Apple’s highly anticipated “Awe Dropping” September iPhone event is today! We’re tracking every rumor leading up to the 10 a.m. PT keynote, and stay tuned for live coverage and analysis from Macworld experts during the event.
Apple September Event: Live News and Analysis
iPhone 17 event: Recap
AirPods Pro 3: Still start at $249. Slightly new design with new foam tips, better noise cancellation, Live Translation.
Apple Watch Series 11: High blood pressure monitoring, Sleep Score. 5G, 24-hour battery life. Starts at the same 399.
Apple Watch SE 3: Always-on display, temperature sensor, stronger glass on display, S10 chip, 5G. Starts at $249.
Apple Watch Ultra 3: Bigger display, 5G and satellite. 42 hours of battery life. Starts at $799.
iPhone 17: 6.3-inch display, 18MP center Stage camera, 48MP dual Fusion camera, ProMotion display. Starts at $799 with 256GB of storage.
iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max: New design with a large camera “plateau,” aluminum body, and glass cutout. Triple 48MP camera system. A19 Pro chip, vapor cooling system for sustained performance, 8X optical zoom.
iPhone Air: Totally new design with an ultra-thin body, weighs 165 grams, A19 Pro chip, 6.5-inch ProMotion display, 48MP Fusion camera system, 18MP Center Stage selfie cam
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
1:54: The most Pro iPhone yet… by a lot!
1:56: The most advanced iPhone ever with a striking new design and performance.
1:57: New approach to thermal management. Apple designed vapor chamber, laser-welded into the aluminum chassis. Apple-designed aluminum alloy, better for thermal performance than titanium. Silver, deep blue, cosmic orange.
Apple
1:59: A19 Pro chip, 40 percent better sustained performance vs iPhone 16 Pro. Bigger battery, best ever in an iPhone.
2:02: All three cameras are 48MP, 8X zoom at 200mm, longest optical quality zoom ever. Massive camera changes with hardware and software enhancements. Equivelant of “8 Pro lenses in your pocket.”
2:07: The clear cases are as ugly as rumored.
2:09: Watching a video now. This is very much a Pro phone, targeted at photographers.
2:10: Starts at $1,099 with 256GB of storage.
iPhone Air
1:41: Apple is introducing the iPhone 17 Air. Titanium, super-thin, Apple’s most durable design yet. “Remarkable battery life.” “Impossibly thin design.” “A paradox you have to experience to believe.”
Apple
1:44: TIL Appel calls its camera bump a “plateau.”
1:45pm: Available in 4 colors: white, black, gold, blue
1:45pm: A19 Pro chip! 5-core GPU, Neural Engine 3X faster.
1:47pm: N1, Apple-designed WiFI, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. C1X modem, up to 2X faster, faster than iPhone 16 Pro with 30 percent better efficiency.
1:49: 48MP Fusion camera. 2 cameras in one. Excels in low light. 24MO default photos. Next-gen portraits, Photographic Styles, 26, 28, 35, 52mm. 18MP Center Stage selfie cam. Dual capture video!
1:50: This feels more like a $1,000-plus phone but we’re still waiting for the price. (Update 2:11pm: Yup, starts at $999 with 256GB of storage.)
1:52: Talking about battery life. “All-day battery life,” but what does that really mean? Slim MagSafe Battery Pack delivers up to 40 total hours of video playback.
IT'S iPHONE TIME!!
1:31: Intro video starting with iPhone 17. Looks very similar as expected. Lavender, Mist Blue, Sage, Black, White.
1:32: ProMotion!!! Same features as Pro model.
Apple
1:33: Ceramic Shield 2, anti-reflective coating, 3X more scratch-resistant.
1:34: A19 chip brings speed, Apple Intelligence upgrades. All-day battery life, up to 8 more hours of video playback.
1:35: Faster wired charging, 10 minutes of charge gives up to 8 hours of video playback.
1:36: Dual Fusion camera system. 48MP Ultra wide camera, 18MP Center Stage selfie cam, widest field of view. Square sensor allows for higher-resolution photos in any orientation. You can rotate to landscape without physically flipping your phone!
1:40: Starts with 256GB of storage! Still just $799.
Apple Watch Ultra 3
1:27: Largest display ever. 5G cellular, satellite connectivity included. Larger battery—42 hours.
1:28: Black and natural titanium, new band colors. Same $799 price.
Apple
Apple Watch SE 3
1:24: Always-on display! Also gestures, sleep score, 5G, fast charging! (But only 18 hours of battery life). No new sensors.
1:25: Same design, Starlight or Midnight. Same $249 price.
Next up, Apple Watch Series 11
1:14: After AirPods, we have one of Apple’s patented Apple Watch life-saving videos. Some incredible stories about how Apple Watch has saved people’s lives. I really should start wearing mine.
1:17: And the video is still going…
1:18: OK new features! Apple Watch Series 11, thinnest and most comfortable. Talking about the durability of the screen, 2X more scratch resistance. Series 11 has 5G, better antennae and more power efficient. C1 modem?
1:19: New watch face, Flow and Exactogram
Apple
1:20: High-blood pressure tracking alerts you to possible hypertension. Sleep Score will show the quality of your sleep, not just the stages.
1:21: 24 hour battery life! Finally! That’s 50-percent higher than any other Series Apple Watch. Same $399 price.
AirPods Pro 3 are here
1:05: AirPods Pro 3 have a “custom multiport acoustic architecture” for more bass, wide sound, stronger vocals. New foam-infused eartips help deliver 2X the noise cancellation. “Over-the-ear performance in a pocket design.”
1:07: Live Translation powered by Apple Intelligence. Gesture begins with a gesture and automatically translates words and the meaning of phrases. When you talk your iPhone can show what your saying in the other person’s language. If the other person is wearing AirPods, they will work together to translate in sync.
1:09: Each AirPods Pro are smaller with a new design and five tips. IP67 sweat and water resistance for sweat and running in a downpour.
1:10: Apple’s smallest heart-rate sensor built in with on-device AI model with activity and calorie tracking. Fitness app new workout experience to track hear-rate and calories burned.
1:12: 8 hours on a single charge! 10 hours when using as a hearing aid.
1:13: Same $249 price, available 9/19.
Apple
Apple event
1:03: Tim Cook says the event will focus on three product lines: AirPods, Apple Watch, and iPhone. Just as we thought!
Here we go!
The event is starting, with the glowing Apple logo fading to black with a quite from Steve Jobs: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” A montage of Apple products and feaures is playing showcasing little things we don’t think about: toggles, magsafe store designs, and highlighting symmetry and connectivity. Now Tim Cook appears, talking about design.
Apple event stream is live
The event stream is live on Apple.com. The first song we’ve heard is “A Team Spirit” by Touch Sensitive featuring Connie Mitchell.
K-pop star at Apple Park
K-pop star Lee Jun-ho and Indian singer Armaan Malik are at Apple Park this week for the event. Will they be part of the show or are they just excited for the iPhone 17 like we are?
All the new iPhone colors
As spotted by X user DuanRui, a leaker on Weibo has posted an image depicting all of the new iPhone 17 colors. There’s nothing surprising here, but it’s the first time we’ve seen them all in one place. This year looks to be a particularly strong one for iPhone colors after several years of pedestrian options, particularly with the Pro line
X/DuanRui
No number for iPhone 17 Air?
A new leak by Ice Universe on X claims that Apple will drop the numbering scheme for its new phone and simply call it the iPhone Air. The account has posted pics of warranty documentation inside the iPhone box that lists “iPhone Air” without a number.
Tim Cook teases 'exciting moments'
Apple CEO Tim Cook has posted a picture of Apple Park at sunrise, with a whimsical caption: “Days like this are some of the most exciting moments at Apple.” Does the sky look suspiciously like the new iPhone 17 Pro’s orange color to anyone else?
Tim Cook/X
iPhone 17 Pro color names?
An unknown leaker on X by the name of Your Tech Guy has supposedly leaked the names of the iPhone 17 Pro colors: Sunset Orange, Jet Black, Midnight, Grey, and Silver. They also say there’s a “chance” that a sixth gold option may arrive.
Best Buy leaks AirPods Pro 3
As spotted by a Redditor, Best Buy has seemingly leaked the existence of AirPods Pro 3 with a $20 My Best Buy reward, as well as the on-sale date of today, September 9. While Apple is very secretive, it’s not uncommon for the company to ship devices or alert stores ahead of on-sale dates, so it’s entirely possible Best Buy just posted this offer earlier
Apple Store down
Apple has taken its online store offline ahead of the keynote starting at 10am PT. For those new to Apple events, it’s a throwback to when Apple needed to take the store down in order to add new products. It fun that Apple is willing to forfeit however much in sales just to keep up with tradition.
Screenshot
Apple
iPhone 17 (and more) to launch today
We’re now just hours from the Awe Dropping keynote, which kicks off at 10am PT. Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis, or read on below for last-minute rumors.
You’ll find all our September event coverage here, but here are a few highlights to whet your appetite:
- iPhone 17 – everything you need to know about the standard, Pro, Pro Max, and new Air models
- Apple Watch 2025 – everything you need to know about the Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE (3rd-gen)
- Our keynote preview has a minute-by-minute account of everything we think is coming
- The Top 10 iPhone fall event moments of all time
- Here’s every product we expect to see at today’s event
- Take a trip through every Apple keynote that featured an iPhone launch
- Here’s what we’re not getting at today’s Apple event
‘Awe Dropping’ event: Last-minute rumors
- Apple Store down. As always, Apple has taken its store offline ahead of the event. The text reads, “We’re making updates to the Apple Store. Check back soon.”
- No ‘major’ audio enhancements for AirPods Pro 3. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the AirPods Pro 3 will bring a heart-rate sensor and a “better fit,” but won’t have “major” audio or noise cancellation improvements.
- Better-than-expected battery for iPhone 17 Air. A spec-sheet showing battery capacities for the entire iPhone 17 range reveals that the iPhone 17 Air will have a decent battery after all, while the Pro Max gets a 5,000mAh battery for the first time.
- AirPods 3 coming soon; higher-end model next year? Ming-Chi Kuo reports that AirPods 3 will likely launch at the iPhone 17 event, but “a more significant hardware upgrade with the IR camera-equipped model” will arrive next year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman posted that he doesn’t “expect major audio/ANC improvements” with the AirPods Pro 3.
- No price hikes? According to a “South Korean carrier iPhone 16 vs iPhone 17 spec comparison document” posted by Vadim Yuryev on X, the iPhone 17 Air will likely start at $950 while the 17 Pro stays the same at $999. Both still have 128GB of storage despite rumors of a bump to 256GB.
- 48MP 8X telephoto camera for both Pro phones. The same document lists a triple 48MP camera for the iPhone 17 Pro models with an 8X telephoto camera. The current iPhone 16 Pro phones have a 48MP Fusion and ultra-wide camera, but a 12MP 5X telephoto camera.
- Bigger display for iPhone 17. Another tidbit seemingly confirmed in the South Korea carrier document is a 6.3-inch display for the iPhone 17, a slight increase over the 6.1-inch iPhone 16.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.