Apple yesterday unveiled its latest flagship devices, led by the iPhone 17 range and the ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air.
The company also introduced the AirPods Pro 3, with stronger noise cancellation and health tracking features, along with refreshed Apple Watch models – the SE 3, Series 11 and Ultra 3.
iStore, Apple’s premium partner in South Africa, confirmed the iPhone 17 range, including the Air, will go on sale locally on 19 September, with pre-orders opening on 12 September.
The iPhone 17 features an 18MP Centre Stage front camera, a 48MP main camera with 2x telephoto and a 48MP ultra-wide camera with macro capability.
It comes with a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion, Ceramic Shield 2 glass on the front for greater scratch resistance and reduced glare, and runs on Apple’s A19 chip.
Storage now starts at 256GB, with a 512GB option.
“iPhone 17 is a big upgrade, with powerful features that make iPhone even more useful in your day-to-day life, from the bigger and brighter ProMotion display with 3x better scratch resistance, to all-day battery life with faster charging, the A19 chip for powerful performance, a fantastic 48MP Dual Fusion camera system, and the innovative Centre Stage front camera – our best front camera yet,” says Kaiann Drance, Apple vice-president of worldwide iPhone product marketing.
Apple announced the iPhone 17 will start at $799 (R14 000).
Apple says the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max use the new A19 Pro chip, which it describes as “the most powerful and efficient chip for iPhone yet, enabling the advanced camera systems, mobile gaming and Apple Intelligence”.
The devices feature a new aluminium unibody with a vapour chamber for thermal management and improved battery life.
Both offer three 48MP cameras – main, ultra-wide and telephoto – with up to 8x optical zoom, as well as an 18MP front camera.
New video tools include ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2 and genlock. Ceramic Shield 2 is included on both sides, which Apple says provides three times better scratch resistance.
US pricing for the Pro and Pro Max starts at $1 099 (R19 200) for the Pro and $1 199 (R21 000) for the Pro Max, both with 256GB storage.
“iPhone 17 Pro is by far the most powerful iPhone we’ve ever made, with a stunning new design rebuilt from the inside out to maximise performance and deliver an enormous leap in battery life,” says Greg Joswiak, Apple senior vice-president of worldwide marketing.
Apple also unveiled the iPhone Air, its thinnest iPhone yet at 5.6mm. It features a titanium frame, Ceramic Shield protection on the front and back, and a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion up to 120Hz. Powered by the A19 Pro, N1 and C1X chips, it includes a 48MP main rear camera with multiple focal lengths and an 18MP Centre Stage front camera.
“The all-new iPhone Air is so powerful, yet impossibly thin and light, that you really have to hold it to believe it’s real,” says John Ternus, Apple senior vice-president of hardware engineering.
The iPhone Air starts at $999 (R17 500).
The Apple Watch Series 11 introduces 5G, a slimmer design, more durable Ion-X glass and up to 24 hours of battery life. It adds health tools such as blood pressure notifications for hypertension and a sleep score feature. Watch OS 26 brings Workout Buddy, gesture controls and new watch faces.
Apple also released the Watch SE 3, which it says offers a broader set of health and fitness features than its predecessor, including sleep score, retrospective ovulation estimates, sleep apnoea notifications and wrist temperature sensing for the Vitals app.
The AirPods Pro 3 were the final announcement, featuring improved sound quality and updated active noise cancellation. Apple says the new model blocks “up to twice as much noise as the previous model and four times more than the original AirPods Pro”.
Share