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iPhone Air, iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro preorders now open [Updated]

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iPhone Air, iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro preorders are now open!
Preorder your iPhone Air or iPhone 17 today!
Photo: Apple/Rajesh PandeyCultOfMac

Apple is now accepting preorders for the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. The devices will hit store shelves next Friday, on September 19 — the same day preorders get delivered.

Update: An hour after the pre-orders started, demand for the iPhone 17 Pro Max is already starting to exceed supply. An order placed now in the U.S. for most configurations of this top-of-line model won’t ship until late September, and others won’t arrive before October.        

Apple is already taking preorders for the AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3. All three will be available at retail starting September 19.

FDA approves Apple Watch hypertension alerts

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Apple watch showing a Possible Hypertension alert.
FDA gives Apple Watch's hypertension notification the necessary clearance.
Photo: Apple

Ahead of the watchOS 26 release on September 15, Apple has secured FDA clearance for the hypertension notifications feature. The approval came through late Thursday night.

Hypertension notifications will be available in over 150 countries at launch, including the US, the UK, Europe and others.

Apple TV+ renews epic sci-fi series Foundation for fourth season

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Foundation season 4
We'll have to wait and see if Brother Day (Lee Pace) and the rest of the characters return for season 4 on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

The critically acclaimed Apple TV+ sci-fi series Foundation, based on Isaac Asimov’s legendary stories about a galactic empire in its lengthy death throes, will live on for a fourth season, the streamer said Thursday. The welcome news comes ahead of the season-three finale on Friday. (And that usually means Thursday night after 6 p.m. PT, when the streamer often posts the next day’s fare).

“There is no series quite like Foundation and we feel lucky and honored to be carrying the torch forward as co-showrunners into season four,” said co-showrunners and executive producers Ian Goldberg and David Kob. “We look forward to continuing the epic, emotional storytelling that defined the first three seasons of the show, and to be working alongside some of the most talented, passionate creative partners in the business.”

Save up to 36% on terabytes of storage in Samsung SSD sale

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Samsung T9 portable SSD review
The Samsung T9 puts terabytes of storage in your pocket.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A deal on the Samsung T9 SSD lets you add terabytes of storage to your Mac or iPad without breaking the bank. The T9 offers up to 4TB of capacity and offers blazing fast data transfers, without the risks of cloud storage. And you can grab the SSD now at up to 36% below the original cost.

For an even more affordable option, the older Samsung T7 is available with considerable discounts, too.

Why you shouldn’t worry about iPhone Air battery life

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iPhone Air battery life
To increase the iPhone Air battery life, Apple crammed in more battery than you might realize.
Photo: Apple

The concerns about iPhone Air battery life now seem overblown. Apple gave data on how long the new, super-slim handset lasts between recharges, and it’s going to beat most previous iPhones.

While it won’t offer the best battery life ever in an iPhone, the early report that it won‘t last a typical day without needing a recharge turned out to be baloney.

How Apple made iPhone Air’s USB-C port ultra-thin (and better)

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iPhone Air USB-C port
This design mock shows the tight-fitting USB-C port.
Photo: AppleTrack

People wondered how the new iPhone Air released at Apple’s Awe Dropping event Tuesday could be so incredibly thin and still have a working USB-C port (or even if it would have one at all). Well, here’s how: In a departure from the iPhone giant’s normal manufacturing process, the new handset features a breakthrough 3D-printed titanium USB-C port for ultra-thin design, Apple said.

And considering how the process and material actually improve the port, the result is truly an engineering milestone.

Today in Apple history: Steve Ballmer freaks out and stomps an iPhone

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Ballmer
Turns out using an iPhone at a Microsoft event is a bad idea.
Photo: Off2riorob/Wikipedia CC

September 11: Today in Apple history: Steve Ballmer freaks out and stomps an iPhone September 11, 2009: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer snatches an iPhone from an employee during a meeting and pretends to destroy it.

The iPhone freakout isn’t the first time Ballmer behaves in a wacky way and incurs negative publicity as a result. However, it’s an embarrassing moment for a man who ranks among the tech world’s most powerful people.

Odd restriction limits Apple’s Live Translation with AirPods in EU

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Live Translation with AirPods
Live Translation with AirPods seems great… where it’s available.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new feature that lets AirPods act as language translators isn’t available for EU residents while they’re in Europe. What makes the restriction odd is that the feature can be used by EU residents outside of the European Union.

And Live Translation with AirPods can be used by those traveling to the European Union from the United States, the United Kingdom, etc.

iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone Air: Does power beat design?

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iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone Air comparison
iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone Air — the answer might not be that obvious.
Image: Cult of Mac

iPhone fans face a bit of a conundrum this year: iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone Air. The super-slim iPhone Air shakes up Apple’s phone lineup considerably, with a cutting-edge new design that makes even dedicated iPhone Pro users question their commitment to the highest-end model.

The iPhone Air sits between the iPhone Pro and the base iPhone 17, taking the place of the retired iPhone Plus. So, how does the iPhone Air fare against the iPhone 17 Pro? Should you ditch the Pro and go Air this year?

iPhone 17 Pro got a 50% increase in RAM

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iPhone RAM
The rumors were correct about iPhone 17 series RAM.
Image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max include 12GB of RAM, which is 50% more than their predecessors. The change should improve the performance of the handsets, especially when handling AI-related functions.

However, the base model iPhone 17 did not get a RAM upgrade. And the amount in the iPhone Air remains unknown.

iPhone 17 Pro benchmarks show big GPU boost, modest CPU upgrade

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iPhone 17 Pro gaming
Gaming on the iPhone 17 Pro should be a treat.
Photo: Apple

Early benchmark scores for the A19 Pro chip in the just-announced iPhone 17 Pro show a whopping 40% increase in graphics performance compared to last year’s model. The boost in overall performance isn’t nearly so dramatic, however.

We also have a preliminary benchmark for the A19 in the base model iPhone 17, and it’s apparently going to be just slightly faster than its most recent predecessor.

Apple N1 wireless chip promises Hotspot and AirDrop improvements

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Apple N1
The Apple N1 chip handles Wi-Fi in the new iPhone 17 series.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

The Apple N1 wireless chip is easy to overlook in the hoopla surrounding the new iPhone 17 series, but it’s an advancement in Apple’s drive to produce all its own silicon.

The new in-house chip handles Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and more, and Apple says it’ll improve the performance of Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.

Colorful new Beats iPhone cases pack kickstands, rugged designs

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Beats cases for iPhone 17 series
Beats offers a comprehensive set of case choices among iPhone 17 series models.
Photo: Beats

Three new Beats iPhone cases designed for Apple’s latest iPhone 17 lineup include an array of color choices as well as kickstand and rugged options, the Apple subsidiary said Tuesday. Available choices cover the whole lineup — iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

“The overwhelming response to our Beats cases proved a core idea: users crave both style and serious utility,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Music, Sports and Beats. “With that in mind, we’ve engineered the next generation. The new Beats iPhone cases integrate protective features, delivering a significant leap in everyday innovation and functionality.”

Today in Apple history: Macintosh 512K, aka the ‘Fat Mac,’ quadruples the memory

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Apple Mac
The "Fat Mac" solved one of the original Mac's biggest problems.
Photo: Apple

September 10: Today in Apple history: Macintosh 512K, aka the 'Fat Mac,' quadruples the memory September 10, 1984: Apple ships the Macintosh 512K, the first upgrade to the first-gen Macintosh 128K.

Coming less than eight months after the original Macintosh, the 512K Mac makes no sweeping changes to the computer’s form factor. Instead, the big upgrade is quadrupling the RAM. This leads Apple fans to refer to the computer as the “Fat Mac.”

Final Cut Camera 2.0 packs ProRes RAW video support for iPhone 17 Pro

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Final Cut Camera 2.0
Final Cut Camera 2.0 gives you precise control for video recordings on iPhone. You can adjust settings like white balance, shutter speed and ISO.
Photo: Apple

Final Cut Camera 2.0 brings professional-grade video recording capabilities to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple said Tuesday. The free app update makes Apple’s flagship smartphones the first mobile devices capable of capturing ProRes RAW footage.

iPhone 17 picks up the pace with 50% faster wired charging

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iPhone 17 Pro colors
Your iPhone 17, 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max will spend less time on the charger.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s iPhone 17 family supports significantly faster wired charging speeds. They can top up to 50% in just 20 minutes — 10 minutes faster than previous iPhones.

However, the speed improvements only apply to the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. The iPhone Air only supports 20W charging speeds.

iPhone 14 and 15 users get another year of free satellite access

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Satellite messaging
Apple still isn’t charging for a life-saving iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 feature.
Image: Apple

iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 owners will get another year of free satellite connectivity. The company did not announce this extension on stage but mentioned it in the footnote of the iPhone 17 Pro press release.

This is the second extension for iPhone 14 since its launch in September 2023.

Center Stage camera turns iPhone 17 into super selfie machine

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Photo of people taking group selfie using iPhone 17's Center Stage camera
Taking group selfies is easier than ever with the iPhone 17 lineup.
Photo: Apple

Apple Awe Dropping Event: The new Center Stage front camera in the iPhone 17 lineup uses advanced hardware and AI magic to rid us of a thoroughly modern annoyance: having to flip your grip to capture a landscape selfie.

“We are thrilled to introduce our phenomenal new Center Stage front camera,” said iPhone product manager Megan Nash during Tuesday’s Awe Dropping event. “It gives you more pixels, more flexible ways to frame your shot, and incredible stabilization.”

The hardware secret that unlocks this new age of selfie supremacy? A square sensor that’s bigger than ever — almost twice the size of the iPhone’s previous front camera. It’s coming soon to a bar near you in the super-slim iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max, all of which Apple unveiled Tuesday.

Watch Apple’s ‘Awe Dropping’ keynote in 90 seconds

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90 Seconds.
Watch the event in just 2.1% of the time.
Image: Apple

Apple Awe Dropping Event: During Tuesday’s Awe Dropping event, Apple announced AirPods Pro 3, refreshed every model of Apple Watch and unveiled four all-new iPhones, including the first iPhone Air. It’s an impressive set of products in a pretty quick event.

But if you want to watch an even faster event, you can get the gist in 90 seconds with our Awe Dropping event video recap.

Price drop: Get Visio, one of Microsoft’s best Windows apps, at a steep discount

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man looking at diagrams with laptop and calculator on the table while using Microsoft Visio 2024
Microsoft Visio 2024 is an easy way to create data-driven diagrams that inform and persuade.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Raw data isn’t appealing to everyone. Being able to transform intricate data into digestible visuals is a really useful skill across industries, but it’s also tough to learn. Good thing you don’t have to make your data visuals from scratch. Microsoft Visio 2024 is an easy-to-use tool for transforming all that complex data into professional-quality diagrams that anyone can understand.

Right now, you can get a lifetime license to Microsoft Visio 2024 for just $59.97 (regularly $579).

iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe take penultimate step toward release

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iOS 26 release candidate
The iOS 26 release candidate is available for anyone to test.
Graphic: Cult of Mac

Apple on Tuesday seeded to developers and the public the release candidates for iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. This is usually the final step before new versions launch — which should happen next week.

The release candidates for iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26 also went out on Tuesday.

Blood pressure alerts will also come to older Apple Watches

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Apple watch showing a Possible Hypertension alert.
Like some other Apple Watch health features, hypertension monitoring will run in the background.
Photo: Apple

Apple Awe Dropping Event: Apple’s innovative new high blood pressure alerts will not be exclusive to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Series 11. The feature is coming to several older models, giving millions of Apple Watch owners access to potentially lifesaving hypertension alerts.