Apple (AAPL) on Tuesday unveiled its iPhone 17 lineup during an event at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., including its all-new iPhone Air.
Apple’s iPhone is its most important product, and major redesigns like the iPhone Air generally work to help power sales well into the year ahead. The change comes after years of what was more or less the same design styling across iPhone generations.
In addition to the iPhone Air debut, Apple announced major improvements to the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, including upgraded cameras and batteries and better overall durability. But the Air is easily the star of the show.
iPhone Air
The $999 iPhone Air brings the biggest changes to the iPhone since the company unveiled its iPhone X in 2017, when Apple implemented its edge-to-edge screen design.
Apple said the Air’s frame, constructed out of titanium, is both light and durable. The company also uses its Ceramic Shield protection around the entire phone to make it its strongest phone yet.
At just 5.6 millimeters thick, the iPhone Air is the company’s thinnest iPhone to date. It packs a 6.5-inch display, along with the company’s always-on display and Pro Motion technology.
Inside, the Air features Apple’s new A19 Pro chip, with improved AI acceleration via neural accelerators built into each of the chip’s 5 GPU cores.
The Air also comes with Apple’s N1 chip for wireless and Bluetooth, plus its C1X modem, which Apple said uses 30% less power, which, the company claimed, makes the iPhone Air its most power-efficient yet.
Apple said the Air’s rear 48-megapixel Fusion camera allows you to capture 2x telephoto-like images. The Air also gets Apple’s new Center Stage camera, which the company said can capture landscape and portrait photos without having to rotate your camera.
You can also now record video from the rear and front cameras simultaneously, so you can capture your reaction during a sporting event or concert.
Still, it will be interesting to see if consumers will be OK with the iPhone’s 2x telephoto-like camera when they can opt for a true telephoto lens on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.
As far as battery life, Apple claimed the Air will be able to last all day.
The iPhone Air is seen as the first step toward the company’s plans for a foldable iPhone, expected to hit the market in 2026, according to reports from Bloomberg and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
iPhone 17
Apple’s $799 iPhone 17 doesn’t get the same wholesale redesign as the Air, but it does come with a larger 6.3-inch display and Apple’s Pro Motion, with a refresh rate up to 120 hertz that drops to 1 hertz on the lock screen.
The 17 also gets improved glare resistance and Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2, which the company said makes the display two times more scratch-resistant.
Inside, the iPhone 17 gets the company’s 3nm A19 chip, complete with a six-core CPU and a five-core GPU for graphics. Apple said that makes the iPhone 17 20% faster than the iPhone 16.
Around back, the iPhone 17 gets an improved 48-megapixel Fusion main camera with up to 2x software zoom. The phone also gets a new 12-megapixel wide-angle camera.
Up front, the iPhone 17 comes with Apple’s Center Stage camera. AI tracking also keeps everyone in the frame in selfies. Video shot using the front camera is also more stabilized for when you want to shoot selfie videos on the run.
The phone starts with 256GB of storage rather than iPhone 16’s 128GB.
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
Apple’s premium $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max both come equipped with the company’s A19 Pro and a new aluminum unibody design.
Apple is promoting the Pro and Pro Max’s new built-in vapor chamber, which it said will help move heat away from the phone’s internal components and prevent slowdown. That, Apple said, will allow the phone to have 40% better sustained performance than prior-generation iPhones.
The iPhone 17 Max and iPhone 17 Pro Max get enhanced batteries, with the Pro Max getting the longest-lasting battery in an iPhone yet.
Apple’s Pro line is always the company’s camera showcase, and it’s no different for the iPhone 17 Pro. The phone’s cameras feature upgraded front cameras with the same Center Stage capabilities as the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air.
Around back, all three of the Pro’s cameras are 48MP, and each is now one of Apple’s Fusion cameras. The telephoto camera now gets up to 8x optical zoom with a 56% larger sensor for better shots taken from afar.
Apple’s iPhone is its biggest revenue generator, making up $201.2 billion of the company’s $391 billion in sales in 2024. Even Apple’s second-largest business, its Services segment, made just $96.2 billion.
Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X/Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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