iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Air Announced – Specs, Preorders, and Shipping
Apple has officially unveiled the iPhone 17 lineup, bringing a significant leap forward for photographers and video content creators. The launch event was held at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, and was streamed live across the Apple website, YouTube, and Apple TV.
Leading the announcement is the iPhone 17 Air, Apple’s thinnest smartphone yet, drawing design inspiration from the company’s ultra-slim MacBook series. Alongside it, Apple introduced the complete lineup, which includes the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models.
** Affiliate links may earn Imaging Resource a commission on qualifying purchases. **
When Will iPhone 17 Preorders Start?
Apple has announced that pre-orders for the new iPhone 17 lineup will begin on Friday, September 12, 2025. The first units will begin shipping a week later, on September 19, 2025.
Iphone 17 Pricing: What to Expect
Apple has revealed the official pricing for the iPhone 17 lineup, with the base model starting at $799 while the Pro and Pro Max versions retain their previous price points. All models now come with a base storage of 256GB, giving users more space for photos, videos, apps, and other files. For the first time, Apple is also introducing a massive 2TB storage option, which will be available exclusively on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple is also offering disounts of up to $1,100 when trading in older models starting with the iPhone 13 Pro or newer, in whatever condition.
- iPhone 17: $799
- iPhone 17 Air: $999
- iPhone 17 Pro: $1,099
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: $1,199
Where to Pre-Order / Buy the iPhone 17 Series
The iPhone 17 lineup will be available for preorder through major retailers across the US, UK, and Canada. The listings aren’t live yet, but these are the most dependable online stores once pre-orders start:
United States
Amazon | Apple | B&H
United Kingdom
Amazon UK | Apple | Currys
Canada
Amazon CA | Apple | Best Buy CA
Other Products Showcased at the Event
Apple Announces AirPods Pro 3 With Improved Noise Cancellation, Live Translation, and Longer Battery Life
Apple kicked off its latest wave of product announcements with the introduction of the AirPods Pro 3, a complete redesign of the company’s flagship wireless earbuds with upgraded sound quality, smarter features, and better ergonomics. The new generation promises improved comfort, deeper bass, and Apple’s most advanced noise-canceling system yet.
One of the headline features of the AirPods Pro 3 is its enhanced spatial audio design, delivering richer, punchier bass and a more immersive listening experience. Apple claims that the new earbuds offer twice the noise cancellation performance of the second-generation AirPods Pro – and four times the reduction compared to the original model – calling it the world’s best in-ear noise cancellation.
Among the biggest new capabilities is Live Translation, powered by Apple’s advanced computational audio technology. The feature allows real-time translation of a speaker’s voice into your preferred language while automatically lowering the original speaker’s volume so you can focus on the translation. There’s also a text translation mode, enabling seamless multilingual conversations without needing a separate app.
The AirPods Pro 3 have also been redesigned for a better fit, ensuring improved comfort during extended listening sessions. They’re sweat- and water-resistant, making them suitable for workouts, running, and use in challenging weather conditions.
Another major upgrade is the addition of a heartbeat sensor that can monitor heart rate during workouts and sync data directly to the Health app for more accurate activity tracking. This bridges fitness and entertainment into one streamlined experience, allowing users to listen to music while monitoring their performance.
Battery life has also been improved, increasing from six hours to eight hours on a single charge – enough to get through a transatlantic flight without needing to recharge.
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249 and are now available for pre-order. Shipping begins on September 19.
Apple Watch Series 11, SE 3, and Ultra 3 Unveiled, Adding More Features and an Improved Battery Life
Apple has announced three new smartwatches during its September event – the Apple Watch Series 11, the Apple Watch SE 3, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 – bringing improved durability, new health features, better battery life, and expanded connectivity across the lineup.
Apple Watch Series 11
The Apple Watch Series 11 is Apple’s thinnest and most durable smartwatch yet, featuring a completely redesigned chassis and a LiquidGlass display for added strength. Apple claims the Series 11 is twice as durable as its predecessor, making it better suited for daily wear and active lifestyles.
Powering the watch is watchOS 26, which introduces new health, fitness, and sleep tracking improvements. One of its biggest new features is hypertension detection. By monitoring health data over a 30-day period, the watch can automatically alert users if potential hypertension is detected. However, Apple notes that the feature is still awaiting FDA approval.
Sleep tracking also receives a major upgrade, with the addition of a sleep score to help users better understand and improve their rest patterns. To support this, the Series 11 gets a more efficient battery designed for overnight use, addressing one of the long-standing complaints about Apple Watch battery life.
Apple Watch SE 3
The Apple Watch SE 3 delivers many of the most requested features at a budget-friendly price point. It now includes wrist temperature sensing, which enables ovulation monitoring and more accurate health insights. Built-in speakers add to its versatility, making it an appealing option for users who want essential smartwatch features without the higher price tag.
Apple has also improved both battery performance and charging speed. A quick 15-minute charge provides up to 8 hours of use, making it one of the most efficient Apple Watches yet in its class.
Apple Watch Ultra 3
At the top of the lineup, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is Apple’s flagship smartwatch, built for users who demand the most capability and endurance. It introduces a wide-angle OLED display, now the largest display ever on an Apple Watch, offering improved visibility for outdoor activities and navigation.
One of its standout upgrades is satellite connectivity, enabling users to stay connected even in remote areas with no cellular coverage. The Ultra 3 can communicate with satellites up to 800 miles away, allowing users to send emergency messages when traditional networks aren’t available – a potentially lifesaving feature for outdoor adventurers.
Battery life has also been extended, making the Ultra 3 the longest-lasting Apple Watch to date, further cementing its position as the go-to option for endurance athletes and travelers.
Everything We Know About the iPhone 17 Lineup So Far
Apple has announced four models for the iPhone 17, with the base iPhone, iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max, and the newest addition, the iPhone Air. The Air model is the slimmest and lightest iPhone ever.
The iPhone 17
The iPhone 17 introduces a refreshed design, featuring a 6.3-inch display with slimmer bezels and Apple’s ProMotion technology, delivering a 120Hz refresh rate for smoother scrolling and an improved viewing experience. With a peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits-the highest on any iPhone yet-the display remains bright and visible even under direct sunlight.
Protecting the screen is Ceramic Shield 2, which now offers 3x better scratch resistance thanks to a new coating bonded at the atomic level. Apple has also added a seven-layer anti-reflective coating to reduce glare, making the screen more readable in bright lighting conditions.
Under the hood, the A19 Bionic chip powers the iPhone 17 with a 3nm architecture, delivering faster performance and better efficiency compared to its predecessor. The 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU provide notable gains in speed and multitasking, while the Super Retina XRD display ensures rich colors and sharpness-ideal for viewing photos, videos, and HDR content.
Battery life also sees a significant upgrade, offering up to eight additional hours of video playback compared to the iPhone 16. The iPhone 17 supports faster wired charging, reaching 50% in just 20 minutes, making it a more reliable daily companion.
iPhone 17 Dual Camera Array
The iPhone 17 debuts an advanced 48-megapixel Dual Fusion camera system designed to deliver major improvements in low-light photography, sharpness, and overall image quality. Its main camera features a 48MP sensor with a 26mm equivalent focal length and a bright f/1.6 aperture, paired with sensor-shift image stabilization for crisp, blur-free shots even in challenging lighting. Complementing it is a 12-megapixel 2x telephoto camera with a 52mm equivalent focal length, f/1.6 aperture, and its own sensor-shift stabilization, making it ideal for portraits and close-up details. The 48MP main camera can also be set to produce 24-megapixel stills, striking a balance between image quality and manageable file sizes.
A notable upgrade comes in the form of the new 48-megapixel Fusion ultra-wide camera, boasting a 13mm equivalent focal length and f/2.2 aperture. With four times the resolution of the iPhone 16’s ultra-wide, it captures significantly more detail. It also doubles as a 12-megapixel 1x macro camera at 26mm, offering greater flexibility for creative photography.
The front camera sees a major overhaul with the new Center Stage system, now featuring the largest front-facing sensor ever on an iPhone-twice the size of the previous generation. Its square sensor design, a first for iPhone, allows for more flexible framing options and high-resolution selfies in any orientation. It also has the widest field of view yet on an iPhone front camera. Using AI-powered subject detection, Center Stage automatically expands the field of view when multiple people are in frame, ensuring everyone fits perfectly.
For video, the Center Stage camera now features enhanced stabilization and handheld shooting optimization, resulting in smoother, more stable video calls, vlogs, and front-facing recordings-keeping you perfectly centered and in focus.
Apple iPhone 17 Air
The newest addition to Apple’s lineup, the iPhone 17 Air, pushes the limits of design and engineering with a focus on durability, lightness, and performance. Built from space-grade titanium, the Air is designed to be both incredibly strong and remarkably lightweight. Apple has also added Ceramic Shield protection on both the front and back, making this the company’s most durable iPhone design yet. A redesigned camera plateau neatly houses the camera system and other critical components while maintaining the phone’s ultra-thin profile.
At just 5.6mm thick, the iPhone 17 Air is officially the slimmest and lightest iPhone ever. Despite its size, Apple has optimized the internal layout to accommodate a high-density battery, delivering longer battery life without sacrificing portability.
On the front, the Air features a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display that stretches edge-to-edge without adding bulk. The panel supports ProMotion technology with a 120Hz refresh rate, Always-On Display, and an impressive 3,000 nits of peak brightness-making it excellent for viewing photos, videos, and HDR content even under bright sunlight.
Powering the device is the A19 Pro chip, Apple’s latest in-house silicon. Featuring a 6-core CPU that Apple claims is the fastest smartphone processor to date, the chip is paired with a 5-core GPU equipped with second-generation Dynamic Caching architecture, doubled 16-bit floating-point math performance, and a new Unified Image Compression system. Each GPU core now integrates a Neural Accelerator, delivering up to 3x peak compute performance over the previous generation, which significantly boosts gaming, editing, and other GPU-intensive workflows.
Connectivity also gets a major upgrade with the introduction of the N1 chip, designed in-house to improve Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread support. Apple says the N1 enhances hotspot stability and makes AirDrop faster and more reliable. The Air also comes with a C1x modem, improving wireless efficiency and speed. Combined, these advancements make the iPhone 17 Air Apple’s most power-efficient smartphone yet.
For imaging, the iPhone 17 Air packs a 48-megapixel Fusion main camera capable of capturing 12-megapixel 2x telephoto images. Functionality and specs mirror the main camera found on the standard iPhone 17 but with added 28mm and 35mm shooting modes, offering more creative flexibility. The front houses the same Center Stage camera system from the iPhone 17, complete with AI-powered framing and the largest front-facing sensor Apple has ever used.
A standout addition is Dual Capture Video, a new feature that lets users record simultaneously with the front and rear cameras. The front camera’s stabilization keeps the subject perfectly framed, while the rear Fusion camera supports smooth zooming for dynamic multi-perspective recordings.
To achieve its ultra-thin design, the iPhone 17 Air goes eSIM-only, eliminating the physical SIM card slot entirely. This design choice frees up internal space, allowing Apple to fit a larger battery without compromising the phone’s minimal thickness.
Apple iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max represent Apple’s most ambitious “Pro” smartphones yet, combining cutting-edge design, upgraded performance, and the most advanced camera system ever on an iPhone. The devices are crafted from solid aluminum, precision-machined into a unibody design that is both lightweight and extremely durable-a first for the iPhone lineup. Like the Air model, the Pro variants feature Ceramic Shield 2 on both the front and back, offering enhanced protection against scratches and cracks.
Apple designed the Pro unibody to accommodate its largest battery ever while integrating the all-new Pro camera system and A19 Pro chip. To handle the additional performance demands, the Pro models feature a redesigned thermal management system with a built-in vapor chamber, significantly improving heat dissipation. This new design allows the phone to remain comfortable to hold during CPU- and GPU-intensive tasks. Apple claims the aluminum chassis conducts heat 20 times better than traditional smartphone materials, unlocking the full potential of the A19 Pro.
Powering both models, the A19 Pro chip features a 6-core CPU and 6-core GPU, paired with Apple’s new thermal solution to deliver up to 40% better sustained performance compared to the iPhone 16 Pro. This translates to smoother multitasking, faster rendering, and improved efficiency for high-performance workflows like gaming, editing, and video production.
Battery life also reaches new heights. According to Apple, the iPhone 17 Pro lineup delivers the longest-lasting battery in any iPhone ever. The eSIM-only models benefit from additional internal space for a larger battery, providing up to 39 hours of video playback-two hours more than last year’s models.
The Most Advanced iPhone Camera System Yet
The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max introduce the most capable rear camera setup Apple has ever built. For the first time in iPhone history, the Pro models feature three 48-megapixel Fusion cameras, housed within an extended forged plateau for optimized performance and thermal stability.
A major highlight is the new 48-megapixel Fusion telephoto camera with a 4x optical zoom at 100mm and an f/2.8 aperture, enabling stunning portraits and detailed close-ups. It’s paired with an impressive 12-megapixel 8x telephoto lens with a 200mm equivalent focal length, featuring Apple’s refined Tetraprism design and 3D sensor-shift image stabilization. The telephoto sensor itself is 56% larger than last year’s, capturing more light for sharper details and improved low-light performance.
Apple’s updated Photonic Engine further enhances the 8x telephoto, preserving natural details while reducing image noise and improving color accuracy. In total, the Pro models now cover an equivalent focal length range of 13mm to 200mm, effectively giving users the flexibility of eight lenses in one smartphone.
Pro-Level Video Capabilities
For videographers and content creators, the iPhone 17 Pro series significantly levels up video performance. It supports 4K recording at up to 120fps, Dolby Vision HDR, ProRes Log, and ACES color pipeline integration, providing greater flexibility in professional workflows.
A standout addition is ProRes RAW capture, giving creators access to full sensor data for maximum control in post-production. ProRes RAW files are fully supported in Final Cut Camera and Blackmagic Camera, streamlining advanced editing pipelines.
Additionally, Apple has introduced Genlock support-a first for iPhone video. Genlock enables precise frame-by-frame synchronization when using multiple cameras, onscreen graphics, or special effects like bullet time and time-slicing. For professional setups, Genlock is compatible with the Blackmagic Camera ProDock, making the iPhone 17 Pro a serious tool for studio productions.
How to Watch the iPhone 17 Launch Event
The keynote was streamed on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on Apple’s website, YouTube, and the Apple TV app. You can rewatch the presentation below.
Will the iPhone 17 series be worth buying?
For the base iPhone 17, no major design overhauls are expected compared to the iPhone 16. However, the combination of incremental upgrades – including a larger display, higher base storage, 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate, fast wireless charging, and a new, more powerful chipset – makes it a compelling upgrade, especially for users coming from older models.
As for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, the noticeable performance boost is something that is hard to pass up. The iPhone 17 Pro Max in particular stands out as the ideal choice for photography and videography enthusiasts, featuring three 48MP cameras and support for ProRes RAW video recording.