Apple Releases iPhone 17 Series with Ultra-Thin iPhone Air Model
Apple dropped its iPhone 17 series Tuesday at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. Four new models hit the lineup, including the iPhone Air – Apple’s skinniest smartphone ever at just 5.6mm thick.
Nearly six million people tuned into the livestream within two hours. “We’re taking the biggest leap ever for iPhone,” CEO Tim Cook told the crowd.
Singapore gets the new phones on September 19. Pre-orders kick off September 12 at 8pm. Apple also rolled out new AirPods Pro 3 and three Apple Watch models during the same event.
iPhone Air Steals the Show with Titanium Build
The iPhone Air costs US$999 (roughly S$1,282 to S$1,599 depending on what you pick). It rocks a “space grade” titanium body. This marks the first major iPhone design shake-up since the iPhone X dropped in 2017.
Apple calls it their toughest iPhone yet. The device runs on the A19 Pro processor chip. Apple fine-tuned this chip for better energy efficiency and performance to work with the phone’s skinnier profile and high-density battery.
“This is MacBook Pro levels of compute, in an iPhone,” chip executive Tim Millet explained.
The iPhone Air comes in white, gold, black, and sky blue. It packs two cameras and ditches the physical SIM card slot completely. More room for battery this way.
This phone uses eSIM only. The device includes a new “N1” chip for Wi-Fi and “C1X” modem for cellular data. Apple previously relied on Broadcom and Qualcomm for these functions. Both companies saw their shares drop 2.3% and 1.1% after Apple’s announcement.
The iPhone Air replaces Apple’s mid-range iPhone 16 Plus, which cost US$899. Apple discontinued that model.
Base iPhone 17 Doubles Storage at Same Price
The base iPhone 17 starts at US$799 for 256GB. Same price as the previous iPhone 16, but you get double the storage. The display got better with a higher refresh rate and slightly larger screen. The phone size stays the same though.
This model features a 48-megapixel dual fusion camera system. That’s four times the resolution compared to iPhone 16. The screen got brighter and more scratch-resistant thanks to “ceramic shield 2” technology. Apple says devices become three times more scratch resistant than earlier models.
The front camera got an upgrade too. Different shaped sensor means better horizontal selfies.
iPhone 17 models roll out in five colors: lavender, mist blue, black, white, and sage.
Pro Models Get Storage Bump, Price Hike
The iPhone 17 Pro now starts at US$1,099 for 256GB. That’s a US$100 jump from the iPhone 16 Pro’s starting price. The entry model now includes 256GB of storage instead of the previous 128GB.
Here’s a twist – the iPhone 17 Pro uses aluminum for its case material. Apple moved away from the titanium used in their last two Pro phones. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max come in deep blue, cosmic orange, and silver.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max keeps its US$1,199 starting price (about S$1,539). The top-tier model offers 2TB of storage.
Wall Street watched closely to see if Apple would bump iPhone prices because of President Trump’s tariffs. Apple said these tariffs will cost them over US$1 billion this fiscal quarter. Apple shares dropped 1.6% after the pricing news broke.
AirPods Pro 3 Translate Languages in Real Time
The new AirPods Pro 3 cost US$249. They can translate languages on the fly. When two people both wear the new AirPods Pro 3, the earbuds translate conversations almost instantly. These go on sale September 19 with pre-orders starting September 11 at 9am.
Apple Watch Gets Three New Models
Apple released three new Apple Watch models without raising starting prices. The Apple Watch SE 3 starts at US$249. The Series 11 costs US$399. The Ultra 3 runs US$799.
The Series 11 lasts 24 hours on a single charge. It comes in jet black, silver, rose gold, and a new grey option. The Ultra 3 got 5G connectivity and now comes in black alongside existing colors.
Apple added blood pressure monitoring using machine learning. This feature checks if users might be at risk for high blood pressure. The feature needs regulatory approval first. It won’t catch every case, but Apple expects it to alert one million people. The company plans to launch this in 150 countries.
All watches go on sale September 19.
iOS 26 drops as a free software update on Monday, September 15.
