We have a solid sense of what to expect from the iPhone 17 event next week. Still, there’s a narrative turn happening that will make Apple’s “Awe dropping” presentation feel more new than the typical routine tech announcement.
The challenge when making version 17 of any product is keeping the story interesting, and that starts with the presentation.
If Apple were only showing us the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, we might feel more like we were seeing the latest installment of an annually released series of incremental updates.
We could argue that the target audience should be people who haven’t upgraded in years, or the hardcore customers who update annually no matter what.
But that’s not the only thing happening next week. Apple is showing all that and more.
iPhone 17 Air will introduce an all-new form factor, from the dimensions to the external camera design. The idea alone is already making iPhone users who would otherwise default to another model think strongly about taking the ultra-thin design for a spin.
The novelty of next week’s Apple event also goes beyond the iPhone.
For the most part, iPhones are released like clockwork. The same is generally true for Apple Watch Series models as well. The Series number increases each year, and some years bring bigger changes than others.
Series 10 was defined by a thinner overall design and a better always-on display. That gives Series 11 room to focus on new capabilities.
For Apple Watch Ultra 3, though, Apple is potentially serving a larger group with a greater appetite for something more.
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