Apple’s cheapest iPhone and Apple Watch are actually the best ones to get for once

Macworld

In last week’s Apple Breakfast, which came out the day before Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event, I challenged the company to announce something affordable. Obviously, like all columnists who issue a challenge, I didn’t think this was possible, based on long-running upsell policies and last-minute rumors of an iPhone price hike. But spoiler alert: I was wrong.

For one thing, the last-minute rumors were largely inaccurate: the 17 Pro is $100 more than the 16 Pro, rather than the predicted $200 (which is somewhat justified by its doubled storage), the 17 Pro Max hasn’t gone up in price at all, and the iPhone Air costs the same as the 256GB iPhone 16 Plus did last year. More importantly, very much contrary to expectations, the more budget-friendly products were the stars of the show. Challenge passed, Apple!

On the phone front, the iPhone Air got all the headlines because it represents a totally new direction for the line, in both positive and negative ways. And the Pro models are always glamorous: they’re at the bleeding edge of innovation, with the best screens, processors, and camera systems that Cupertino can offer. But the humble iPhone 17 (available to preorder now), which isn’t even available in two sizes anymore, nevertheless stood out as the real deal. It’s the only new handset that delivers meaningful upgrades, strong performance, and value for money.

In several respects, this was the year in which Apple levelled the playing field–the opposite of those years in which budget products were deliberately held back in order to encourage upsell. This year, the standard iPhone caught up with the Pro model on screen size (they’re both now 6.3 inches), display features (both now have ProMotion and always-on), and ultra-wide lens spec (both 48MP). With the Pro models reverting from titanium back to aluminum, both models are now made of the same material, and the standard model does much better on color finishes.

What’s more, most of the Pro models’ new features (the 18MP front camera with Center Stage and Dual Capture; Ceramic Shield 2; the N1 wireless modem; twice the baseline storage) come to the standard iPhone 17 as well. And unlike the Pro, it doesn’t pay for that storage bump with a price increase, so you’re paying a clear $300 less for a phone that for most customers will be just as good. Boring? Hardly.

On the watch front, who could have predicted that the SE would be the MVP? But it absolutely was, gaining considerably more upgrades than its celebrated and costlier siblings. Once again, the budget model gets the always-on display that was previously confined to the more expensive version. But it also gets new health metrics and features (including cycle tracking using the new skin temperature sensor), 5G support, much faster charging, better crack resistance, and more. All for just $249.

It’s been a while coming, but Apple was right to focus on value at this year’s fall event. As I’ve said over and over, the value market is where the company’s innovations actually matter. It’s far more meaningful to put high-end health tech on the wrists of folk on a budget than to sell a few Vision Pros to bored millionaires. So while I’m intrigued to see where the iPhone Air will take the company, the unglamorous budget products on the Air’s undercard were the part that, for my money, lived up to the awe-dropping tagline.




Foundry

Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.

Awe Dropping: September event special!

Why Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro lineup seems a little off this year.

The iPhone Air has one-upped the folding iPhone before it’s even been revealed.

A19, N1, C1X: The drumbeat of impressive Apple silicon continues.

There’s a lot of new Apple stuff. Here’s what’s actually worth buying.

The iPhone Air solves 3 huge problems (of Apple’s own making).

AirPods Pro 3: A trio of big upgrades I can’t wait to try first.

Podcast of the week

Apple held its big “Awe Dropping” event and the biggest announcement was the iPhone Air. Is it worth the hype? We talk about the new iPhone and the rest of Apple’s announcements on the latest episode of the Macworld Podcast.

You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.

Video of the week

Apple did the iPhone 17 right! We explain why in our latest short. Enjoy all our short-form video on TikTok or Instagram.

@macworld.com iPhone 17 is NICE! From the latest episode of the Macworld Podcast. #iphone17 ♬ original sound – Macworld – Macworld

Software updates, bugs, and problems

The iPhone Air’s battery life is nothing to worry about after all.

ChillyHell malware continues to go undetected on macOS, according to Jamf.

Apple’s new iPhones have a new security feature to stop spyware hackers.

PWM sensitivity will no longer be an issue on the iPhone 17 Pro.

And with that, we’re done for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters, including our new email from The Macalope–an irreverent, humorous take on the latest news and rumors from a half-man, half-mythical Mac beast. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, or X for discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.