Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Lineup, New AirPods Pro, and Apple Watch Health Feature
Apple recently announced its latest product releases, including the iPhone 17, an updated AirPods Pro, and a new blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch. The company appears to be absorbing potential cost increases from tariffs to maintain competitive pricing against rivals like Samsung and Google.
The iPhone 17 will start at $799 for a 256-gigabyte model, mirroring the price of the previous iPhone 16 with half the storage. The iPhone 17 Pro will also begin at $1,099 for 256 gigabytes,holding steady with last year’s pricing for the same storage capacity. Though, Apple has discontinued the lower-priced, smaller-capacity iPhone pro option previously available at $999. Prices for Apple Watch models and the new AirPods Pro 3 remain unchanged.
Analysts suggest this pricing strategy is a deliberate move to mitigate the impact of tariffs, which Apple anticipates will cost over $1 billion this fiscal quarter, and to encourage upgrades before the end of the year. ”They’re leveraging their scale to try to keep prices where they are,” noted Tom Mainelli of IDC’s Device & Consumer Research Group.
A new addition to the lineup is the iPhone Air, positioned to compete directly with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 edge. Some analysts believe this model could serve as a precursor to Apple entering the foldable phone market, a popular category in China where Apple is currently losing market share. ”This new device will bring a sense of newness to the iPhone, which has remained the same for too long,” said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore.
While the event showcased hardware advancements, Apple offered limited details on its AI strategy. The company is currently utilizing a partnership with OpenAI’s ChatGPT for AI features, rather than heavily promoting its own Gemini-like AI models as Google has done. However, Apple emphasized its ongoing innovation in AI hardware, notably its silicon and device-level integration.
The iPhone Air will feature a new “N1″ chip for Wi-Fi and a “C1X” modem for cellular data, replacing components previously supplied by Broadcom and Qualcomm. Apple highlighted the processing power of this new hardware, comparing it to the capabilities of the MacBook Pro. The iPhone Air will also eliminate the physical SIM card slot to maximize battery capacity and will include two cameras.
Other improvements to the iPhone 17 base model include a brighter, more scratch-resistant screen and an enhanced front-facing camera with a redesigned sensor optimized for horizontal selfies.
The new AirPods Pro 3 will introduce live language translation,with the ability to translate conversations in near real-time between two users both wearing the earbuds.
Apple announced a blood pressure monitoring feature for the Apple Watch, currently pending regulatory approval. While not designed to detect every instance of high blood pressure, the company anticipates the feature could notify approximately one million users and plans to launch it in 150 countries.
