Who could have predicted that Apple was going to launch a new iPhone lineup today? Oh, that’s right… everyone. Here’s my early thoughts on the iPhone 17 and associated lineup of shiny new Apple gear.
You didn’t have to be Nostradamus to know that Apple’s launch event this morning was going to be largely about iPhones, and the iPhone 17 specifically, though it also used the event to launch a refresh of the AirPods Pro and some new Apple watch models as well. Here’s the quick rundown of what you need to know.
I’m really busy and have a low attention span. What’s the quick version?
New iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro/Max, AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE3, Apple Watch Ultra 3. Shiny. New.
OK, OK, I probably wanted to know a little more than that.
When can I get the new Apple iPhone 17 in Australia?
There’s some very slight complexity here. If you’re after a new Apple Watch of any type, pre-orders open now, though the Apple Watch Ultra 3 isn’t available until the 19th of September, while the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch SE 3 ship on the 17th instead.
You can also pre-order the AirPods Pro 3 from today, with availability from the 19th of September.
If you’re keen on a new iPhone 17 of any flavour, pre-orders for those don’t open up until the 12th of September at 10pm AEST.
How much do the new iPhone 17 models cost?
How does that compare to the older models?
Here’s the quick rundown of the models Apple’s selling as of today (even though pre-orders don’t open for 2 days… I do wonder what happens if you walk into an Apple Store today and try to buy, say, an iPhone 15, as they’re now discontinued… but I digress.)
So how does that compare against the iPhone 16 models that Apple was selling just yesterday? That’s an interesting comparison:
Apple giveth… and Apple taketh away. The death of the 128GB tier for everything but the iPhone 16/Plus lineup does mean that the entry level now has more storage, but there are storage tiers where Apple’s snuck in a sneaky $50 price bump into some lines.
An iPhone 16 Pro 512GB for example would have cost you $2349, but the equivalent iPhone 17 Pro 512GB runs $2499, for example.
Apple’s lowest cost phone remains the iPhone 16e, but I’m still not really convinced it’s a good value buy.
What about specifications? How do the new iPhone models compare?
You want specifications? I’ll give you specifications then.
Enough specifications, Alex! What do you actually think about the iPhone 17, Apple Watch Series 11/SE 3/Ultra 3 and AirPods Pro 3?
What, you think I have opinions now?
Well… yeah, of course I do. I’ve followed and reported on every iPhone generation to date, even the first one that never officially launched here at all.
There are some interesting technology changes here, but honestly, this doesn’t feel (at least at first glance, I’ll be chasing review units though when/if I’ll get them remains to be seen) like quite as much of a revolutionary upgrade as certain Cupertino-based CEOs might have you believe. It was always thus; Apple launches are at least 97% hype, every single time.
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro/Max upgrades are, it seems, just that – upgrades, with a lot of the focus really on better processing power, potentially better battery life (remains to be seen in real life) and upgraded cameras, all of which is nice, and certainly would represent a solid upgrade from, say, an iPhone 13 or earlier. I will give Apple credit for at least making their Pro model phones in at least one fun colour, however, because that Cosmic Orange colour certainly is eye-catching.
Though of course, Apple can’t be bothered to bring a mmWave iPhone 17 lineup to Australia, and we get sub 6Ghz 5G across all models, because of course we do. We do at least keep a physical SIM alive for these models, plus eSIM support, though that’s not true for the iPhone Air.
The price we pay for having a SIM card tray? That’s in battery capacity, with Apple’s official figures for the SIM-enabled iPhone 17/Pro/Max models having around 2 hours less video playback time for the Pro models. Oddly, that’s not the stated case for the SIM or eSIM only models of the iPhone 17, where Apple claims “up to 30 hours” of playback for either variant. Odd, that.
The iPhone Air is the new kid on the block, and of course, it’s remarkably thin. As with Samsung and the Galaxy S25 Edge, I remain very impressed with the engineering on this kind of device, because getting that level of performance into a thinner device is not a trivial matter.
That being said, like the S25 Edge, it’s a question of compromises, especially around long term battery life and the fact that as much as Apple might want to dress up its camera capabilities, there’s still only the one lens protruding from the back of the iPhone Air. One lens. Count them. It won’t take you that long.
Where I really think the iPhone Air is going to be important is in what it means for future iPhone models, especially with the rumour mills churning ever harder around future foldable iPhones.
We’ve already seen that play out on the Samsung side (Apple is really just playing catch-up here, though they won’t like me saying that) via the Galaxy Z Fold7 but there’s potential there for it to flow through to future regular iPhone models as well. But we won’t know about that until next year anyway.
The new Apple Watch models appear nice and shiny, and they do work very well within the Apple ecosystem, though I would love it if Apple could find a way to make the regular Apple Watch Series models run for more than an estimated day’s worth of battery life.
As someone with a keen interest in language, I’m also keen to hear just how well (or how poorly) the AirPods Pro 3’s live translation works – and especially how well it works if you don’t have some kind of live data connection on your phone.
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