEST (my time).

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As Mark Gurman noted in this week’s Power On newsletter, the announcement of the iPhone 17 Air recalls the debut of the MacBook Air in 2008, when Apple introduced a new MacBook lineup emphasizing thinness and portability.

While the first-generation MacBook Air offered perks such as a multitouch trackpad and a slimmer design, it also had notable drawbacks, including mediocre battery life and compromised hardware. On top of that, it was $700 more expensive than a high-end regular MacBook.

Yet, history has a way of repeating itself, and the first-generation MacBook Air story could very well repeat itself with the iPhone 17 Air. Apple is going to launch an iPhone model that is focused on thinness and portability, but it comes with drawbacks like a smaller battery and a single rear camera.

As for the price, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to sit between the standard and Pro iPhone 17 models. It might be more expensive than a standard iPhone 17, yet still a few hundred dollars cheaper than the iPhone 17 Pro. A standard iPhone 17 offers a better battery and camera setup than the Air model, while remaining more affordable.

Apple’s main challenge in marketing the iPhone 17 Air will be convincing customers to pay a few hundred dollars more for a device that, in many ways, is a downgrade compared to the standard iPhone 17, but it just offers improved portability.

Looking ahead, the iPhone 17 Air could establish a thin design as the standard for future iPhone generations. Future iterations may also address current shortcomings. Apple may be aiming to offer us a glimpse of what’s to come in the coming years with the iPhone 17 Air.

What do you think about the iPhone 17 Air? Do you think it’s worth spending money on? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Posted Monday 8 September 2025 at 3:44 am AEST (my time).

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A social media user (@that_one_g3) shared images on X (via MacRumors), claiming the Dynamic Island on Pro models will shrink to 1.5cm, down from 2cm on the iPhone 16 Pro.

The user claims to work for a company that makes iPhone screen protectors. However, their information should be taken with a grain of salt, given the lack of proven leaks and rumors in the past.

Dynamic Island has been around since the iPhone 14 Pro launched in 2022, a replacement for the traditional notch in previous iPhone models. In addition to hiding Face ID hardware and giving you more screen, Apple has also built its UI around Dynamic Island with fancy animations.

You can check and interact with notifications and current activities, such as AirDrop progress, Voice Memo recording, and directions on Maps. On iOS 18, the Dynamic Island offers several customization options when you turn on the flashlight.

That said, it's not the first time that rumors about a smaller Dynamic Island for the iPhone 17 Pro models have appeared online. Last year, analyst Jeff Pu speculated that the iPhone 17 Pro Max would feature a smaller and narrower Dynamic Island.

Apple could use a "metalens" to cram the Face ID hardware into a compact Dynamic Island, according to the analyst, who updated their stance earlier this year and said that all iPhone 17 models will get the hardware update.

In another report, a reliable Chinese leaker said that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will get a smaller Dynamix Island. However, a contradiction came from known Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, who expects that the Dynamic Island might remain "largely unchanged" in 2025.

Apple has already circulated the invitation for its 'Awe Dropping' event on September 9, where the Cupertino giant is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 Air and newer versions of Apple Watch Ultra and SE.

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Posted Saturday 6 September 2025 at 3:27 am AEST (my time).

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Of course, the Galaxy S25 FE uses AI as one of its selling points with multimodal AI agents and personalized insights. It brings features from flagship Galaxy devices while making a smaller hole in your pocket.

Here are the official specifications of the Galaxy S25 FE:

The Galaxy S25 is packed with Samsung's suite of Galaxy AI features, including Generative Edit, Instant Slow-mo, Audio Eraser, Audio Trim, Super HDR in video, Photo Assist, Now Bar, Now Brief, and more. It also supports Gemini Live to have natural language conversations with Google's multimodal AI chatbot.

Samsung has fitted an upgraded 12MP front camera on the device, which works with the ProVisual Engine to improve selfies with low noise mode. The device has a 4,900mAh battery and a vapor chamber that is 10% bigger than that of the Galaxy S24 FE for improved cooling and performance during resource-heavy tasks and fast charging with its 45W adapter, which is sold separately.

The device comes with Samsung's Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP) security feature introduced in July. It "creates encrypted, app-specific storage environments within the device’s secure storage area, ensuring that each app can access only its own sensitive information," Samsung explained.

The Galaxy S25 FE is now available in select markets. In the US, its unlocked variant comes with a starting price tag of $649.99 (128 GB) and offers six months of free Google AI Pro plan. Samsung is running a limited-time offer giving a free storage upgrade to the 256GB variant with this price.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 3:18 am AEST (my time).

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There are two variants of this generation of tablets from the company, the regular Tab S11 and the Tab S11 Ultra, both of which are powered by One UI 8 (Android 16) and feature things like Gemini Live, which lets you have a real-time conversation with the AI about what is on your screen. You can even point your camera at something and ask Gemini questions about it. Other AI goodies include Writing Assist and Drawing Assist.

Speaking of Writing and Drawing, Samsung has redesigned the S Pen, removing support for Bluetooth. This means that the old Air Actions for remote control no longer work. The new pen now rests on the top edge of the tablet for charging instead of at the back like previous generations. The pen has a new hexagonal shape, and according to Samsung, its new cone-shaped tip allows for greater tilt angles.

Moving on to the internals, both the Tab S11 (11-inch) and Tab S11 Ultra (14.6-inch) are powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+. The Ultra model gets either 12GB or 16GB of RAM, while the regular model sticks to 12GB.

Both tablets feature a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate and can hit 1,600 nits of peak brightness. For cameras, the Tab S11 has a single 13MP rear shooter, whereas the Ultra gets a 13MP main and an 8MP ultrawide. Both share the same 12MP ultrawide front camera. Here's a detailed spec sheet comparing the two models.

Multitasking is one of the biggest reasons people get tablets, and Samsung has overhauled the DeX experience, but it comes with a change that you might not like. There's now this feature within the upgraded DeX called Extended Mode, which transforms the Tab S11 and an external monitor into a proper dual-screen setup.

You can drag and drop apps between your tablet and the secondary display, something that was previously off the table. The potentially unwelcome change comes from the on-tablet DeX mode. Now, instead of making the tablet's own screen look and feel like a Windows or ChromeOS desktop, DeX on its own just opens apps in pop-up windows over the regular Android home screen. Samsung also said that you can create up to four separate, customized workspaces.

The Galaxy Tab S11 and Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra are now available starting September 4th, starting at $799.99 and $1,199.99, respectively.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 3:13 am AEST (my time).

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Apple is expected to launch four different models at its 'Awe Dropping' event next week, namely the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the iPhone 17 Air, marking its entry into the ultra-thin smartphone category following Samsung.

The firm said that Apple will fit a 12GB RAM chip inside Air, Pro, and Pro Max models, based on "current market information and analyst projections." Meanwhile, the base iPhone 17 will come with 8GB RAM, which was standard across the iPhone 16 lineup from last year.

This goes in line with previous information supplied by analysts Jeff Pu and Ming Chi-Kuo, who also said that the base model iPhone 17 will retain 8GB RAM. Having more RAM on the device should translate to better performance for Apple Intelligence and other features.

iPhone 17 series shipments are projected to go up by 3.5% compared to the iPhone 16 lineup. Apple is reportedly gearing up for a three-year redesign cycle, starting with the iPhone 17. The analytics firm said that upgrades to processor performance, thermal management, and imaging capabilities will stimulate demand.

Apple expects to ship around 8 to 10 million iPhone 17 units in 2025 and 20 to 25 million in 2026, according to its internal projections reported by Kuo. Moreover, a recently published survey highlights that iPhone owners' interest in buying the upcoming device has increased from last year.

Previous leaks suggest there might be minimal visual difference between Apple's slimmest iPhone and other models apart from the thickness. The entire iPhone 17 series is expected to get a 24MP front camera upgrade. While the Cupertino giant is tight-lipped about the upcoming design changes, an eagle-eyed user shared images of a mysterious smartphone speculated to be the iPhone 17 Pro.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 3:12 am AEST (my time).

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