There’s a lot of new Apple stuff. Here’s what’s actually worth buying

Last Tuesday was a expensive day. The day of the Apple event is always An expensive day. The new iPhones, Apple Watches and Airpods Pro made their debut, and this means that on September 19, many of us will take delivery of new Apple stuff. (The larger bill than the normal credit card comes later.)

It is not because Apple sells a lot of new things that you have to buy everything. (Who needs four new iPhones each year?!) But when it comes to upgrades, some products really jump on me as more impressive and intriguing than others.

iPhone air against iPhone 17 pro

You usually know what type of iPhone you want. Pro goes to pro, pro max at Pro Max, ordinary iPhone with ordinary iPhone and iPhone Mini and iPhone Plus to… the seven stages of mourning, I suppose. But this year’s offers offer a twist, with two phones which can both claim to be the right upgrade for people from a previous iPhone Pro model.

As a person who is on the market for a new phone this year, I admit that it will be a difficult choice between the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro. Let’s decompose it.

The iPhone Air collects a lot of style points because it is the thinnest iPhone at 5.64 millimeters. Most of its cameras and brains are located in the “tray” at the top of the phone; The rest of the thing is essentially screen and battery. The air of the iPhone does not look like any other iPhone and will probably feel incredible to hold in your hand.

It is also much more complete than you could expect for a phone that is between the ordinary iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 pro on the price list. He has an A19 Pro chip, although with a less GPU nucleus. He obtained the new central camera of 18 megapixels potentially revolutionary for selfies. It has a promotion screen that is always on, which is spreading over the entire line this year, eliminating it as a differentiating for high -end phones.

What will determine the spell of the iPhone air is the importance that you assess the camera of the iPhone, and more precisely, painting cameras. Despite Apple’s corporate spin that the iPhone Air has mainly four cameras, the fact is that it has only one camera compared to three on the iPhone Pro. This camera is incredibly capable – it is a 48 Mp model that can also generate 24MP super -resolution images or read only the center of its sensor for a “2x optical zoom”, similar to the other Apple iPhone cameras for the past two years. But if you want a larger zoom, or an appropriate wide angle, or a good macro photography, or the possibility of capturing space scenes, you are unlucky.

A complete 20% of the photos of the iPhone 16 Pro that I took last year were taken with the telephoto lens from my iPhone. It gives me a break. I would give up the possibility of zooming much closer to capturing images, even if (to be honest), these zoomed images are not exactly the best that the iPhone can offer.

Apple

During a year of normal upgrade, it would probably be an easy choice to go with iPhone air, just due to novelty. But the iPhone 17 Pro is itself a surprisingly new product. As a monohull model carved with a solid aluminum block, it has a very different look, and it is available in a particularly exciting color: cosmic orange.

The A19 PRO processor of the iPhone 17 Pro has another GPU nucleus and a cooling system in a new steam chamber which propagates the heat of the processor through the radiative metal body. This aluminum back (and the sides) will be striking, as well as a little hot.

And then there are these cameras. Three of them, including a new 48 megapixel monster which allows the 4x zoom to be covered with the center in the optical equivalent of an 8x zoom. The three cameras allow the iPhone 17 Pro to go from 0.5x to 8x, a huge range for a telephone camera with a pile of purely optical zoom stops along the way.

So let’s align them. Reasons to buy an iPhone air: a cool look, thin and light features, relatively pro level and only one nice camera that could be quite good. Reasons to buy an iPhone Pro: a new look (but not as cool or thin or light), an impressive orange color and an incredibly powerful set of cameras.

Apple

If you like Orange and like to take photos with your iPhone, the choice is clear: the iPhone 17 pro. If you think that the iPhone photography is pleasant but not a must, and you like the idea of ​​having the coolest iPhone of all time, iPhone air suits you. If you don’t care about color options, it really comes down to style compared to cameras.

Orange is one of my favorite colors, so I’m torn. I need to hold this iPhone air in my hands to know it with certainty, but if I had to guess, I would choose it above the iPhone 17 Pro and I would suffer the consequences of my iPhone photograph.

Easier choices abound

The rest of Tuesday’s announcements are a little easier to digest because many “new” announced features are also taking place on older models.

The AirPods Pro 3 upgrade is superb because it has improved the quality of the audio, the battery life and, above all, the efficiency of its noise cancellation. The original AirPods jumps jump to the second generation model was enormous, and it is apparently a similar jump. If you listen to AirPods Pro all the time, they are probably worth the upgrade just for that. They are also more water -resistant and can better adapt to certain ears, because they are slightly different in shape and offer five different ear size sizes.

But note that Airpods Pro 2 also supports all hearing aids and live translation functions, and AirPods 4 with an active noise cancellation supports live translation. You don’t need new AirPods to get these features.

The Apple watch upgrades are also pleasant, but not necessarily essential. If you use an older watch than the 10 series, you will appreciate the much thinner watch with a much larger screen. (I have a 10 series, and it’s really great.) If you use an ultra -original Apple Watch, it could also be time to seriously consider an Ultra 3 update, especially if you are frequently out of cell contact. I know that the iPhone has had an emergency satellite connectivity for some time now, but that strikes me that having it on your watch is only an additional layer of safety and safety.

But again, be notified: all the “new features” for the series 11 and Ultra 3 are not limited to these new devices. The highly publicized hypertension detection function will be available on series 9 and later, and ultra 2 and later. And the new sleeping room feature will work as far as series 6 and Ultra 1. watches. You don’t need to buy a new watch to benefit from this new features.

Yes, this is an expensive period. I buy a few iPhone – TBD! – And have already ordered AirPods Pro 3. Consult your family and your wallet, do some thoughts and be ready to make your own purchase decisions. And if you decide not to buy something this fall, don’t worry – Apple is always sure to create another really expensive day in the very close future.

Macworld has the bottom of the drop in iPhone air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 pro, Apple Watch and Airpods Pro 3. If you are unable to watch the Apple event, make up for it in our live blog at the “Awe Droping” event.