First take a look at Apple’s new devices

Unless you’ve been dwelling below a dusty ‘ol Blackberry, you probably know Apple announced its skinny iPhone Air on Sept. 9, at its much-hyped “Awe Dropping” keynote.

Yours truly had an opportunity to play around with the 5.6mm-thin iPhone Air following the reveal, and also got hands-on time with the new iPhone 17 family, AirPods Pro 3 earbuds, and new Apple Watches – all available September 19.

While not a review — as I haven’t but examined the brand new {hardware} in and round my residence on the time of penning this — the next are my preliminary impressions.

iPhone Air

The kind issue and design of the iPhone Air shall be the very first thing you discover, because it’s a skinny and lightweight cellphone that feels good to carry with one hand whereas concurrently scrolling and tapping the display screen along with your thumb.

The 6.3-inch display screen is tremendous clean, due to Apple’s ProMovement show that refreshes as much as 120 occasions per second, in comparison with a regular 60Hz show which solely refreshes 60 occasions per second.

Despite how skinny the cellphone is, it feels remarkably sturdy. Apple says it makes use of titanium as a substitute of aluminum, together with its proprietary Ceramic Shield coating on the again of iPhone Air, and the newer Ceramic Shield 2 on the entrance, the latter of which is alleged to be thrice extra scratch-resistant than its predecessor.

While not examined, Apple says its engineers have been capable of squeeze as much as 27 hours of video playback – outstanding for such a skinny system.

iPhone Air begins at $999, in certainly one of 4 coloration choices.

iPhone 17 household

All three new iPhone 17 fashions have been on-hand – iPhone 17, the beefier iPhone 17 Pro, and the bigger iPhone 17 Pro Max – every with improved specs over final 12 months’s fashions. (And a placing new orange coloration with the Pro fashions.)

Interestingly, whereas many have been bracing for larger costs as a consequence of tariffs, costs stay the identical as final 12 months. In truth, beginning at $799, iPhone 17 is a greater deal in comparison with the iPhone 16, because it begins with twice the storage (256GB as a substitute of 128GB).

The cameras are the true story right here, particularly on the Pro fashions (from $1,099), as they include three superior rear lenses (a fundamental, telephoto, and extremely wide-angle), every at 48 megapixels for unbelievable element.

As with iPhone Air, the complete iPhone 17 household additionally has a tremendously improved front-facing 18-megapixel digital camera – excellent for selfies – and with a brand new square-shaped sensor, coupled with AI, that enables for neat issues like routinely retaining you targeted in body and with the ability to swap between portrait and panorama photographs without having to rotate the digital camera.

For the primary time, you can too shoot video on each the entrance and rear cameras concurrently, so you may seize the motion (like a live performance) and your response (like singing alongside), picture-in-picture, and share it with your mates.

IPhone 17 additionally has a robust processor, improved screens (with that ProMovement), higher safety (Ceramic Shield 2), longer battery life, and different bells and whistles.

Note: All iPhone 17 fashions and iPhone Air are “eSIM only,” however Apple will make it simple to switch over your quantity for these with an old style SIM card.

Apple Watch fashions

Just as there have been three new iPhone 17 fashions, Apple allow us to spend a while with the three new Apple Watch choices: the flagship Apple Watch Series 11 (from $399), the bigger and extra adventure-proof Apple Watch Ultra 3 (from $799) and entry-level Apple Watch SE 3 (from $249).

Apple Watch Series 11 gadgets are thinner, with brighter screens, and are extra sturdy, says Apple, together with a 24-hour battery for the primary time.

I’ve not examined, however a brand new hypertension monitor shall be obtainable in some unspecified time in the future, notifying you of potential hypertension, to enhance the plethora of present health-related measurements. A brand new “Sleep Score” is alleged to additionally offer you extra insights into your all-important sleep high quality and amount.

For outdoorsy sorts and critical sports activities lovers, Apple Watch Ultra 3 has as much as 42 hours of battery life (or as much as 72 hours in Low Power Mode), and for the primary time helps satellite tv for pc connectivity within the occasion you’re off the grid and need to ship messages to family and friends – or require emergency companies.

AirPods Pro 3

Finally, the world’s best-selling earbuds simply obtained higher.

If my “ears-on” time with the AirPods Pro 3 ($249) are any indication, they’re extra snug (thanks, partly to foam contained in the ear ideas) and provide twice the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) because the earlier mannequin.

Battery life has been prolonged to eight hours as a substitute of 6 (with ANC enabled) and as much as 10 hours (in comparison with 6) on Transparent mode for individuals who need to hear the surface world (like pedestrians and cyclists).

For the primary time, AirPods Pro 3 can measure your coronary heart fee whereas exercising, displayed on the Health app on an iPhone.

Powered by Apple Intelligence, a brand new Live Translation mode is alleged to ship close to real-time language translation to your ears when conversing with somebody who speaks one other language.

The ultimate Apple take

Apple acknowledges it should provide a compelling purpose for customers to improve – but not mess what made these merchandise so wanted to start with.

iPhone Air isn’t the primary ultra-thin cellphone – Samsung just lately launched its 5.8 mm-thin Galaxy S25 Edge (from $1219.99) – to not point out Samsung and Google Pixel boast some critically spectacular AI options that presently trump what Apple can do.

But those that like iPhone will little doubt love iPhone Air.

The different gadgets are additionally examples of iterative however significant developments over their predecessors, and with a broad collection of choices to go well with various tastes, wants, and budgets.

I’ll reserve ultimate judgment till these may be examined freely, together with vital options like battery life, however what we’ve seen up to now is “awe dropping” certainly.

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This article initially appeared on USA TODAY: The iPhone Air offers fans a fresh, lighter version of the iPhone