Apple's 'Awe-Dropping' Event: Unveiling the iPhone 17 lineup and other hardware products
Here's everything Apple unveiled at its Awe-Dropping event. Surprisingly there were some newcomers to this year's lineup.
It’s been a long time coming, months of leaks, teasers, and endless speculation, but the iPhone 17 series is finally here. At the Cupertino campus in California yesterday, Apple pulled back the curtain on its latest hardware lineup, headlined by the iPhone 17, the 17 Pro, and Air models. But it didn’t stop there. Alongside the new phones, Apple also introduced updated Apple Watch models, including the Ultra 3, Series 11, and SE 3, and a major refresh of the AirPods Pro, all designed to work hand in hand with the software upgrades announced earlier this year.
This year’s event felt less about flashy redesigns we saw in iPhone 16 and more about weaving Apple’s bigger themes like health, intelligence, and usability into every product. From a slimmer iPhone to AirPods that can track your heart rate and even translate languages in real time, Apple is making its ecosystem feel more personal and harder to live without.
Here’s a closer look at everything Apple announced, starting with the iPhone 17 lineup.
Emmanuel Umahi
The iPhone 17 lineup
Apple’s new iPhone 17 series introduces four models: the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. The Pro models focus on performance and camera upgrades with the new A19 Pro chip, the Air replaces the Plus with a thinner design, and the standard iPhone 17 brings ProMotion and spatial video to the base tier. Apple has also refreshed materials and finishes, with Ceramic Shield on more devices, aluminum frames on the Pro models, and new color options across the lineup.
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max
The Pro models include Apple’s A19 Pro chip and the new vapor chamber cooling system, which the company says allows up to 40% better sustained performance compared to last year. Both phones now feature a triple 48MP camera system, with the telephoto lens offering up to 8x optical zoom through a tetraprism design.
Processing Chip
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are powered by Apple’s new A19 Pro chip, paired with a vapor chamber cooling system. Apple says this combination delivers up to 40% better sustained performance than the previous generation, aimed at supporting tasks such as gaming with hardware-accelerated ray tracing and professional video editing.
Camera and Camera Features
Both Pro models feature a triple 48MP camera system covering the Main, Ultra Wide, and Telephoto lenses. The updated Telephoto camera uses a tetraprism design with a larger sensor, enabling up to 8x optical zoom, the longest optical-quality zoom yet on an iPhone.
For video, the devices support 4K recording at up to 120fps, along with professional options like ProRes RAW and genlock. Genlock allows synchronization with multiple cameras, making the devices easier to integrate into production workflows. The phones also support recording directly to external storage for handling large video files.
Size and Price
The iPhone 17 Pro has a 6.3-inch display, while the Pro Max stretches to 6.9 inches, achieved by reducing bezel size. Pricing starts at $1,099 for the Pro (256GB) and $1,199 for the Pro Max (256GB), with both offering storage options up to 2TB.
iPhone Air
The iPhone Air replaces the Plus in Apple’s lineup and takes a different approach, prioritizing thinness and portability. At just 5.6mm, it’s the thinnest iPhone Apple has made. It uses a titanium frame, runs on the A19 Pro chip, and carries a 48MP main camera paired with a 12MP telephoto lens supporting 2x optical zoom.
The Air features a 6.5-inch display and introduces new finishes such as sky blue and light gold. It is also Apple’s first iPhone to be eSIM-only worldwide, with no physical SIM slot included. Battery capacity is around 3,149 mAh, with Apple rating it for up to 27 hours of offline video playback or about 22 hours of streaming.
iPhone 17
The standard iPhone 17 builds on the base model by bringing down some of Apple’s higher-end features. It now includes a 120Hz ProMotion display and a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen. Powering the device is the A19 chip, which is designed to run Apple Intelligence features more efficiently.
On the back, the iPhone 17 adopts a vertically aligned dual-camera system, a change that enables spatial video recording for playback on the Vision Pro headset. Battery capacity is around 3,692 mAh, with playback ratings similar to last year’s Pro model. Pricing starts at $799 for the 256GB version.
AirPods Pro 3
AirPods Pro 2 were all about better sound and stronger noise cancellation. AirPods Pro 3, though, pushes into an entirely new category: health and communication. But that raises the real question: what exactly makes them different enough to matter?
Custom-Built Heart Rate Sensor and Fitness Tracking
AirPods Pro 3 introduces a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that uses invisible infrared light pulsed 256 times per second to measure blood flow. Paired with accelerometers, a gyroscope, GPS, and on-device AI, users can track over 50 workout types, monitor heart rate and calories, and even close their Move ring directly through the Fitness app.
Improved Hearing Health Experience
Continuing Apple’s push into hearing health, AirPods Pro 3 expands features like Hearing Protection and Conversation Boost, now certified in the EU and UK. With next-level ANC removing up to twice the background noise of the previous generation, it’s easier for users to test their hearing, receive personalized assistance, and benefit from automatic conversation amplification in noisy places.
Live Translation
This is the standout feature, at least for me. With Apple Intelligence built in, AirPods Pro 3 can now deliver live, hands-free translation in real time across multiple languages. Whether you’re traveling, working with international teams, or just chatting with someone who doesn’t share your first language, the earbuds let you speak naturally while your iPhone displays the translated text. At launch, translations cover English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, with Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese coming later this year.
Design and Comfort
A closer look at the details, and you notice Apple has also reworked the physical design. AirPods Pro 3 are now smaller, more stable, and come with redesigned foam-infused ear tips in five sizes, including a new XXS option for smaller ears. With IP57 water and sweat resistance, they’re built to handle workouts and unpredictable weather.
Audio and ANC
The acoustic architecture has been rebuilt with a multiport design that controls airflow for a richer soundstage. Adaptive EQ improves bass response and vocal clarity, while the world’s best in-ear ANC, up to 2x better than AirPods Pro 2 and 4x over the originals, delivers a more immersive listening experience. Transparency mode also sounds more natural, making conversations clearer without removing the earbuds.
With ANC enabled, playback now reaches 8 hours, 33% more than the previous generation, and up to 10 hours in Transparency mode.
Price and Availability
Price-wise, Apple still maintains the $249, with pre-orders open in the U.S. and over 50 countries, and general availability starting Friday, September 19.
Apple Watch SE 3
The SE lineup has always been Apple’s budget-friendly gateway into the smartwatch world, and with the Apple Watch SE 3, affordability doesn’t mean missing out on the good stuff. This year’s SE comes with a stronger aluminum case, an always-on display, and a suite of new health and AI-powered features that make it feel like a mini flagship.
Display
The SE 3 comes coated with aluminum for a more premium look. The cover glass is now four times more crack-resistant than before. More importantly, it finally gets an always-on display, showing off the new Liquid Glass aesthetic from watchOS 26, along with two new watch faces.
Battery
Battery life remains at 18 hours, the same as the SE 2, but Apple added fast charging this time. With just 15 minutes on the charger, you’ll get eight hours of use, and you can get up to 80% in about 45 minutes.
Additional Features
The SE 3 picks up a ton of upgrades, starting with sleep score tracking and sleep apnea notifications. It also includes wrist temperature sensing for features like retrospective ovulation estimates, making it much more health-oriented than its predecessor. On top of that, you now get new gestures like double-tap and wrist flick, a faster on-device Siri, and even Apple’s AI-powered Workout Buddy coach.
Price
The Apple Watch SE 3 starts at $249, available in 40mm and 44mm sizes in Midnight and Starlight finishes. Preorders are live now, with shipping beginning September 19, 2025.
Apple Watch Series 11
At first glance, the Apple Watch Series 11 looks a lot like last year’s Series 10. But under the hood, it’s carrying some of the most important health and usability upgrades Apple has ever put in its flagship watch, including blood pressure monitoring, 5G connectivity, and a much-requested boost in battery life.
Display
The Series 11 gets a tougher screen this year, with Apple claiming it’s twice as scratch-resistant as the Series 10, courtesy of the new ceramic-coated manufacturing process. Brightness remains at 2,000 nits with the same pixel density, but now you can expect better durability against daily wear and tear.
Battery
For the first time, Apple’s flagship watch breaks past the 18-hour limit. The Series 11 delivers 24 hours of battery life on a single charge with the always-on display enabled. In low power mode, it stretches to 38 hours.
Additional Features
The Series 11 joins the Ultra 3 in debuting hypertension alerts, a feature that monitors your heart rate patterns for 30 days to flag signs of high blood pressure. It also introduces a daily sleep score, letting you track and improve your rest more easily. And for those who rely on cellular models, the Series 11 now comes with a 5G antenna for better coverage and power efficiency.
Price
Starting at $399 for the 42mm non-cellular model, the Series 11 is available for preorder now and will ship September 19, 2025. Like before, you’ll have the option of 42mm or 46mm sizes, with LTE models priced higher.
Apple Watch Ultra 3
After skipping a year, the Apple Watch Ultra is back, and it’s bigger, brighter, and more capable than ever. The Ultra 3 keeps the same tough spirit but comes with a thinner case, reduced bezels, and Apple’s largest screen yet.
Display
The Ultra 3 introduces Apple’s LTPO3 wide-angle OLED panel, the biggest and brightest on any Apple Watch so far. Max brightness hits 4,000 nits, 1,000 nits more than the Ultra 2, which makes it almost effortless to read, even in harsh sunlight. The bezels have also been trimmed down by 24%, giving the watch an even more immersive feel.
Battery
Battery life has always been the Ultra line’s bragging right, and Apple raised the bar again. The Ultra 3 now delivers up to 42 hours on a single charge with the always-on display active. Low power mode still stretches that to 72 hours.
Additional Features
This year’s big additions include satellite messaging, which allows emergency communication even when you’re completely off the grid, and hypertension alerts, which analyze your heart data over 30 days to detect signs of high blood pressure. Apple also introduced a daily sleep score, giving you a 100-point breakdown of how well you rested.
Price
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is priced at $799, the same as the Ultra 2 and the original Ultra, and is available for preorder now and starts shipping September 19, 2025.
Conclusion
The iPhone 17 launch event was more than a single product reveal. With the iPhone 17 models, Apple managed to balance new design choices with meaningful leaps in performance, photography, and intelligence, shifting toward an iPhone that’s slimmer, smarter, and more tightly integrated with the rest of Apple’s lineup.
Everything else announced, from AirPods that double as health trackers to Apple Watches that can flag hypertension, seems to orbit the iPhone, taking it back to being the anchor of Apple’s ecosystem. Instead of chasing wild redesigns, Apple doubled down on health, intelligence, and everyday usability, integrating those themes into everything from the thinnest iPhone it has ever made to AirPods that can track your heart rate and translate languages on the go.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
