Apple’s September event is theatre at its finest. Lights, applause, words like “magical” and “revolutionary” sprinkled like confetti, it’s all part of the ritual, every year. The iPhone 17 launch was no different. We got the ultra-thin iPhone Air, beefy new A19 chips, Apple Watches that promise to know your blood pressure before you do and AirPods that can translate conversations in real-time.
SurveyBut here’s the thing, if you’ve been following Apple long enough, you know the omissions matter as much as the announcements. Beneath the titanium sheen and camera demos, there were deliberate silences. Let’s talk about those.
The AI elephant in the room
Remember when Apple Intelligence was supposed to be the big story? The privacy-first, on-device AI suite that would make Siri smarter debuted at WWDC 2024 with plenty of hype, such as Genmoji, smarter photo editing and a Siri that might actually understand you this time. But on iPhone launch day, Apple treated its own AI like an unwanted relative at a wedding. Sure there was a quick nod to “AI-ready” chips and Neural Engines, but no real software showcase and then back to talking about bezels and battery life.
Meanwhile, Google is stuffing Gemini into every crevice of Android and Microsoft can’t stop talking about Copilot. Apple, in contrast, seems content to mumble “AI-ready” and move on. Maybe it’s caution, maybe it’s strategy, but in a year where AI is the tech story, its absence leaves you wondering: is Apple biding its time, or are they simply behind?
That camera zoom isn’t what you think
On stage, Apple proudly called the iPhone 17 Pro system “eight pro lenses in your pocket” which sounds magical until you look at the fine print, the telephoto zoom quietly dropped from 5x to 4x. The keynote spun it as “8x optical-quality zoom” thanks to higher-res sensors and clever cropping, which is innovative, but photographers know the difference between computational trickery and glass. What you’re actually getting is less reach than before, dressed up in marketing sparkle.
The thinness tax of the iPhone Air
The star of the show was the iPhone Air, Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever at 5.6mm, titanium build and a design that makes last year’s models look chunky. It’s objectively gorgeous. But here’s what didn’t get applause: compromises.
The Air has the smallest battery in the lineup, which explains why it charges slower. MagSafe is capped at 20W instead of the 25W that the other iPhone 17 models get. Even wired charging doesn’t match the speeds of other models. And then you’re stuck with ancient USB 2 speeds, the same as Lightning. But hey, it’s thin enough to disappear in your jeans.
It’s the thinnest iPhone ever, sure. But thinness always comes at a price, and here, the bill is paid in battery life, charging speeds and transfer speeds.
And the irony is that Apple knows all of this. They’re masters of framing. They’d rather show you titanium edges catching studio lights than admit that their thinnest phone has the weakest battery. They’d rather talk about “AI-ready” hardware than admit their software isn’t ready yet.
So, should you care?
Here’s the thing: none of this makes the iPhone 17 lineup bad. In fact, it’s one of Apple’s most interesting lineups in years. The base iPhone 17 finally feels “Pro enough” for most people, the Pro models are content creator candy and the Air is a design flex that feels futuristic in your hand.
But the story Apple didn’t tell on stage is just as important. If you buy the Air, you’re trading battery and speed for thinness. If you buy the Pro, you’re losing some optical zoom even as the marketing says otherwise. And if you’re waiting for Siri to become the AI assistant Apple promised? Well, keep waiting.
Apple thrives on “one more thing” moments. This year, the “thing” missing from the stage was the one that could matter most: software that makes the hardware sing. Until then, the iPhone 17 lineup is equal parts progress and compromise and knowing which is which might save you some buyer’s regret.
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Siddharth Chauhan
Siddharth reports on gadgets, technology and you will occasionally find him testing the latest smartphones at Digit. However, his love affair with tech and futurism extends way beyond, at the intersection of technology and culture. View Full Profile
