Apple goes all in with the iPhone Air, advanced health insights for the new AirPods Pro 3 and Apple Watch, and a refreshed design for the iPhone 17 series, as revealed on Sept. 9 at the Apple Event in Cupertino, California.
Ultra thin, ultra powerful
At just 5.6mm, the iPhone Air is Apple’s thinnest design yet, delivering pro performance with a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display and ProMotion up to 120Hz. Its titanium frame paired with Ceramic Shield 2 offers triple the scratch resistance and improved glare reduction for the screen, backglass, and the plateau. With 3000 nits peak outdoor brightness and a powerhouse A19 Pro, N1, and C1X core, it is Apple’s most durable and energy-efficient smartphone yet.
Despite its single-lens layout, the 48MP Fusion Main camera acts like four lenses, covering 28mm and 35mm focal lengths and its quad-pixel sensor with sensor-shift OIS improves low light shots. The 18MP Center Stage front camera, the first square front camera sensor on an iPhone, enables landscape selfies without having to rotate the phone sideways. Furthermore, Dual Capture enables simultaneous front and rear recording.
Leaving physical SIM cards entirely, the iPhone Air, which starts at ₱72,990, saves internal space with its eSIM-only design, further contributing to the lightness. The new device—available in space black, cloud white, light gold, and sky blue finishes—weighs 5 grams less than the iPhone 16.
Going on 17
Donning the same top features as the iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 comes in black, lavender, mist blue, sage, and white, with a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display and thinner borders than previous models.
With options of a 256GB or 512GB storage, the A19 chip-bearing phone functions 1.5x faster than the iPhone 13’s A15 Bionic chip. With built-in Neural Accelerators, the phone can run highly efficient and powerful on-device generative AI models.
Battery life stretches to 30 hours of video playback, which is eight hours more than the iPhone 16. Equipped with Apple’s new 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max, the new rendition of the iPhone can charge up to half its battery life in only 20 minutes.
Cinematic mode and Action mode are also available via 4k60 fps Dolby Vision recording. In addition, spatial audio, photos, and videos deepen the integration with Apple Vision Pro. Prices start at ₱57,990.
On the other hand, the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which are available in deep blue, cosmic orange, and silver finishes, are built with lightweight aerospace-grade 7000-series aluminum alloy, delivering better thermal performance.
The Pro series sports 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays. And like the iPhone Air, it runs with an A19 Pro chip. Additionally, the N1, Apple’s new wireless networking chip, enables Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread and features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop are enhanced.
Alongside the new vapor chamber for better heat dissipation and a forged aluminum unibody with a larger battery, the iPhone 17 Pro series is built to function at extremely high performance levels.
Apple also offers its best camera yet for the iPhone. With the 48MP Fusion cameras and a new 48MP Telephoto camera, it can capture images with a 4x optical zoom at 100mm and an 8x optical zoom at 200mm.
Moreover, the iPhone 17 Pro series, which starts at ₱79,990, supports ProRes RAW, Log 2, and genlock, further solidifying Apple as the leader for video-capturing smartphones.
Hello in one ear, Hola in another
The new AirPods Pro 3 will debut live translation in English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese by year-end. Featuring the world’s premier in-ear Active Noise Cancellation, it also mutes twice as much noise as its predecessor.
AirPods Pro 3 also offers a redesigned, more stable fit to withstand sweat, water, and intense workouts. Furthermore, they include a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that measures light absorption in blood flow to track heart rate and calories burned.
With the AirPods Pro 3, which sell for ₱14,990, users will also have access to Workout Buddy, an Apple Intelligence-powered, one-of-a-kind personalized motivational insight during workouts.
Saving time, saving lives
Even thinner than its previous model, the Apple Watch Series 11 brings in innovation with comprehensive health features and 5G cellular capabilities. The watch can send notifications using algorithm-gathered data from 30-day periods to detect possible signs of hypertension.
Starting from ₱26,490, the watch sports a unique Ion-X (ion-exchanged strengthened) glass, and can also last for 24 hours. With support from fast charging, eight hours of battery life would be provided within 15 minutes of charging.
Likewise, Apple Watch SE introduces Sleep Score, a feature also seen in its Series 11 counterpart, which provides users with insights about their sleep and other vitals.
Through temperature sensing, the watch, priced starting at ₱15,990, can even track retrospective ovulation estimates, adding to its other health features such as heart health notifications and Cycle Tracking.
Named as Apple’s ultimate sports and adventure watch, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 boasts a highly accurate GPS and up to 72 hours of battery life on low-power mode.
The watch, priced at ₱54,990, utilizes power-efficient LTPO3 display technology and OLEDs, and more importantly, satellite communications through Emergency SOS.
Pre-orders are open for all devices and will be ready for availability on Sept. 19.
