Read the full transcript of Apple Special Event on September 9, 2025 where the executives of Apple led by CEO Tim Cook launched iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro. Plus Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, Apple Watch Ultra 3, AirPods Pro 3, and more.
INTRODUCTION
TIM COOK: Good morning! Welcome to Apple Park! At Apple, design has always been fundamental to who we are and what we do. For us, design goes beyond just how something looks or feels. Design is also how it works. This philosophy guides everything we do, including the products we’re going to introduce today and the experiences they provide.
From the magical listening experience with AirPods to the ways your Apple Watch keeps you healthy, active, and connected to how iPhone helps you with so many things throughout your day. It’s also true of our new software design featuring our innovative Liquid Glass. It brings fluidity, vitality and flexibility to the things you do every day. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and delivers a more intuitive and delightful user experience. We bring so much care and consideration to every detail. From every product, service and technology we create to the welcoming nature of our retail stores, design is at the core of everything we do.
Today we have a huge day of announcements about AirPods and Apple Watch, and we’re taking the biggest leap ever for iPhone. Let’s start with AirPods.
AirPods are the best and most popular headphones in the world. With an iconic design and groundbreaking sound quality, they have revolutionizedthe industry and raised the bar for what headphones should be. AirPods deliver a truly magical user experience, from an effortless setupto their amazing sound quality to working seamlessly across your Apple products.
Last fall, AirPods Pro took this even further with the world’s first end-to-endhearing health experience. It’s extraordinary that the world’s leading headphones can also make such a meaningful difference to those facing hearing challenges. Today, we’re building on these innovations and extending our leadershipin world-class audio quality, with the introduction of the next-generation of AirPods Pro.
With breakthrough audio performance and entirely new capabilities, I think AirPods Pro 3 are truly incredible.To tell you more, here’s Kate.
At the heart of AirPods is outstanding audio. This year, we pushed ourselves even furtherand created something truly special. AirPods Pro 3 deliver a breathtaking spatial listening experience. We designed a custom, multi-port acoustic architecture, which precisely controls the airflow that carries sound into the ear.This transforms the bass response. It widens the soundstage so you hear every instrument and brings vocalsinto stunning focus across music, shows, and calls.
And it gets even better with phenomenal Active Noise Cancellation. Ultra low-noise microphones and advanced computational audio combine with new foam-infused ear tips for even greater noise isolation. This significantly improves performance, delivering twice the ANC compared to the previous generation, which were already amazing! These are by far, my favorite AirPods ever.
For those with the original AirPods Pro the difference is night and day because this ANC is four times more effective. AirPods Pro 3 are a must-have upgrade, with over-the-ear headphone performancein a pocket-sized design, that removes even more background noise from your daily commute. So, no matter what headphones you’ve used before, with AirPods Pro 3 you will have the world’s best Active Noise Cancellationof any in-ear wireless headphones. Transparency enables you to hear your surroundings and now, your own voice and people speaking to you will sound more natural than ever.
And to help connect with those near you, we’re bringing the magic of AirPodsto the way you communicate across languages with Live Translation, powered by Apple Intelligence!
Now, when you are together with someone who speaks a different language, like exploring a market abroad, AirPods Pro will help you understand them in your preferred language. Using a new, simple gesture, Live Translation begins[CHIME] [SIRI] “Translating Spanish” while ANC lowers the volume of the person speakingso it’s easier to focus on the translation.
[IN SPANISH] – Hello, welcome. – Hi![SPEAKING IN SPANISH] – Hello, welcome. Today all the red carnations are 50% off. And, it doesn’t just translate individual words. The meaning of each phrase is translated for you. When you need to talk, just speak naturally. – I’d love to take some of these to my sister for her birthday. I’ll buy eight please. Your iPhone displays your words in their language, and can even read them out loud if needed.
[IN SPANISH] Okay! Live Translation is even more useful when both people are wearing AirPods Pro.- I agree, yeah. [IN PORTUGUESE] I agree, yeah.[TRANSLATING IN PORTUGUESE] [RESPONDING IN PORTUGUESE][TRANSLATING TO ENGLISH] –
Definitely, the client will love that. I’ll let the strategy team know to prepare that immediately. This incredible capability is enabled by advanced computational audio on AirPods, combined with Apple Intelligence models running on iPhone. Along with incredible personal audio, we’re also improvinghow AirPods Pro fit in your ears. Because people’s ears are completely different shapes and sizes, we analyzed more than ten thousand 3D ear scans along with over one hundred thousand hours of user research, to optimize the new AirPods Pro.
To fit even more people, we made each AirPod smaller. And to make them fit more securely in your ear, we shaped the design to match the natural geometry of the ear canal. With entirely new ear tips, now in five sizes,all together these are the most stable and best-fitting AirPods ever, engineered to stay in your ears even during the most intense workouts.
And, they’re also more durable with IP57 sweat and water resistance,a first for any AirPods. So you can feel confident during the sweatiest sessions in the gymor even if you find yourself running in a downpour. These updates are so important for our users who love listening to musicwhen exercising with AirPods Pro.
To tell you about how we’re taking the fitness experience even further, here’s Julz. ♪ Upbeat music ♪ More people work out with AirPods Pro than any other headphones in the world, and now the amazing audio quality, a more secure in-ear design,and enhanced durability make it even better.
To do this, we custom-built Apple’s smallest heart rate sensor. Machine learning algorithms fuse together data from the sensors and accelerometers to deliver precise measurements. This is combined with a new on-device AI model for activity and calorie tracking, trained for more than 50 million hours of data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study, which is one of the largest studies of its kind with more than 250,000 participants.
This incredible integration between hardware and software takes your fitness experience to the next level with AirPods Pro 3. Now, when you go to the fitness app on iPhone, you’ll see a new workout experience where with just AirPods Pro, you can track up to 50 different workout types and it’s so easy to get started. This means you can get even more from the activities you love.
So, when you’re listening to music on your daily walk, you can track heart rate and calories burned using the new AirPods Pro and you’ll have access to audio experiences like Workout Buddy, powered by Apple Intelligence to motivate you along the way. “That’s a new record. You just walked the longest distance in a walking workout this month.”
Workouts you complete will also help close your mood ring, contribute to your step count, and you can stay motivated to do even more by earning awards. In Fitness Plus workouts, you can also get metrics by heart rate, calories, and even the burn bar to help keep you going. And you can track workouts at the gym, including those from developers like Ladder, who can use new APIs to incorporate key metrics into their apps as well.
So, that’s the new fitness experience with AirPods Pro 3. Now, back to Kate.
Enhanced Battery Life and Performance
KATE: In addition to breakthrough performance across the board, you will also get longer battery life throughout the day. We are moving from six hours on a single charge to eight hours, taking you through that transatlantic flight while listening to music with active noise cancellation. To help our hearing aid users, we are thrilled to provide 10 hours on a single charge in transparency. That’s four more hours than the previous generation.
So, that’s AirPods Pro 3, delivering sensational audio performance, including the world’s best ANC, an exceptional fit, and innovative fitness capabilities. Whether you’ve experienced AirPods before or this is the first time, these AirPods Pro define a new benchmark for the world’s most popular headphones. And even with all of these updates, they will still be available for $249. You can pre-order them today and they will be available September 19th.
And now, back to Tim.
Introducing Apple Watch
TIM COOK: AirPods Pro 3 are absolutely amazing. They take the audio quality of the most popular headphones in the world to an entirely new level. Next, let’s turn to Apple Watch. For millions, it’s an indispensable daily companion, a fitness coach, message center, mobile wallet, and a beautiful timepiece. What I really love about Apple Watch is how it alerts millions of people to potentially serious health issues and helps save so many lives simply by wearing it on your wrist.
It provides fall detection and crash detection, monitors your heart rate, tracks your sleep, is your lifeline in emergencies, and so much more. Let’s take a look at the remarkable ways Apple Watch has touched people’s lives.
“I’m writing to you regarding my health in relation to my experience with Apple Watch. I just wasn’t taking care of myself, wasn’t eating well, terrible schedule, just like wasn’t sleeping. This is my battle with mental health and how there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. I felt I had absolutely nothing left to live for. I just started really slow and it’s been nice to see my progress just through fitness and running. Throughout the year, I lost over 100 pounds and I just got into the New York City Marathon.”
“It was about five in the morning and my Apple Watch, it started buzzing my resting heart rate was at 172. I took my blood oxygen level, it was 88%. When they did the x-ray and we found out I had a completely collapsed lung. I needed emergency surgery. It gives me goosebumps almost, but the doctor said he’s like, that Apple Watch just saved your life.”
“I got home and I started to do a jump rope routine. My legs just started to jitter and I hit the ground. Meanwhile, my watch is buzzing so I look at it and it says, it looks like you’re in trouble. Do you need help? It didn’t dawn on me that I was having a stroke.”
“Me and my friend, we were hiking in Japan and the second day started a snow storm and it’s just white.”
“I was driving home. I started feeling really odd. I started feeling dizzy and that’s the last thing I remember.”
“We lost our phones in the snow. We had nothing left. No food, no water. We can’t feel fingers, we can’t feel anything. I don’t think I was ready to finish my life there. And what I was wearing was my Apple Watch. We contacted the emergency rescue using the SOS feature.”
“I had a car just crashed through the garage. They’re upside down in our pool. The next thing I remember was just hearing this very faint voice through my watch saying, help is on the way. That helicopter ride was the best feeling I’ve felt in my life.”
“I’ve always read those stories about how Apple Watch saves someone’s life. That’s why I started to help my mental health. We just completed the first mile. Six miles. I don’t know how I can do this. You don’t need no medals. One mile to go. Why the life don’t end? You keep going. You keep pushing on up over here. Even in the darkest moments, it will get better. Minutes save lives. Get a second save lives. That was my second chance. Without this watch, I probably would not have had it.”
“I felt like Apple Watch had my back. Oh my god, it had my back. It had my front. It had my sides. It had my head. It had my past, my future. Yes, it had everything.”
It’s truly incredible to see how Apple Watch can help people in so many different ways. Its indispensable nature makes Apple Watch the most popular watch in the world. And each year, we make Apple Watch even more essential. To tell you what’s new, here’s Dan.
Apple Watch Series 11
DAN: Today, we’re making the best watch in the world even better. Introducing Apple Watch Series 11. It’s our thinnest and most comfortable watch, and it’s even more durable.
It starts with our proprietary Ionex glass, which is the toughest in the industry. We then apply a custom Apple-designed ceramic coating that bonds to the glass at an atomic level, making it significantly harder. So now, it’s two times more scratch-resistant, perfect for everyday use and the challenges of an active lifestyle.
With a cellular connection, Apple Watch makes it easy to stay connected when your phone isn’t with you. Series 11 now includes the latest cellular technology, 5G. The new 5G modem and antenna architecture improve performance and provide even more coverage. Plus, it’s more power-efficient, using less battery for cellular. At launch, many of our biggest carrier partners will support 5G on Apple Watch.
Series 11 comes with watchOS 26, bringing new features and intelligence, as well as an elegant new design. The new watch face, Flow, uses liquid glass numerals to beautifully refract swirls of color. An exactograph, a modern reinterpretation of a traditional regulator clock that separates the hours, minutes and seconds for precise timekeeping.
Series 11 also comes with a comprehensive set of health features, including heart, hearing, cycle tracking, mental health and more.
And we’re taking that innovation in health even further, adding new features in heart health and sleep. Here’s Thumbel to tell you more.
Groundbreaking Hypertension Detection
THUMBEL: Heart health has always been integral to Apple Watch. This year, we’re thrilled to share our next advancement focused on a problem of massive proportions, high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. It impacts approximately 1.3 billion adults worldwide. The American Heart Association has referred to it as a “silent killer” because it often occurs with no obvious symptoms.
To help, we’ve developed a groundbreaking feature that can alert you to possible hypertension just by wearing your Apple Watch. Using data from the optical heart sensor, the algorithm looks for chronic high blood pressure by analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart. The algorithm works in the background, reviewing data over a 30-day period and will notify you if it identifies patterns of hypertension.
We’ve developed this novel approach using advanced machine learning methods and a series of studies totaling over 100,000 participants. While it won’t detect all instances of hypertension, we expect to notify over 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension in the first year alone, empowering them to make life-saving behavioral changes or start treatment. You’ll be seeing patterns from the FDA and other regulators soon, with availability in 150 countries and regions this month, including the U.S. and Europe.
Introducing Sleep Score
Now, let’s talk about sleep, which is critical to daily restoration of your body and mind, and is also an important factor in your longevity. Apple Watch already helps you meet your sleep goals, gain insight, and discover possible sleep apnea. Now, we’ll help you understand the quality of your sleep and how to make it more restorative with Sleep Score.
The quality of your sleep is influenced by several factors, such as sleep duration, bedtime consistency, how often you wake up, and the time spent in each sleep stage. Sleep Score analyzes these factors each night and provides a classification plus a score. You’ll see how the score is calculated, so it’s easy to understand what you can do to improve.
Guidance from leading experts, including the World Sleep Society, underpins the scoring approach, and over 5 million nights of sleep data from the Apple Heart Movement Study were used to develop and test the scoring algorithms. You can see details in the Sleep app, and you can track it over time in the Health app on iPhone. Now, back to Stan.
Enhanced Battery and Design
STAN: Hypertension notifications, the new Sleep Score, and the many other incredible health, fitness, and safety features will make a huge impact on users’ lives. To support all of these amazing capabilities, we also re-engineered the battery. Series 11 now gets up to 24 hours of battery life, so you can wear it all day and all night.
Series 11 comes in jet black, silver, rose gold, and a beautiful new space gray, all made from 100% recycled aluminum. There are also gorgeous polished cases made from 100% recycled titanium in natural gold and slate.
This fall brings a beautiful new palette of colors across the entire band lineup, including the Nike Sport Band and Nike Sport Loop, which now has reflective yarn woven throughout the fabric, and a new Hermes Jacquard knit band with matching watch face that plays whimsical animations set in their iconic Paris store. There’s also an elegant, narrow Grande Hache and new colors across the collection.
And that’s Apple Watch Series 11. With better durability, 5G, 24-hour battery life, and our most comprehensive set of innovative health features, now including hypertension notifications and sleep score.
Apple Watch SE 3
I’ll turn it over to Amanda to tell you about the next version of Apple Watch SE.
AMANDA: Apple Watch SE delivers the core features and benefits of Apple Watch at the most affordable price. For many people, it’s the perfect way to get started. This year, we are delighted to introduce Apple Watch SE 3.
First, it gets our most powerful Apple Watch chip, S10, which enables even more features. It brings an always-on display to SE for the first time. Now, you can read the time and see the watch face without waking the display. With S10, SE also supports gestures like double tap and wrist flick, so you can easily control your watch with just one hand.
SE already has important features like heart rate notifications, fall detection, and crash detection. SE 3 adds even more, like wrist temperature sensing, which enables retrospective ovulation estimates, and gives you richer insights in the vitals app, so you can be notified when something might be off. SE also gets sleep apnea notifications and sleep score.
Finally, for those moments when you don’t have your AirPods handy, you’ll be able to play media, like music or podcasts directly through the speaker. Even with all these great new features, the power-efficient S10 chip enables SE to still get all-day 18-hour battery life. And for the first time, SE supports fast charging, making it easy to quickly top off the battery. It now charges up to two times faster than the previous model. In just 15 minutes of charging, it can add up to 8 hours of normal use.
SE 3 comes in the popular starlight in midnight, made with 100% recycled aluminum. That’s Apple Watch SE 3, featuring a new always-on display, 5G, temperature sensing, sleep apnea notifications, and sleep score. And with the powerful features of WatchOS 26, this update takes SE to a whole new level.
Not only did we update SE in series this year, we are also introducing an all-new version of Apple Watch Ultra. Here’s Eugene to tell you all about it.
EUGENE: Apple Watch Ultra 3
EUGENE: Apple Watch Ultra is the ultimate sports and adventure watch. Ultra seamlessly transitions from a sports watch that helps you train for a race, to a smart watch that can pay for coffee, to a health monitor that checks your vitals. This year, we’re taking it further with Apple Watch Ultra 3.
Let’s start with the display. Whether you’re checking your pace in the sun or depth underwater, readability is crucial. So Ultra 3 gets a new display that uses our most advanced technology, with wide-angle OLEDs and LTPO 3. The display is now brighter when viewed at an angle, and thinner borders allow us to grow the screen area without changing the case size. The result is the largest display ever in an Apple Watch.
It can also refresh more frequently in always-on mode without affecting battery life, which means you can now see taking seconds in watch faces including a new face, Waypoint, that dynamically shows points of interest in relation to you.
For athletes, the Workout app makes it faster to customize views and use Workout Buddy, a generative voice with Apple Intelligence that delivers personalized feedback to motivate you during your workout. And Ultra keeps you connected no matter where you are with 5G cellular for more coverage and a faster, stronger connection.
Satellite Connectivity
This year, we’re also making a huge leap forward with satellite connectivity. Now when you journey off the grid, you can stay safe and in touch with loved ones using satellite in available countries and regions. Just a few taps gathers critical information and can get you the emergency help you need. You can also send messages and share your location with Find My.
To enable satellite connectivity in a device as small as Ultra, we redesigned the radio and antenna to double the signal strength, allowing you to communicate with satellites 800 miles above Earth. Emergency SOS via satellite is included with Ultra 3. And along with messages and Find My, you can now stay connected when you’re backcountry skiing, trail running, or wherever you go.
Ultra 3 also includes a larger battery and now gets up to 42 hours of battery life. Ultra will be available in black and natural titanium, made using an innovative 3D printing process that uses 100% recycled titanium and just half the raw materials as previous generations.
There are also great new colors across our Ultra bands, and the trail loop now includes reflective yarn woven along the edges. Their Amaz collection also gets a new band and rubber, perfect for an active lifestyle. And new colors for the on-mare band.
That’s Apple Watch Ultra 3, now featuring the largest display and longest battery life of any Apple Watch, with satellite communications, 5G, hypertension notifications, and watchOS 26. It’s a big update to our most advanced Apple Watch. Now, back to Stan.
STAN: New Apple Watch Lineup
STAN: So that’s our all-new lineup of Apple Watch. From the new Ultra 3 with satellite connectivity, to Series 11 with new powerful health features and 24-hour battery life, and SE3 with a massive update in performance and features, there’s a watch that’s right for everyone.
Apple Watch SE3 starts at just $249, Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $399, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 starts at $799. You can pre-order all the new models today, and they will be available starting September 19th. Now, back to Tim.
TIM COOK: iPhone Introduction
TIM COOK: The new Apple Watch lineup and the incredible features they bring make the Apple Watch even more useful and essential. The capabilities introduced today will not only help users stay connected, they’ll deliver even more health and fitness benefits seamlessly and automatically.
Now, let’s talk about iPhone. From the moment iPhone was introduced, it reinvented the phone and set a new standard for the entire industry.
Since then, we’ve continued to push boundaries with design, innovation, and experiences that have changed all of our daily lives. Today, we’re raising the bar once again with an all new iPhone lineup that’s unlike anything we’ve ever created. We’re introducing four new models, each designed to serve the unique needs of our users. And it starts now. Let’s go.
We’ll play you through a demo first. This new look and feel is the first of overdrive redesign. The iPhone 11 Pro, A new giant that can be bent to fit the next R8 or S8 and a removable rear window. In this new look, it features a ton more interesting functions than the Rebeccar 2020 doesn’t postpone the massive overdrive iPhone 17 is incredible. Here’s Cayenne to tell you more. iPhone 17 is incredible. Here’s Cayenne to tell you more.
iPhone 17 Design and Display
CAYENNE: iPhone 17 has a beautiful, more durable design and comes in five gorgeous colors. Lavender, mist blue, black, white and sage. The new design has a larger 6.3 inch display with thinner borders so you can see more and do more. And the display of iPhone 17 features ProMotion just like our Pro models with an adaptive refresh rate up to 120 Hertz designed to dynamically respond to your content for a smooth and power efficient experience.
When you’re not using your iPhone, the always on display efficiently adjusts down to one Hertz and the lock screen is even more useful with live activities and widgets. When outside, iPhone 17 is more readable with 3000 nits peak outdoor brightness, our highest ever on iPhone. This makes the display on iPhone 17 our best yet.
Ceramic Shield 2 Technology
We build iPhone to be durable because we know how much people count on it. Our industry leading ceramic shield continues to be tougher than any smartphone glass or glass ceramic. iPhone 17 introduces Ceramic Shield 2. Now it has three times better scratch resistance. It’s made possible by a new Apple design coating bonded to ceramic shield at the atomic level. This specialized ceramic layer adds hardness to protect from everyday scratches.
And the display quality gets better with a seven layer anti-reflective coating that reduces glare and distractions making iPhone more readable in bright lighting conditions both indoors and outdoors.
A19 Chip Performance
Powering iPhone 17 is the latest generation of Apple Silicon A19. Built with the most advanced three nanometer technology, A19 is faster and more efficient. It has an updated display engine to power ProMotion and the always on display. It has an improved neural engine tailored to power incredible on-device performance for Apple intelligence. Combined with increased memory bandwidth of A19, on-device generative and large language models will run even faster.
A19 has a six core CPU for our latest performance and efficiency cores to make iPhone 17 responsive while enabling great battery life. The next generation five core GPU provides a big step up for graphics intensive tasks. If you’re upgrading from an older iPhone, you’ll experience a huge boost in speed.
The advancements in Apple Silicon, hardware and software make for incredible gaming on iPhone. Titles like Destiny Rising by NetEase are even better with ProMotion’s adaptive refresh rate up to 120 hertz. A19’s advanced CPU, GPU and updated neural engine also power Apple intelligence.
Apple Intelligence and iOS 26
There are many features available today on iPhone that empower you to create, communicate and be more productive. With iOS 26, we are adding even more. With visual intelligence, you can search, take action and ask questions about what’s on your iPhone screen. Live translation helps you communicate across languages in phone, FaceTime and messages. And just like all of Apple intelligence, these features are designed to protect your privacy at every step.
The efficiency of Apple Silicon contributes to all day battery life on iPhone 17. And with ProMotion, iPhone 17 gets up to eight more hours of video playback compared to iPhone 16. When you are out of battery, faster wire charging gets you up to 50% charge in 20 minutes. So just 10 minutes of charge gives you up to eight hours of video playback.
iPhone 17 Camera System
It’s also a big year for the iPhone cameras. To show you what’s new, here’s Megan.
MEGAN: iPhone 17 has a fantastic 48 megapixel dual fusion camera system. Our fusion technology combines the capabilities of two cameras in one. With a main camera and an optical quality 2X telephoto, each with dedicated image pipelines. The main camera delivers an impressive 48 megapixels of resolution, perfect for capturing fine details like in this vibrant shoreline photo. And for everyday photos, the 24 megapixel default resolution provides the perfect balance. Offering excellent image quality, rich detail and a smaller file size that’s ideal for saving and sharing.
At 2X, the optical quality telephoto gets you closer to the subject, making it great for capturing quiet moments like this. And now iPhone 17 gets a new 48 megapixel fusion ultra wide camera. It has four times the resolution compared to iPhone 16. So you get even more detail in a broad range of photos, from exceptional macros to expressive scenes and unique angles. You’re going to love how easy it is to take amazing photos and videos.
Now, let’s flip over to the front camera. It’s how we take self portraits, record memories, express our creativity and point of view. And iPhone is with you to capture all these moments. Globally, iPhone users took over 500 billion selfies last year. That’s more than any other smartphone. So this year, we are thrilled to introduce our phenomenal new center stage front camera. It gives you more pixels, more flexible ways to frame your shot and incredible stabilization.
This new front camera has our widest field of view. It’s enabled by our largest front camera sensor, almost twice the size of our previous front camera. And for the first time, the sensor is square. Traditional sensors have a four by three aspect ratio, which limits framing based on the orientation of the phone. The center stage camera’s unique shape and larger size allow for high resolution photos and videos in any orientation, giving you four different compositions, which means you don’t have to rotate your iPhone to take a landscape selfie anymore.
Now, you can tap to expand the field of view and rotate from portrait to landscape, giving you more flexible ways to frame your photos and videos. When friends join the shot, the all new center stage for photos uses AI to automatically expand the field of view and can even rotate the frame for you. This makes it even easier to take a stare-worthy photo.
Holding iPhone vertically, you get a more secure grip and you get better landscape selfies because your eyes are more centered in the shot. And photos have even more detail with higher resolution, up to 18 megapixels. The extra pixels in the square sensor level up video, too. All your on-the-move selfie videos will be ultra-stabilized using some of the same technology that enables action mode on the rear camera.
You can also be more present FaceTiming with friends and family because center stage for video calls is optimized for handheld video to keep your face perfectly positioned in frame. The center stage front camera unlocks next level experiences unique to iPhone.
Now, back to Kayan. iPhone 17 has impressive camera upgrades with the 48 megapixel dual fusion camera system and the center stage front camera. We can’t wait to see all the ways you’ll capture everyday moments and use it for more creative possibilities.
And that completes the fantastic iPhone 17. Powered by the A19 chip, it has a bigger and brighter 6.3-inch display with ProMotion and Ceramic Shield 2. iPhone 17 also comes with the latest iOS features, Apple Intelligence, great all-day battery life, and starts with 256 gigabytes of storage. iPhone 17 is packed with features you will enjoy every day.
Introducing iPhone Air
And now, back to Tim. iPhone 17 is fantastic. And that’s just the beginning of what we’re introducing today. With the advancements made possible by Apple Silicon, we’ve been able to push the limits of iPhone design and innovation. And that breakthrough has led to something truly amazing. Introducing the newest member of the iPhone family.
Our intention was to make an iPhone that feels like a piece of the future. Powerful, yet so thin and light, it seems to disappear in your hands. The core structure is a radically thin frame made from grade five spacecraft titanium that combines strength, lightness, and durability. To bring elegance to such a tough material, we polished the frame to a pristine mirrored finish. Crafted in a palette of colors that evoke lightness.
For the first time, Ceramic Shield encloses the titanium frame on both sides. Our high-temperature process creates nanocrystals that significantly improve toughness. It’s our most durable design yet. To make something this thin, we had to redesign our iconic plateau. Precisely machined from both sides, it’s sculpted to fit our custom-made cameras, chips, and key system modules. We then dedicated every last bit of remaining space to our high-density battery, resulting in remarkable battery life.
The impulsively thin profile allowed us to stretch the display without adding any extra bulk. It’s our thinnest iPhone ever, with the power of Pro inside. A paradox you have to hold to believe. This is iPhone Air.
iPhone Air is unlike anything you’ve experienced before. To tell you all about it, here’s John.
♪♪ ♪ Drop the floor, drop the headphones, running along ♪ ♪ Try again, I can’t perform like nothing is wrong ♪ ♪ Begging for more time, need a minute to calm ♪ ♪ Calm down, calm down, calm down, now ♪ ♪♪
Introducing iPhone Air
We are thrilled to introduce the impossibly thin iPhone Air. At 5.6 millimeters, it’s the thinnest iPhone we’ve ever made, and it’s also exceptionally light. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever held before, and it’s packed with our most advanced features.
The gorgeous 6.5-inch display is our best, featuring ProMotion up to 120 hertz, always-on, and 3,000 nits of peak brightness. And it’s protected by the new Ceramic Shield 2, with improved anti-reflection and three times better scratch resistance than our previous Ceramic Shield.
We’re also bringing Ceramic Shield to the back of iPhone for the very first time. It’s four times more resistant to cracks than our previous back glass. It also protects the new Plateau that now houses major internal components at the top of iPhone. The inside was precision milled for more space, creating room for the rear camera, front camera, speaker, and even Apple Silicon.
The frame of iPhone Air is made of titanium. This is an essential material choice for such a thin design, and enables it to exceed our stringent bend strength requirements. Altogether, these materials make iPhone Air more durable than any previous iPhone. We’re also using 80% recycled titanium, the highest ever for iPhone.
There are four stunning colors to choose from: Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, and Sky Blue. iPhone Air has such a unique design, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Apple Silicon. To tell you more, here’s Tim Millet.
The A19 Pro Chip Powers iPhone Air
TIM MILLET: With Apple Silicon, our focus is to maximize performance and efficiency so we can drive innovation in our products. iPhone Air demands the most efficient high-performance chip we’ve ever built for iPhone, and that is A19 Pro.
With the CPU, we continue to push on single-threaded performance and efficiency. Our performance cores gain improvements to front-end bandwidth and branch prediction, making A19 Pro the fastest CPU in any smartphone. And we increase the last-level cache of our efficiency cores by 50%, specifically aimed at improving energy efficiency for the things you do every day. The result is a CPU that’s even faster and more efficient than A19.
Our GPU also gets a big upgrade in A19 Pro. We are introducing the second generation of our dynamic caching architecture, we doubled our 16-bit floating-point math rates, and we built a new unified image compression. And that’s not all. The other major update to our GPU is around AI.
We have been at the forefront of AI acceleration since we first introduced the neural engine eight years ago. We later brought machine-learning accelerators to our CPUs. And while our GPU has always been great at AI compute, we’re now taking a big step forward, building neural accelerators into each GPU core, delivering up to three times the peak GPU compute of A18 Pro. This is MacBook Pro levels of compute in an iPhone, perfect for GPU-intensive AI workloads.
Revolutionary Wireless Connectivity
Another area of innovation for Apple Silicon is wireless connectivity. For years, we’ve been building Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips for Apple Watch and AirPods. And now, this is coming to iPhone for the first time. Introducing N1, our Apple-designed chip, which enables the latest wireless networking technologies, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, while improving overall performance and reliability in key areas like personal hotspot and airdrop.
Finally, a critical innovation that makes iPhone Air possible is our Apple-designed modem. We introduced C1 last spring, and in just six months, we already have a new version that is faster and more efficient. The new C1X is up to two times faster when compared to C1. It is even faster than the modem in iPhone 16 Pro and uses 30% less energy overall, making it the most power-efficient modem in an iPhone.
In fact, iPhone Air is the most power-efficient iPhone we have ever made. We started building Apple Silicon to enable us to create better products, and iPhone Air is the realization of that goal. Back to John.
Advanced Camera System
JOHN TERNUS: The camera system in iPhone Air delivers the most popular features that make iPhone the world’s favorite camera. What might appear to be a single camera is actually our new, powerful, 48-megapixel fusion camera system, which works like multiple advanced cameras in one.
You can shoot breathtaking 48-megapixel photos, capturing even the small trees across the valley and the deep color range on the stone wall. And the 2X telephoto has an updated photonic engine, which now uses machine learning to capture the lifelike details of her hair and the vibrant color of her jacket.
This fusion camera excels in low light thanks to its large sensor, fast aperture, and our Apple-designed sensor shift optical image stabilization. The large sensor enables a second optical-quality lens, the integrated 2X telephoto, delivering stunning photos and 4K videos. With the power of computational photography, this incredible system enables the latest signature features of the iPhone camera, like 24-megapixel default photos.
You can capture the color of her hair, the fine texture of her dress, and even nuances in the shadows. Next-generation portraits with focus control, which works on any subject, like these delicious waffles. Or the latest generation of photographic styles, which features the new Bright Style that brightens skin tones and applies a pop of vibrance across the image. And the custom 28 and 35-millimeter lenses give users more flexibility to frame their shot and to focus on the subject.
On the front, we have our new and innovative center stage camera. You don’t need to rotate your phone anymore to take a landscape selfie. Center stage for photos perfectly frames everyone in either orientation. A brand new feature that combines the front and rear cameras. Dual capture video is perfect to record yourself while at a concert or your reaction to the game’s big players.
The new stabilization from the front camera keeps you in frame, while the Fusion main camera on the back gives you the flexibility to zoom in to the story you want to tell. And there is so much more to these camera systems, like action mode, audio mix, 4K Dolby Vision, and all the features of camera control.
eSIM Innovation
There’s another important innovation that helped bring iPhone Air to life, and that is eSIM. We pioneered eSIM years ago, and now it’s an industry standard. And compared to that decades-old piece of plastic, eSIM is so much easier to use, has better security, and saves precious space inside iPhone.
eSIM is also great for travel. Carriers have many affordable and convenient roaming plans. If you want to use a local plan, it’s easy to set up an eSIM from the comfort of your home or while on the road. There’s no need to change physical SIM cards, and you can have data from the moment you land at your destination.
eSIM coverage is available globally, thanks to extensive planning and testing with our carrier partners. Because of this, we designed iPhone Air to be eSIM-only worldwide, maximizing internal space for battery size.
Battery Life Innovation
So now, let’s talk about battery life. We innovated in both hardware and software to deliver great battery life for iPhone Air, powered by our most advanced Apple Silicon built for efficiency. The internal design has been completely rethought to maximize battery space.
And iOS 26 introduces new power-saving features, like Adaptive Power Mode, which learns your usage patterns and anticipates when you might run low on battery, intelligently conserving power to help you make it through the day.
Now, despite being much thinner and lighter, iPhone Air still gets amazing all-day battery life. This is incredible. All-day battery life in our thinnest iPhone ever.
New Accessory Ecosystem
We’re also introducing a new ecosystem of accessories to complement this unique iPhone design. Thanks to the incredible thinness of iPhone Air, we were able to create a new, low-profile MagSafe battery that, when attached, feels great in your hand and is slim enough to drop right into your pocket.
When using them together, iPhone Air has up to 40 hours of video playback. That’s enough to binge on all 40 episodes of “For All Mankind,” making it a great accessory for long trips.
We also designed two custom cases for iPhone Air. The first is a translucent case with a back panel that is less than one millimeter thin, designed to provide great drop protection, available in frost and shadow. The second is a lightweight bumper made from a reinforced polycarbonate. It perfectly frames iPhone Air and is available in four matching colors.
Both options can be paired with the new crossbody strap. It’s lined with thin, flexible magnets designed to hold the straps together and allow you to easily adjust the length.
So that’s the incredibly advanced iPhone Air, our thinnest iPhone ever with pro performance inside. Incredible durability, amazing camera systems on both front and back, and our latest Apple-designed chips built for efficiency to deliver fantastic all-day battery life. All this in a new design that frankly seems impossible, and we can’t wait for you to experience it.
Now, back to Tim. iPhone Air is a total game changer. It’s designed for customers who want pro performance in an unbelievably thin and light design. And with iPhone Air in the lineup, we were able to take our two pro models to an entirely new level of performance and capabilities.
iPhone 17 Pro: Redefining Pro Performance
So our goal was simple, to build the most pro iPhone yet by a lot. We started from scratch and rebuilt it from the inside out. Introducing iPhone 17 Pro. We set out to redefine the pro, driven by performance, durability, and capability.
So we started again from solid aluminum with a custom extrusion that’s heated and forged, then precision machined in thousands of finer and finer passes. Traveling through successive anodizing baths, we built a colorful and durable oxide outer layer to create our first iPhone unibody, a light, thermally efficient, and rigid enclosure designed for the biggest battery in any iPhone.
The full-width camera plateau elegantly integrates the antenna and encases a new pro camera system with breathtaking range and resolution. Core to the unmatched performance is the most powerful chip made for iPhone. But this much power generates heat, so we designed a completely new thermal system to dissipate heat rapidly throughout the aluminum unibody.
Ceramic Shield, our toughest glass ceramic formulation, now protects the back as well as the front, designed to resist whatever life throws at it. iPhone 17 Pro. The new definition of pro. iPhone 17 Pro. iPhone 17 Pro. iPhone 17 Pro is by far the most advanced iPhone ever, featuring a striking new design and powerful capabilities. To tell you more, here’s Joss.
Advanced Thermal Management System
JOSS: iPhone 17 Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro design is more than just a fresh, bold new look. It also delivers a dramatic leap in performance that makes this the most powerful iPhone ever, by far. And it starts with an entirely new approach to thermal management, which is critical to system performance.
We meticulously manage power and surface temperature to make sure iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max always deliver exceptional performance while remaining comfortable to hold. At the heart of the new thermal management system is an Apple-designed vapor chamber. Deionized water is sealed inside the vapor chamber, which is laser-welded into the aluminum chassis. This efficiently moves heat away from the components, allowing for higher sustained performance.
The vapor chamber directs heat strategically through the system, where it is efficiently dissipated and released by the forged aluminum unibody. We used an Apple-designed aerospace-grade aluminum alloy for its superior thermal conductivity, which is 20 times greater than the titanium we previously used. This proprietary alloy is also significantly lighter. As a result, it was the perfect choice for achieving this new design while delivering outstanding thermal performance in a product that remains comfortable to hold and use.
Design and Color Options
And the aluminum is anodized in three stunning finishes. A refined silver, an elegant deep blue, and the bold and eye-catching cosmic orange. A key element of the design is the forged plateau, which efficiently dissipates heat and creates extra space for components, making room for a larger battery. And by integrating the antennas around the perimeter of the plateau, it helped create the highest-performing antenna system ever in an iPhone.
A19 Pro Chip Performance
So every aspect of this design is engineered to maximize performance and unlock the full potential of the extraordinary A19 Pro. It features a powerful 6-core CPU and a high-performance 6-core GPU with a neural accelerator built into each GPU core. It also features a larger cache than A18 Pro and even more memory.
When A19 Pro is paired with our best-ever thermal design, iPhone 17 Pro is able to deliver up to a whopping 40% better sustained performance than iPhone 16 Pro, making it ideal for intensive tasks like gaming, photo and video editing, using the latest Apple Intelligence features, and running local large-language models. So you can play visually demanding games like Arknights Enfield with hardware-accelerated ray tracing at higher frame rates, hour after hour.
Enhanced Durability and Ceramic Shield
This new design not only delivers exceptional performance but also builds upon iPhone’s industry-leading durability. The glass in the back is even better protected by the aluminum unibody design. In fact, it’s no longer glass at all. Like iPhone Air, we’re now using ceramic shield for the back. This provides exceptional strength.
The ceramic shield back is four times more resistant to cracks than our previous back glass, and in a thinner profile, creating more room for the battery. On the front, the gorgeous display is protected by the incredible new ceramic shield too, providing industry-leading protection with three times better scratch resistance than the previous generation.
And the new seven-layer anti-reflective coating reduces glare and distractions, making the display more readable in bright lighting conditions, both indoors and outdoors. All these design decisions made it possible to grow the battery significantly, resolving an iPhone 17 Pro Max achieving the best battery life ever in an iPhone.
For our eSIM-only models, we took advantage of the space formerly occupied by the physical SIM to grow the battery even more, to provide an additional two hours of video playback per charge, enabling up to an astonishing 39 hours of video playback.
Pro Camera System
Next, let’s talk about the Pro Camera System, which combines incredible hardware with advanced computational photography to capture beautiful photos and videos. The iPhone 17 Pro Camera System gets even more powerful and versatile. To tell you about it, here’s Patrick.
PATRICK: iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max feature the best camera system we’ve ever made with high-resolution sensors on each camera. The 18-megapixel center stage camera, our innovative new front camera system, the wider field of view in higher resolution are particularly useful when recording yourself speaking directly to camera, making our Pro models the absolute best choice for content creators.
On the rear, all three cameras are 48 megapixels for the very first time. And not only are the sensors 48 megapixels, but all three are Fusion cameras. We have updated the imaging pipelines for better resolving power. That means you’ll get more detailed images at every zoom range and light level.
48-Megapixel Fusion Telephoto Camera
The extended plateau on iPhone 17 Pro is also designed to house an all-new 48-megapixel Fusion telephoto camera. It offers a 4X zoom at 100 millimeters and a far-reaching 8X zoom at 200 millimeters, our longest optical-quality zoom ever.
iPhone 17 Pro has our next generation tetraprism telephoto with an improved 3D sensor shift image stabilization system. This is necessary because it features a sensor that is 56% larger than the previous generation, which improves sharpness in bright light and provides better detail across all light levels.
The new telephoto camera provides a longer reach and gives more creative choice. The 4X at 100 millimeters is a classic lens for portraiture, providing a flattering perspective and new options for framing. It’s perfect for nature photography, freezing motion, and capturing stunning detail. With the additional 8X 200-millimeter lens, we can get closer still with a beautiful depth of field.
And like the 2X telephoto, the 8X also utilizes the updated Photonic Engine, which integrates machine learning into even more parts of the image pipeline. We apply deep learning models for demosaicing, which constructs the image from the raw output using the quad pixels in the imaging sensors. This preserves natural detail, reduces noise, and results in significantly improved color accuracy, especially in low light. And now the digital zoom is up to 40 extra photos.
With the new 48-megapixel Fusion telephoto camera system, iPhone 17 Pro has the equivalent of eight Pro lenses in your pocket. We put iPhone 17 Pro in the hands of some world-class photographers. Let’s take a look at some of the fantastic images they captured.
Those photos are absolutely beautiful. Now let’s talk about video.
Professional Video Capabilities
Our pro models already lead the way in smartphone video. To match our quality, format support and seamless integration in professional workflows, you’d have to look to dedicated pro camera systems. No other smartphone comes close. We’re even filming this event with iPhone 17 Pro. How cool is that?
Amazing pro features like Dolby Vision HDR, 4K 120, ProRes Log and support for Asus have been loved by filmmakers who also love how iPhone allows them to be closer to their subjects, more intimate, more nimble and more flexible.
This year, we’re bringing some of our most requested pro video features, allowing iPhone to integrate even more seamlessly into the largest and smallest of productions. We’re adding support for ProRes RAW capture, which is the industry leading Apple developed video codec that records all of the information captured by the camera sensor to provide unparalleled flexibility in post-production. It’s ideal for high dynamic range video. And since we introduced it, it has become the industry standard for productions requiring the highest level of control and quality.
ProRes RAW capture is supported by Final Cut Camera and Blackmagic Camera and APIs are available for other developers. We’re also adding support for Genlock, which enables super precise video synchronization. It’s particularly useful for content creators and streamers. Whether using multiple cameras or on screen graphics, Genlock allows for accurate and professional looking transitions without hours of manual frame by frame alignment.
Advanced Filmmaking Capabilities and Genlock Technology
TIM COOK: When using an array of cameras, Genlock enables advanced filmmaking tools and techniques like time splicing or bullet time, which allows filmmakers to change the audience perspective while freezing time. Genlock is supported via the new Blackmagic Camera Pro Dock, and we have APIs available for others as well. We’re thrilled to bring these advanced filmmaking tools to iPhone, making them more affordable and approachable. iPhone 17 Pro truly sets a new standard.
New iPhone 17 Pro Accessories
And to complete the experience, we’ve also designed a range of new accessories. We’re introducing our tech woven case with a new, innovative material. This woven textile is crafted with a technical process that uses multiple yarn colors to create a sophisticated look, while protective coating provides a resistance to scratches and stains. We also have clear cases, as well as a great selection of colors in silicone. All of our cases feature a new button design that feels even better and more precise than before.
The beautiful and functional cross body strap that you saw with iPhone Air is designed to pair with tech woven cases for iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, as well as silicone cases for all iPhone 17 models.
iPhone 17 Pro Summary
So that’s iPhone 17 Pro. By far the most powerful and versatile iPhone we’ve ever made. This is a huge upgrade featuring a stunning design and powered by A19 Pro for our best performance ever. It also delivers an enormous leap in battery life. All 48 megapixel fusion cameras on the back and 8x zoom, along with our innovative center stage camera on the front. Plus, it supports the latest features in iOS 26, Apple Intelligence and so much more.
Let’s see the iPhone 17 Pro in action.
“Days may be cloudy or sunny, We’re in a ride of the money, But I’m with you baby, I’m with you rain or shine. Days may be cloudy or sunny, We’re in a ride of the money, But I’m with you baby, I’m with you rain or shine.”
Pricing and Availability
This is without question our best iPhone lineup ever. All the new models will start with 256 gigabytes of storage, giving you more room for your photos, videos, apps and memories. iPhone 17 starts at $799, keeping the same great price. iPhone Air starts at $999. And iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1099. The same great price as last year’s 256 gigabyte iPhone 16 Pro and for the first time a 2 terabyte configuration is available on iPhone 17 Pro Max.
We also have amazing offers from Apple and our partners. You can get up to $1,100 off when you trade in an iPhone 13 Pro or newer in any condition. And the iPhone lineup starts at just $599 with iPhone 16e. Pre-orders for all new models start this Friday and they will be available starting September 19th.
And now back to Tim.
Closing Remarks
TIM COOK: These iPhone 17 Pro models are the most advanced Pro models we’ve ever created and this new iPhone lineup represents the biggest leap ever for iPhone. The products and innovations we introduced today along with the power of Apple intelligence will enrich people’s lives in so many ways. It reflects our deep commitment to designing industry-leading products and experiences because we’ve always believed that when something is designed with great care, with absolute attention to every detail, every material, technology, and interaction that the result can impact our lives in powerful and profound ways and change the world for the better. Thank you very much for joining us. Have a great day.
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