LIVE: Everything Apple just announced at its ‘Awe Dropping’ iPhone event

AirPods Pro 3

Apple Watch Series 11

Apple Watch Ultra 3

iPhone 17

iPhone 17 Air: A rumored return to an ultra-thin design

AirTag 2: Enhanced range and privacy features expected

The wider implications, and what’s at stake for Apple

Dave Smith is a

Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event is kicking off today at 1 p.m. ET, and yes, it will be livestreamed: You can watch it on Apple’s official YouTube channel, the Apple TV app, and Apple’s Events website—but, and I say this with love, unless you’re working remotely, you might want to be careful about watching videos at work. If you get caught, that’s on you. On the other hand, your boss loves Fortune. We promise. (If they’re confused or try to protest, simply show them this article.)

Apple throwing a launch party for its new iPhones has become as synonymous with September as pumpkin spice everything, but this event is not quite like the others. Despite solid financial results, including record revenue in Q3, up 10% year-over-year, Apple’s had a mixed year in the markets as investor concerns about Apple’s AI capabilities have applied pressure on its stock. Apple, for some context, has chosen to pursue baking AI into its full software ecosystem that extends across devices rather than create a standalone app like ChatGPT or Claude or Perplexity, which you can access in dedicated apps and websites including, notably, on non-Apple devices. On top of that, Apple admitted earlier this year at its Worldwide Developers Conference that its promised Siri overhaul for this year wouldn’t arrive until 2026. That delay cost Apple roughly $75 billion in market value in a single day and prompted some analysts to question CEO Tim Cook’s leadership.

All of this to say: Wall Street is absolutely zeroed in on the AI gold rush right now and has grown impatient with Apple’s timeline on this front, so you can bet analysts will be watching this event closely and counting the number of times Apple says “AI” or “Intelligence.”

That said, unlike WWDC, Apple’s September events tend to be about new hardware. So here’s what we’re expecting.

Apple redesigned AirPods Pro so they’re smaller and match more ears; Apple calls them the best-fitting AirPods ever. Apple also improved the audio with a wider soundstage and, more importantly, better active noise cancellation. Advanced computational audio, and new ear tips, offer better noise isolation—twice the ANC compared to the previous generation, and the best ANC in any wireless in-ear headphones, Apple promises, calling it over-the-ear performance in a pocket-sized design.

Apple AirPods Pro 3 also supports live translation, so it can help you understand audio in your preferred language, say, if you’re wandering around a foreign country. ANC lowers the volume of the person speaking so it’s easier to focus on the translation. And it doesn’t just translate individual words, but complete phrases, so you can just speak naturally. Your phone will translate your words into their spoken language, if needed—and Apple says live language translation is even more powerful if both users are wearing AirPods Pro 3.

AirPods Pro 3 also has a heart-rate sensor built-in. Thanks to the Apple Heart and Movement Study, which had over 250,000 participants, you can track up to 50 different workout types using just your headphones; no Watch necessary. You can track calories burned, and heart rate, using just your headphones and your phone’s Fitness app.

Apple also promises more battery life: 8 hours on a single charge, up from 6. And, in transparency mode, when used as a hearing aid, AirPods Pro 3 can support up to 10 hours of battery life.

Apple calls the Series 11 the most durable scratch-resistant Watch ever. It has more 5G coverage, is more battery-efficient, and comes with WatchOS 26 and the Liquid Glass design overhaul that comes with it. Series 11 also comes with new health features, including Health, Hearing, Cycle Tracking, Mental Health, and more.

The Apple Watch Series 11 is attacking hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. Using data from the optical heart sensor, the Watch looks for high blood pressure over 30-day periods and will alert you if it spots patterns of hypertension. It won’t detect all instances, but Apple expects to notify over 1 million people of hypertension in the next year. It’ll be available in 150 regions this month, including the U.S. and Europe.

Apple Watch Series 11 will also help you understand the quality of your sleep, thanks to a new Sleep Score feature. It can tell you about how long you slept, how it compares against your average, and measure any interruptions.

Notably, the Apple Watch Series 11 has improved battery life: up to 24 hours. It comes in four colors: black, silver, gold, and space gray. There are new band colors and styles from Apple and Nike, and a new Hermes knit band with a special watch face that plays cute little animations. Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $399.

Apple also debuted a new Watch SE, called SE 3, which is the entry-level Watch the company sells. It comes with an always-on display for the first time, supports gestures so you can control the Watch with just one hand, offers wrist-temperature sensing (for women’s health in particular), and can play music through side speakers. It also supports fast charging for the first time, which means it’ll charge twice as fast as the last SE: 15 minutes of charging will give you 8 hours of life. It starts at $249.

Apple’s highest-end Watch has an improved display that’s brighter when viewed at an angle, and thinner borders so you have a bigger screen without Apple needing to change the case size, making for the biggest Apple Watch display ever. It comes with better 5G support, but also satellite connectivity, so you can get emergency help you need, or send messages or share your location, even in remote areas. Apple doubled the signal strength so you can communicate with satellites 800 miles above Earth.

Ultra 3 also comes with a larger battery that offers up to 42 hours of life. It comes in black and natural titanium colors, has new bands, and a rubber series of bands from Hermes. Apple Watch Ultra starts at $799.

The iPhone 17 now features a 120 Hz ProMotion display, a feature previously reserved for the Pro iPhone models, which makes actions look and feel smooth. It also features an always-on display, and is the brightest screen ever and has less glare thanks to a 7-layer anti-reflective coating. It comes in five colors: white, black, green, purple, and blue. It also has the best scratch resistance in an iPhone.

iPhone 17 is powered

The iPhone 17 features a rear dual-camera system on the back. The ultra-wide camera now has a 48-megapixel lens, four times the resolution compared to the previous ultra-wide lens on the iPhone 16. On the front, Apple introduces Center Stage for its selfie camera with a sensor that’s almost twice the size of the previous iPhone 16 front-facing cam, allowing for high-resolution photos and videos in any orientation so you don’t need to rotate your iPhone to take a landscape selfie anymore. You can just tap your screen to go from landscape to portrait—and when it sees a lot of subjects on your screen, it automatically adjusts the camera to accommodate everyone.

The iPhone 17 starts with 256 GB of storage on board.

Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reports that Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 Air, representing the company’s most dramatic iPhone redesign in years. The device is expected to measure approximately 5.5mm thick compared to the iPhone 16’s 7.8mm profile. Achieving this ultra-thin form factor will likely require significant engineering trade-offs, including a single 48-megapixel rear camera system and reduced battery capacity, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Multiple reports suggest the device will gain ProMotion 120Hz display technology previously exclusive to Pro models, marking the first time this feature would appear in Apple’s mid-tier lineup. Pricing is rumored to start at $949, positioning the Air between the base iPhone 17 and Pro models. Wall Street analysts expect the Air could drive upgrade cycles among users with iPhone 13 or older devices, who represent roughly 40% of Apple’s installed base.

The second-generation AirTag is rumored to address key limitations through an upgraded Ultra Wideband chip that could triple Precision Finding range from roughly 30 meters to potentially 90 meters. Privacy improvements are expected to make the speaker more difficult to remove, addressing stalking concerns that have affected the first-generation product.

The AirTag 2 is anticipated to maintain compatibility with existing accessories while adding improved battery management and low-power alerts. The device would represent Apple’s response to criticism about the original AirTag’s potential for misuse, though law enforcement data indicates such cases affect a small percentage of total units sold.

These expected product announcements occur as Apple manages multiple business pressures. The company faces an estimated $1.1 billion impact from tariffs in fiscal Q4 2025, adding cost pressures as it navigates component price increases. Goldman Sachs expects iPhone sales to grow 5% in fiscal 2025 and accelerate to 7% in 2026, assuming successful execution of today’s rumored product launches.

Analyst sentiment remains mixed. While Goldman maintains its buy rating with a $266 target, MoffettNathanson argues that 30 times next year’s earnings is expensive for a company with “solid but not exceptional” growth prospects. The consensus among 31 Wall Street analysts shows a moderate buy rating with an average price target of $239—roughly flat from current levels.

Apple’s strategy appears centered on hardware innovation bridging the gap until AI capabilities mature in 2026. But this approach carries inherent risks: if these products fail to drive expected upgrade cycles, the company could face continued underperformance relative to its AI-obsessed peers in Silicon Valley, many of whom are advancing their strategies and technologies more aggressively than Apple. Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft and others are pouring billions into AI facilities, and talent—and soon, hardware. Success for Apple would depend on whether consumers will accept higher prices for incremental improvements while Apple develops its next generation of software capabilities.

For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.