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2025-09-03T22:03:24.864Z
This event desperately needs one more thing
(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)
In the runups to these big tech launches, I like to imagine the whole sequence of events, a sort of mental pregame that starts with all the activities before, say, Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the stage, through the cascade of product unveilings to the end, where, sometimes, Cook reemerges on stage before releasing us to the pell-mell demo room.
When I do that, I often ponder the big question: Will there be “one more thing”? That signature Apple move that started with Steve Jobs and continues to this day with Cook has a pretty storied history.
For those who’ve never seen it, this is the ‘extra” announcement that happens after you think all the Apple product reveals are done. It’s been everything from Windows compatibility for iPod to, most recently, Vision Pro in 2023.
It makes sense not to do them every year, since that would make the “one more thing” just another thing that we all expect. However, I think we can agree that Apple needs one more thing this year more than ever. It’s not been a super year, what with tariff worries, a President pressing Cook on building the iPhone in the US, and Apple Intelligence disappointments.
I don’t know exactly what “one more thing” could be, but I am convinced that Apple needs the electricity such an announcement invariably brings.
2025-09-03T21:11:25.360Z
Beware the fakery
What you see below is not the new iPhone 17 lineup. Sure, there appears to be an iPhone 17 Air and a Pro model with the wider camera array, but watch closely and you’ll see the cameras move around the backs of these phones.
These are most like AI-generated fakes (even X’s Grok confirmed as much) designed to fool you into believing they’re the real thing. Sure, they could be based on real prototypes, but we doubt it.
In this age of AI it is worth remembering that anyone with a AI image generator and a decent prompt can create a fake “iPhone 17” image and even a video.
Trust nothing until the big reveal on September 9 at 1PM ET.
2025-09-03T20:07:13.461Z
How to talk AI without talking about Apple Intelligence
(Image credit: Future)
By now, we all know that Apple plans to deliver the best bits of Apple Intelligence – like a Siri worth caring about – “in the coming year“, which sounds like next year. If that’s the case, there won’t be any truly exciting Apple Intelligence bits to discuss during the Apple iPhone 17 launch event. On the other hand, how does Apple not talk about artificial intelligence in the Age of AI.
The reality is that Apple did add some Apple Intelligence tweaks in iOS 26 that it could again highlight, like Live Translations and the tweaks to Visual Intelligence, but these are not exciting updates, and none puts Apple on a level playing field with generative AI leaders like OpenAI (a partner) and Google (a partner).
Perhaps this is the moment when Apple unveils a new AI partnership with, for instance, Anthropic. There are rumors that it could integrate Claude AI intelligence into Siri. There’s no way that’s ready by next week, but a smaller partnership in which you can choose to use Claude AI instead of ChatGPT would be interesting, and this is how you talk about AI without really talking about Apple intelligence.
2025-09-03T19:04:23.890Z
Trade in? Trade up? What’s the right timing?
(Image credit: Thom Bradley, Unsplash)
The most common question I get this time of year is, “Do I upgrade or wait until next year?” It’s a funny question, but it implies that people think something even bigger is just around the corner (12 months from now), and they could soon be kicking themselves for upgrading too quickly.
Perhaps there’s a more rational approach.
There is no good school of thought on when you should trade in your aging iPhone, but a good rule of thumb might be when OS updates are running dry. Apple products do become vintage (roughly 7 years or older) and then obsolete, with no more platform updates. This year, that list includes all the iPhone X phones.
My point is, if you own one of those, or maybe even one a year away from vintage status, like the iPhone 11, you might consider an upgrade.
2025-09-03T18:37:27.998Z
Right, it’s getting late in the evening for me in the UK, so I’ll leave you for a bit with some thoughts from Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff, who isn’t short on what he’d like to see from the next-generation iPhones and the Apple event.
Over to Ulanoff:
(Image credit: Future)
Apple’s iPhone 17 Air could be the star, but may not be the highlight
Rumors have been swirling around an ultra-thin iPhone (the iPhone 17 Air) for almost a year, but in that time, Samsung released the 5.8mm thick Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and then the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, which, unfolded, is just 4.2mm thick!
Of these two phones, the Z Fold is unquestionably thinner but also a much more interesting phone. The S25 Edge is just a thin Galaxy that is otherwise, well, a bit boring (read our review for evidence).
Which brings me to the iPhone 17 Air, which should be the star of Apple’s big iPhone 17 launch event, but I worry it could be underwhelming. That is, unless Apple makes it thinner than 4.2mm and adds some extra, unexpected feature. But what could Apple do? You can’t fit a decent-sized battery, so battery life won’t match the iPhone 17 Pro. It won’t have a big telephoto camera because you can’t fit that periscope in the itsybitsy space.
What the iPhone 17 Air will have going for it is a super thin and light body and a very big (Plus-sized) screen. Oh, and did I mention that it’ll probably be as expensive (if not more so) than the iPhone 17 Pro?
2025-09-03T18:05:46.973Z
On the subject of price drops, I have an analysis based on my time writing about iPhones on whether the iPhone 16’s price drop when the iPhone 17 launches.
2025-09-03T17:18:42.716Z
I should add that I 100% don’t think you should buy an iPhone until Apple has announced its new phones.
Holding fire until then means you could either pick up the new iPhone if they appeal to you, or get an older iPhone at a discount price. So even if you’re due an upgrade, patience will likely do you wonders.
2025-09-03T16:43:01.961Z
Time for an upgrade?
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
While I spoke earlier about upgrading from an iPhone 16 Pro Max, the iPhone 17 family will more likely appeal to people looking to upgrade from older Apple phones.
So here’s freelancer Paul Hatton with why 3 rumored features could see him upgrade to the iPhone 17 from an iPhone 12.
2025-09-03T16:02:28.051Z
Building off the back of that thought, I’d be keen for the powerd-up iPhones to further acts as device that can better interact with other devices one uses in daily life.
Of course, that’ll likely need Apple to let more things into its walled garden, but I do think that’s a distinct possibility.
2025-09-03T15:31:14.026Z
Speeding up
(Image credit: Apple)
Bit of a left-field tidbit, but it looks like Apple CarPlay Ultra will come to more affordable cars in the near-future.
CarPlay Ultra better stitches together car infotainment unit with Apple’s car-meets-phone interface. So I’d be curious to see if CarPlay Ultra could benefit from a boost in power the iPhone 17 family could bring to the table.
2025-09-03T15:11:57.080Z
Just want to flag this rumor for a little color to the blog: New iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max leaks show off internals, a camera upgrade – and a SIM slot.
2025-09-03T14:56:43.673Z
I’d be curious to see how the standard iphone will evolve over Apple’s tipped three-year plan.
“Fresh rumors suggest Apple has committed to a new three-year plan for the iPhone, with three radical new designs set to join or replace parts of the current flagship lineup,” Jamie Richards reportes.
“This comes from Mark Gurman, Bloomberg’s resident Apple correspondent and the tech industry’s most trusted Apple tipster, who shared some details of the rumored changes to the iPhone line-up.”
2025-09-03T14:33:46.609Z
Still, Staff Writer Jamie Richards has 4 ways the iPhone 17 can improve on the iPhone 16, which based on some rumors means the iPhone 17 could be a bigger upgrade than first meets the eye.
2025-09-03T14:23:37.005Z
Iterative upgrades
(Image credit: Future)
Putting aside the 120Hz display, it’s not looking like the iPhone 17 will bring a huge clutch of upgrades to the table.
A new rear-camera desing could streamline the phone a little. And a new A19 chip could offer a decent boost in power, but I’m not convinced it’ll be a big upgrade over the iPhone 16 series.
2025-09-03T14:06:27.364Z
Mr Metz’s opinion is one I can get behind. I think the standard iPhones is great but the 60Hz display feels almost heinous in 2025.
If Apple ditches it for a 60Hz to 120Hz display then I could see myself not needing to go Pro.
2025-09-03T13:38:12.442Z
Hz so good
(Image credit: Future)
Moving on from the iPhone 17 Pro, and there’s a rumor or two that the iPhone 17 will have a 120Hz display.
That’s got Phones Editor Axel Metz a little intrigued. Over to him:
“Back in February 2024, I wrote that 120Hz refresh rates make Apple’s best iPhones worth the money. But if the base iPhone 17 is due to get this formerly Pro-exclusive feature, I may well recommend this cheaper model over the pricier Pro models this year.
“To be clear: the iPhone 17 isn’t tipped to get ProMotion specifically, which allows iPhone screens to dial all the way down to 1Hz (enabling features like the Always-On display). But it is tipped to get a static 120Hz display, which is by far the more important feature of the two.”
2025-09-03T13:27:59.150Z
Though I should say there’s plenty of great, and less-demanding games on Apple Arcade, which I do rather enjoy taking for a spin.
2025-09-03T13:24:02.421Z
Gassed up
(Image credit: Future)
Let me ponder that vapor chamber tidbit a little more… I think it might low-key be a heck of an upgrade for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max.
Not only can my iPhone 16 Pro Max get a little hot under the collar when gaming or using 5G, so a vapor chamber cooling system could help alleviate that, I think it could also extract more performance out of an A-series chipset.
Better cooling means less had that can hamper the performance of a chip’s CPU and GPU over time, say extended gaming sessions. And so being able to push a chip harder and for longer could see Apple extract more power for more advanced games.
Cupertino’s crew has already seen the porting of Sniper Elite 4, Death Stranding and Hitman World of Assassination on to iOS, so I think unlocking more power could further open up the path for more console-grade games on iPhone.
2025-09-03T13:12:25.237Z
As is the tipped vapor chamber upgrade for the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro. This should keep a high-performing iPhone cooler than ever before, which is handy for mobile gamers and people who rely on sustained 5G connectivity.
2025-09-03T13:10:30.462Z
More power and a more efficient battery management, likely facilitated by the rumored A19 Pro chip would also be appreciated.
2025-09-03T13:09:38.707Z
That being said, the idea of a 48-megapixel improved telephoto camera and a form of adjustable aperture for the cameras system, definitely has my attention I’m a big fan of telephoto cameras as I do like a nicely zoomed shot.
2025-09-03T13:07:40.818Z
Max attack
(Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)
Speaking of my iPhone 16 Pro Max, it’s become a phone i’ve really enjoyed using, so it’s hard for me to see myself upgrading from it other than for work purposes. While I do prefer a slightly smaller phone, this iPhone has been a wonderful device to use for the past year-ish.
I’ve loved the cameras, performance, desing, toughness and more. So it’s hard to see what Apple can bring to the table to tempt me over.
2025-09-03T12:59:53.359Z
Get set for iOS 26
(Image credit: Apple)
With the iPhone 17 family, we should see the full debut of iOS 26, with its new Liquid Glass material design.
In preparation for this, Apple has released what’s sure to be the final iOS 26 beta to developer testers ahead of its event on September 9. So from that I can glean we could get the full rollout of iOS 26 rather soon after the next-generation iPhones get shown off. I’m looking forward to trying it on my iPhone 16 Pro Max.
2025-09-03T12:54:00.917Z
Among the rumors, there’s also a hit that the iPhone 17 Air could be the only model to lack a SIM card slot in the EU.
While eschewing physical SIM cards maybe common in the US, it’s not the done thing in Europe yet. But perhaps Apple could forge the path for an eSIM future on both sides of the Atlantic.
2025-09-03T12:48:59.523Z
From that rumor report there’s more stuff to chew over.
Seen by 9to5Mac, a research note from JPMorgan has the firm expecting the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Max to have the same prices as their predecessors.
So that would mean a starting price of $799 / £799 / AU$1,399 for the iPhone 17, and of $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,149 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. These are only US prices however but we hope other nations will follow such a cadence and not come with a price hike over the previous generation of iPhones.
2025-09-03T12:44:41.474Z
iPhone 17 Pro Max papped already?
The iPhone 16 Plus (Image credit: Future)
So let’s kick things off with a nice and fresh rumor: the iPhone 17 Pro Max has seemingly been caught on camera – and it could cost less than expected.
A short video reportedly showed an iPhone 17 Pro Max retail unit and it’s look like the new rectangular rear-camera module will be a new design feature of the next-generation Pro iPhones. Hopefully, this’ll means the phones will also hold upgraded cameras.
But this was from a post on Weibo and it’s hard to verify the veracity of such stuff, Yet, this does back-up the desing touted in other rumors and dummy units. So I reckon there’s some weight to this.
2025-09-03T12:36:36.236Z
Good morning or afternoon, or evening, wherever you are. I’m Roland Moore-Colyer, Managing Editor of Mobile Computing at TechRadar, and I’ll be your host for the next few days as we count down the days to the big Apple event.
2025-09-02T18:41:24.033Z
Hello and welcome to our iPhone 17 rumors live blog.