Week 411 was posted by Charanjit Chana on 2025-09-10.
Having just watched Apple's September event for 2025, we got to see updates to the AirPods Pro, Apple Watch and iPhone line ups. And let's get this out the way first, battery life is better across the board and I'm here for it.
I didn't win the iPhone naming bingo, but let's dive into the details!
AirPods Pro 3
I was most interested in seeing these announced today and glad to see they are a decent upgrade on the AirPods Pro 2. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I have the Beats Pro Fit, which are fine, but I believe the AirPods Pro 2 were superior to those and so the jump to the AirPods Pro 3 should be significant. I've already placed my order and I'll be sure to report back.
Heart rate sensing is an interesting feature. To me it reads as an Apple Watch alternative. Get full use of the Activities app while living with your existing watch or a competing smart watch. I love my Apple Watch Ultra 2 but after 10 years of Apple Watch ownership, I do sometimes long for a normal watch... probably one of the reasons I post so many watches on Good Gear Club!.
Live Translations as a feature sounds fantastic but speaking English makes it less of a problem wherever you are in the world. I am keen to try it out though as it could be the key to going on some really adventurous holidays. Of course, it depends on what languages are supported.
Something else I am unreasonably excited about is the precision finding of the AirPods Pro 3 case. It's not that that feature wasn't present in my Beats or AirPods 2 that I've had but sound could not be played without the cases being opened. I believe the built in speaker overcomes that problem and Find My compatibility will just tie it all together nicely. I'll have to get the kids to hide them and then I'll see if I can find them!
My Beats Fit Pro claim to have fit detection but no matter what tips I used it always gave the thumbs up. I think a comfortable and secure fit is a must for headphones like these and I'm hoping the fit test does actually point to a precise pair for me. There are now 5 tip options after all.
I did expect that the AirPods Pro 3 would come with an updated H-series chip, but they are listed as having the H2 chip that's in all of the in-ear AirPods currently. Looks like it's good enough and driven improvements over the life of the AirPods Pro 2 so probably not something to worry about.
While my thoughts on the overall event are here, I've also shared the AirPods Pro 3 on Good Gear Club.
2025 iPhones
Announced as part of the iPhone 17, Centre Stage for the front-facing camera looks like a fantastic upgrade across the iPhone line up.
Dual capture was already possible, but now it's part of the stock camera app so more discoverable. It appears it gets output as a single video with picture-in-picture but it would be nice to have the option to split it into two separate video tracks.
iPhone Air
Now to the most interesting introduction of the event, the iPhone Air.
The rear camera is very interesting. The plateau has been milled to maximise the space available but the camera itself still offers portrait options (like the XR before it) from a single camera. But what surprised me most was that there's only a flash on the back and not a LiDAR sensor but you still get Focus Control. All AI/ML of course but as this is a device that sits somewhere in the middle of the line up I expected a LiDAR sensor to bring a bit of accuracy.
The iPhone Air does have the A19 Pro chip, but also the N1 chip for networking and C1X modem.
I do like the Air, I'm looking forward to holding it, but from a photography point of view it doesn't hit the spot for me...
iPhone 17 Pro
An orange phone you say? I'm not buying an iPhone this year, so I hope we see another in the following years, but if ever they made a phone just for me, this was it. I really hope the colour is popular and stays around.
The vapour chamber is an interesting aspect of the Pro phone. My iPhone 14 Pro certainly gets hot for a number of reasons and anything to help with heat dissipation is a no brainer. I was a little confused as to why they'd gone back to aluminium for the construction but it's all down to heat dissipation so makes sense. My 14 Pro is a stainless steel model and comparatively heavy so aluminium seems like the right trade off but I do like the brushed titanium finish on my Apple Watch.
I mentioned photography earlier and I've been envious of the x4 and
The details are back!
I genuinely love seeing the videos that dive into the construction details. I belatedly posted a video this year about Apple's failure to do so with the introduction of the new Mac mini which is built using an extrusion process.
But they're back and this specific process was showcased! More like this please Apple!
Other...
The new Apple Watch lineup was also revealed but was pretty meh. The SE update was the most important with actual improvements to its predecessors it no longer feels like the booby prize in the line up. The iPhone SE, for example, has never really looked like a bad choice. I'd say the same is true of the Apple Watch SE now.
The Crossbody strap is a nice idea. Surely compatible with the right case for any phone? I assume it's made from similar material to the fabric Apple Watch straps but hard to tell. Another that needs to be seen and one that will undoubtedly be cloned with ease.
Unbelievably, the new MagSafe Battery is actually called the iPhone Air MagSage Battery and the compatibility section specifically says it's only compatible with the iPhone Air. Odd choice if true.
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