A couple ways to watch, here in CA, it’s a 10 AM start…
Should be interesting, OS, iOS, iPhones, and more hardware, no doubt…
or
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I stopped having expectations on movement of AAPL stock after product announcements. The press finds ways of nitpicking things like foldable iPhones or AI or whatnot.
For once, though, I’m taking the product announcement as an opportunity for an upgrade: I’ve got an iPhone SE 2020 that’s showing its age. I was thinking of the 16E, but I’d read that the Apple-developed C1 cellular chip, though having very low power consumption, was also notably slower than other chips. Macworld says that the carriers may be the problem rather than the C1 chip ( Detailed Apple C1 test results show carriers are the problem | Macworld ), but my buying a 16e or 17 Air isn’t going to make the carriers change the game. Maybe later when the C1 becomes more widespread, or if Apple makes changes to, say, a C2 to address the carrier issues.
As I’ve said in many other posts, AI (Apple Intelligence or whatever passes for AI in the wider population) isn’t a factor for me. Nicer cameras, nicer screens, and the best processors may also not be factors for me, which would probably indicate my next purchase will be a 17, but I think I might consider the 17 Pro and hope for a little extra future-proofing. A couple hundred $ might not be so bad when considering I hold on to iPhones for > 3 years.
Maybe I’ll take up iPhone photography as a hobby to justify the 17 Pro.
-awlabrador
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I think when i bought the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I was sold on the camera upgrades at the time, low ight advancement have been a kick, so much so my Nikons and all their lenses I picked up over they years are getting dusty, well, odds are the batteries have zeroed out from lack of use.. I came to like the larger size, big hands, a little pooer vision, maybe… It’s been handy, battery life on the Pro Max is beyond my use time, stays up above 70-80% at the end of the day…
So not sure what to expect, looking forward to the OS updates… But I’m not expecting much share price changes until we see product movements, acceptance…
I’ll be interested to see whether the new prices will be much higher due to the tariffs. This might impact the share price, though I’m not sure what would please the market: Same prices? Higher prices? Lower prices?
Just finished watching, prices seem to me to be the same, and with decent trade in prices, makes them a bit more tempting, have to see what my 15 Pro Max brings… Now, how can I justify moving up… Birthday, or…
Apple Unveils the iPhone Air and a New Look for the Pro Models
Apple may be the smartphone market leader in the U.S., but it has been playing catch-up with Samsung and Google as of late in integrating AI in its software, although treading carefully with AI might not be [such a bad thing . At Apple’s keynote, the presenters largely steered clear of the subject, focusing instead on hardware advancements such as battery life and camera quality (unless I miscounted, I heard the word “AI” just once).
The biggest release is the iPhone Air, an ultra-slim iPhone. At just 5.6mm thick, it’s even slimmer than [Samsung’s 5.8mm S25 Edge. Apple added a camera bar plateau, similar to the style favored by Google for its [Pixel] line of smartphones. Apple says the Air is more durable than any previous iPhone, thanks to Ceramic Shield on the front and back.
The standard iPhone 17 has a 6.3” display, with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. The dual camera system includes a 48 megapixel main fusion camera, plus a 2x telephoto. Apple also redesigned the field of view on the front camera, letting you resize the aspect ratio. The feature, called Center Stage, makes it easier to take landscape or portrait selfies without rotating the phone.
The Pro and Pro Max models feature a completely redesigned back, with a full-width camera “plateau.” The updated camera system features three 48 megapixel fusion cameras and 8x optical zoom. The phones have a new thermal management system for better performance, and are powered by a new processor, called A19 Pro.
While Apple was expected to raise prices due to tariffs, the company instead eliminated the 128 GB iPhone and the more budget-friendly line, rolled out last year. Preorders start on Friday, with the new phones shipping on Sept. 19. The iPhone 17, Air, Pro, and Pro Max models cost $799, $999, $1099, and $1199, respectively.
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Yup. So that’s good I suppose as long as Apple isn’t eating the entire cost of the tariffs. Perhaps with good operational planning and efficiency improvements their profit per unit won’t drop much.
As usual, I was duly impressed by all the new tech, particularly with iPhone Air. Oddly to me, not much was said about the new Pro Max. Is that typical? I guess it just has a bigger display and longer battery life put no other benefits over the Pro?
Still though, I’ve only ever had iPads and make due with an el-cheapo Galaxy A15 Tracfone. Frankly, I barely even use my iPad Pro 11” M2 any more. Between my Windows 11 Lenovo laptop and A15 phone, all my “use cases” are pretty much covered. My sister and niece are all-in with iPhones and Apple Watches and Air Pods though!
Way, way back, I think I converted nearly all of the family when I bought an Apple Touch, so before the iPhones, then on to iPhones, etc… But I’ve been all Apple/Mac, other than the forced PC use at work, fighting laptops that couldn’t handle our work travels, much less the old Win software headaches, so once retired, all that went away… Many Apples, Macs along the way, still a few hanging around, unused, wiped in case I give them away, too nice to recycle, but some are too old, too slow to be useful today… I kept grandkids into MacBooks or whatever through their school days until they moved on to their own macs… So a tad prejudiced, but also a longtime shareholder, so the dividends cover upgrades, if needed… but for now, not sure I’ll move along, want to see how the 26 OS’s work out… I do need to get motivated with those AirPod Pro3’s, tho, push myself out, more walking… So we’ll see…
I came away pretty positive about the new hardware. Time to upgrade. (I also fell asleep at my desk partway through, but I’ve been pretty fatigued these days.)
I was amused that the iPhone 17 camera presentation pointed out that the sensor is square so that portrait and landscape photos can be taken with either physical orientation, i.e. take a landscape photos while holding the iPhone upright. However, upon review of the video, it seems to be for the Center Stage front camera. Why not the rear?
There doesn’t seem to be a larger screen iPhone 17, just the 17 Pro Max. I thought I had read somewhere that the 16 Plus was not very popular.
I was surprised enough at the thin design of the 17 Air that I’m considering it. There was mention of a C1x modem chip that’s supposed to be fast as well as power-efficient. I’d like to see the 17 Air in person.
The price points are good enough for me. I was willing to go up $50 or so, based on rumors with the 256 GB minimum storage upgrades to help with tariffs, but I guess Apple and the White House either have come to or foresee some sort of accommodation. I think many of us have forgotten that Apple’s margins and average selling price per unit are significantly higher than those of Samsung or Huawei, so maybe Apple can absorb more of the tariff hit, especially if they’re at least partially shielded by the WH.
If there’s one thing that I found mildly disappointing, it’s the continued use of muted colors throughout the line, especially in the 17. Cosmic Orange in the 17 Pro is the only color that seems striking, on my screens, but it’s also weird to me. I know from visits to the Apple Store that the iPhone 16 colors aren’t particularly vivid, to my eyes, so I’m not expecting much from the 17 other than new hues.
-awlabrador
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The article mentions the iPhone 17 Pro starting point went up $100, and the $899 16 Plus was replaced by the Air at $999.
As entry point pricing, that’s correct, but later in the article it mentions the entry point storage for both went from 128 GB to 256 GB. Joswiak is quoted as saying that the resulting prices are therefore the same as the 256 GB versions from last year.
Whatever the case, the 128 GB on my iPhone SE is so small that I often have to delete music or the single movie I keep on it if I need to upgrade iOS. 256 GB will be a nice change for me.
-awlabrador
I also noted that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will now go to as much as 2 Tb! With all the high megapixel photos, video abilities, that could be a bigger option for the serious videographers out there…
I’ve always bumped memory up to 256 in my iPhones, don’t see the need for much more as I’d be offloading new images, videos anyway, ASAP…
The iPhone Air is impressive, but the chance of it getting bent might be a worry, nice work in any case, I can’t recall if it has a titanium option…
That the whole Event was taken by an iPhone is impressive, I watched on my 32" Dell, nice detail in all the scenes, photos…
Nowadays, with all the flight data and simulation data I store and use on my computers, desktop or laptop, I set 2 TB as my minimum for storage. Of course, I do just as bad a job at clearing out that data as I (and many others) do on clearing out photos. Actually, I do a better job of clearing old photos on my iPhone, since I sync to my iMac.
-awlabrador
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A couple more screens from the event…
The Apple Watch Adds Hypertension Tracking
Apple is adding more health tracking features to the latest Apple Watch models. There are three new Apple Watch models: the Series 11, the SE, and the Ultra 3. The Series 11 is adding a new feature that notifies you of possible Hypertension (Apple claims it expects FDA approval soon), while the Sleep Score feature offers more detailed sleep tracking. Apple says you can expect up to 24 hours of battery life, and the Series 11 is available with Nike’s sport bands or a Hermes knit band.
The Watch SE, Apple’s budget-friendly model, adds some features found on the higher-priced models, including an always-on display and gestures. Apple says you should get an 18-hour battery life with the new SE, plus fast charging that’s two times faster. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has a larger screen and brighter viewing at an angle. Apple is also adding 5G cellular, plus satellite connectivity with an Emergency SOS feature.
The AirPods Pro 3 Feature a Heartrate Monitor
Apple kicked off the event by announcing the latest AirPods Pro3 with a new live translation feature to rivaling a feature found on Samsung’s Galaxy Buds. The feature lets you automatically translate conversations in real time.
The new model is smaller, and the eartips now come in five sizes. Apple also updated the durability, rolling out IP57 sweat and water resistance (an update from the previous iteration’s IP54 resistance). Apple also says it doubled the noise-canceling capabilities.
The biggest new feature is the heart rate sensor, which Apple previously implemented on the Beats Fit Pro 2 from last year. The earbuds also have a longer battery life, with 8 hours on a single charge. They’re up for preorder for $249 and drop on Sept. 19.
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I wonder if you have the choice of taking a square photo that uses all the pixels.
Those cameras have always been higher resolution. Doing the same for them would mean either using much larger and more expensive sensors to maintain the high resolution, or giving up a lot of resolution. Myself, I just about never use the selfie camera, but I use the others a LOT and would be really unhappy with any compromise there.
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Curiosity got me, so I tallied up what a 256 Gb 17 Pro Max iPhone would be, then looked up what my 15 Pro max was worth for a trade-in, came up as $520, so it dropped the 17 Pro Max down to just under $680… Plus tax, AppleCare…
So the Store is open, but no pre-orders until 9/12… Interesting…
My iPhone SE (2020) apparently gets me only $50 on trade-in, and the 17 Pro (not Max) isn’t given an educational discount. (I work at a university.)
I may very well keep my SE, at least for a while. I have an authenticator app that doesn’t store tokens in the cloud, just in encrypted backups. I understand: it’s supposed to be more secure. I have encrypted backups on disk, but, well, it’s been a while since I upgraded, so I don’t know if the saved tokens will transfer.
So I’m probably not getting any kind of price break.
-awlabrador
Interesting, I have used both the Education and Corporate discounts over the years, but not since retiring in '02, then WeCo/LU became Alcatel/LU, and today Nokia, but I haven’t chased down whether there is a discount program with them, but the pension has all transferred over… I believe the Military discount is the same level… Not usually a big cut, but when going for a LaserWriter, or new desktop back then it was useful, covered AppleCare, maybe…
With the Migration Assistant, I’d expect everything to move over…
So even with the trade-in, it still adds up, toss in the AirPods, it needs some negotiations here at home… Hmmm…
Yet another perspective:
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