An ‘iPhone Air,’ value hikes and AI: What to observe at Apple’s largest occasion of the 12 months

The iPhone wants a shakeup. It may get one as quickly as September 9, when Apple is anticipated to announce an all-new slimmer mannequin of the iPhone, probably referred to as the “iPhone Air,” alongside the iPhone 17 and new Apple Watch fashions at its marquee annual occasion.

That type of overhaul can be the primary dramatic redesign of Apple’s signature product since 2017, when Apple launched the iPhone X, the primary mannequin with out the acquainted dwelling button and with Apple’s now-ubiquitous Face ID expertise. That shift set the stage for iPhone generations to come back.

But the iPhone Air, which Bloomberg reports will likely be introduced at this 12 months’s occasion, might play a unique function. Rather than setting the stage for the iPhone’s future, an iPhone Air may add extra selection to the iPhone lineup for purchasers who need one thing completely different, analysts say.

Apple wants the assistance. While iPhone gross sales have been sturdy, as Apple’s most up-to-date earnings report indicated in July, customers are solely upgrading once they really feel new options are value it — and that’s taking place much less typically now, in response to market analysis agency Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

And not like Android rivals Samsung and Google, which have leaned into synthetic intelligence on their smartphone software program, Apple Intelligence is anticipated to take a again seat throughout Tuesday’s occasion, at the same time as perceptions proceed that the corporate lags in AI.

Apple may additionally set to relaxation questions of whether or not tariffs will increase iPhone costs.

But there’s a much bigger query looming over all of this: Can Apple’s blockbuster, 18-year-old product nonetheless excite customers?

Apple didn’t instantly reply to CNN’s request for remark.

When Google unveiled the Pixel 10 lineup in August, pre-empting Apple’s iPhone announcement, its Gemini assistant was entrance and middle. Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vp of platforms and units, kicked off the launch occasion with an summary of the corporate’s imaginative and prescient for Gemini, claiming the digital helper can “unlock so much helpfulness on your phone.”

One of the Pixel 10’s hallmark new options is a instrument referred to as Magic Cue, which makes use of AI to investigate what you’re doing in your telephone and recommend the following motion.

Samsung equally touted the AI capabilities on the Galaxy S25 — its flagship telephone that competes with the iPhone — as a serious promoting level when it unveiled the gadget in January. One such function permits customers to do a multi-step process, reminiscent of trying up the schedule of a sports activities crew and including it to their calendar, with one voice command.

But analysts say Apple is just too behind in AI to take that method. Instead, it’s anticipated to focus extra on {hardware} developments than AI.

Ted Mortonson, a expertise strategist at Baird, mentioned Apple’s AI developments doubtless aren’t prepared but, including that the corporate is beneath strain to impress when it does ship new AI instruments or else it may danger dropping prospects to Samsung and Google.

Earlier this 12 months, Apple delayed a high-profile replace that will have enabled Siri to behave throughout apps and reply questions on content material in your telephone’s display screen. The function would have introduced Siri up to the mark with extra refined AI brokers like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Apple mentioned it wanted extra time to carry the expertise as much as the corporate’s “high quality bar.”

“Taking a step back, we see AI as one of the most profound technologies of our lifetime,” CEO Tim Cook mentioned in his opening remarks throughout Apple’s July earnings name. “We are embedding it across our devices and platforms and across the company. We are also significantly growing our investments.”

Still, AI isn’t “compelling users to walk into stores to upgrade,” Nabila Popal, a senior director with the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) knowledge and analytics crew, beforehand instructed CNN by way of electronic mail. And between an MIT study indicating that 95% of organizations are getting no return on their AI investments and muted earnings from Nvidia, the chipmaker on the middle of the AI increase, there’s rising sentiment that the AI gold rush could also be overhyped.

But the iPhone remains to be one of many world’s most ubiquitous smartphones, accounting for 15.7% of the worldwide smartphone share — simply behind market chief Samsung, in response to the IDC.

Apple will doubtless lean into that benefit, selecting to concentrate on enhancements to the iPhone’s core performance like battery life, digicam high quality and design. And value will likely be high of thoughts; each Wall Street and customers will likely be watching to see whether or not tariffs have impacted the brand new iPhone’s value.

Analysts from Morgan Stanley and Loop Capital consider value hikes might be in retailer. The firm may eradicate one of many decrease storage choices for the iPhone 17 Pro to drive customers to the pricier fashions, a bunch of Morgan Stanley analysts led by Erik Woodring wrote in a September 4 analysis word. This may assist Apple offset the costs of upper element prices, the report famous.

“Normally, it’s not a good sign for a launch event when the price is the big focus, because then the product itself might not be as much of a highlight compared to the previous generations,” mentioned Runar Bjørhovde, a analysis analyst for market analysis agency Canalys.

But President Donald Trump’s tariffs make this launch an exception, since many will likely be watching to see whether or not Apple adjustments its pricing within the United States and different markets. “How does Apple decide to play that game?” Bjørhovde mentioned. “Apple doesn’t like to change the prices over time, so whatever is set from Day 1 is normally a key indicator on what we will see for the next year.”

Apple has struggled in recent times to discover a fourth iPhone mannequin that resonates as strongly as the usual, Pro and Pro Max. It eliminated the iPhone Mini from its lineup after simply two generations beginning with the iPhone 14, and now the corporate is anticipated to interchange the Plus mannequin with this new Air.

But which will entail compromises like only one digicam as an alternative of the 2 on the usual iPhone 16, in response to Bloomberg.

The telephone might be a tricky promote for different causes, too. Consumers have tightened their purse strings and are holding onto their smartphones for longer periods of time, so a skinny design is probably not sufficient to draw new consumers. Plus, Samsung has already gotten forward of Apple with a slimmer new telephone referred to as the Galaxy S25 Edge.

Still, Apple does have one benefit.

“The Air version of the MacBook has stuck. The Air version of the iPad has stuck,” mentioned Dipanjan Chatterjee, vp and principal analyst for market analysis agency Forrester. “So, there’s good reason to believe that the Air version — a slimmer, thinner iPhone — will.”