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Title: The Morning After: Hands-on with the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro,
AirPods Pro 3 and more

Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2025 11:11:01 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-...

As the Pumpkin Spice approaches, itΓÇÖs time for a bunch of new iPhones.
Welcome to a special edition of the Engadget newsletter, breaking down
everything Apple announced in the last 24 hours. WhatΓÇÖs notable this year
is, of course, the iPhone Air. Launching alongside the base iPhone 17 and
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, itΓÇÖs an intriguing new flavor of iOS.

The iPhone Air: ItΓÇÖs a brave choice to label the new superslim phone with
the same suffix as the game-changing MacBook Air. Barring the slimmer profile
and accompanying compromises, itΓÇÖs not as surprising as it could have been.
Early rumors suggested it might have arrived without a single port, with
wireless charging and WiFi alone.

Instead, the iPhone Air (no 17) is an engineering marvel. With a body
thickness of just 5.6mm and made of spacecraft-grade titanium, it also has
Ceramic Shield 2 on both sides, which helps make it more durable than any
previous iPhone.

Engadget

It features the same A19 Pro chip as the iPhone 17 Pro, along with AppleΓÇÖs
N1 chip for wireless connectivity and the new C1X modem, which is reportedly
twice as fast as the C1 introduced with the iPhone 16e.

Compromises had to happen, though. Apple kept the iPhone Air thin in part by
going for a single 48-megapixel camera, but it did try to make it as
versatile as possible. It has a large two-micrometer quad-pixel sensor that
excels in low light, along with an optical quality 2x telephoto. Apple says
itΓÇÖs ΓÇ£the equivalent of four lenses in their pocket,ΓÇ¥ but well, why
doesnΓÇÖt the base iPhone 17 have it? It also seems a bit weak compared to
the S25 Edge (SamsungΓÇÖs super-thin smartphone) and its 200MP main camera.

Worried that a thin battery means precarious battery life? Apple claims the
iPhone Air will get ΓÇ£all-dayΓÇ¥ battery life thanks in part to hardware
designed to cram more battery into smaller designs and software like Adaptive
Power Mode. To assuage those concerns, Apple made a new super-slim MagSafe
battery pack to boost how long it lasts.

ThereΓÇÖs also an intangible appeal to the ΓÇÿfirstΓÇÖ of a new Apple
product. I remember upgrading a year into my iPhone 7 contract to get the
first iPhone without a home button. The iPhone X is a good comparison to
make, perhaps. Both the iPhone X and iPhone Air have the same price: $999.

ΓÇö Mat Smith

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here!

Our first impressions and hands-ons at the Apple iPhone 17 event

iPhone Air hands-on: The super-sleek precursor to AppleΓÇÖs upcoming foldable

iPhone 17 Pro hands-on: The unibody and camera plateau feel more significant
in person

Apple Watch Series 11 hands-on: Feels and looks the same, but real changes
are deeper

Apple AirPods Pro 3 hands-on: Impressive ANC improvements

The iPhone 17 Pro is redesigned to house its biggest battery ever New
thermals, new cameras, new color! Apple

So, if the iPhone Air grabs the headlines, what about the pro model?
AppleΓÇÖs most powerful iPhone now has the A19 Pro chipset and comes with 6.9-
 (iPhone 17 Pro Max) and 6.3-inch (iPhone 17 Pro) screen sizes. Glass has
been replaced with Ceramic Shield 2, which makes the iPhone 17 Pro more
durable than ever.

A new rear camera setup includes a new 48MP telephoto lens, which can shoot
up to 8x ΓÇ£optical qualityΓÇ¥ zoom at 12MP and 4x at its full resolution.
Both the wide and ultrawide sensors are 48MP too, for resolution parity
across them all. The iPhone 17 Pro series starts at $1,099 for a 256GB model
and will be available for pre-order starting Friday, September 12.

Continue reading.

The iPhone 17 has a better screen and better durability With base storage up
to 256GB.

Arriving in four colorways, the iPhone 13 has improvements in power
efficiency, a smoother screen and a new selfie cam. This might be the most
intriguing update: The company has improved the selfie camera to be a
ΓÇ£center stageΓÇ¥ front camera, with better stabilization, a wider field of
view and a new larger square sensor. Because itΓÇÖs square, you wonΓÇÖt have
to rotate your iPhone when you want to take a photo or video in landscape
mode.

Continue reading.

AirPods Pro 3 have better noise cancellation and health-tracking features
Live translation is built into the buds. Apple

Yes, we have an update to AppleΓÇÖs AirPods Pro ΓÇö arguably, the Apple
hardware IΓÇÖve used the most over the last three years. I even bought a
standalone USB-C charging case. The company has improved the wireless buds in
some major ways. The big features include a heart rate sensor that can hook
into iOS workout apps (and third-party apps) and a new live translation
feature (a la Pixel Buds) that converts foreign languages on the fly and even
lowers audio of the speaker so you can better hear the translation. TheyΓÇÖll
support English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish at launch. The buds
themselves are a bit smaller to fit more ears, and there are now five tip
sizes, up from three.

No feature yet to make people who talk to you while wearing AirPods less
insufferable. The AirPods Pro 3 cost $249, and pre-orders are open right now.

Continue reading.

Apple launches the Watch Series 11, Ultra 3 and SE Something for everyone?
Apple

The Series 11 is twice as scratch-resistant as previous Apple Watches and now
even has 5G connectivity. The watch will monitor for high blood pressure
using improved algorithms and the built-in heart rate monitor. If the watch
identifies patterns of hypertension, youΓÇÖll get an alert in the Health app.
The biggest upgrade may be up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge.

The Ultra 3 has a bigger display, satellite connectivity, and emergency SOS.
The Watch Ultra 3ΓÇÖs new 3D printed case has even smaller bezels, while the
display technology has been tweaked (LTPO3) to improve off-angle viewing.

The Apple Watch SE is getting an update with a new always-on display,
optional 5G, the improved S10 chip and support for gestures like double tap
and wrist flick. The Apple Watch SE will also provide sleep apnea
notifications and the new Sleep Score feature thatΓÇÖs available on Series 11
watches. The Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $399, the Ultra 3 starts at $799
and the SE starts at $249.

Continue reading.

The Apple news you might have missed

Apple isnΓÇÖt making any carbon-neutral claims with its Series 11 smartwatch

The iPhone Air is a great advertisement for the iPhone 17

All of the new iPhones start with 256GB of storage. Finally.

iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26 and macOS 26 will be released on September 15

Apple acquiesced to my Apple Watch SE 3 demands (mostly)

How to pre-order the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro ahead of their
September 19 release date

Apple gives iPhone 14 and 15 owners an extra free year of satellite
connectivity

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-...
air-iphone-17-pro-airpods-pro-3-and-more-111101338.html?src=rss

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