Technologies

What Is Dark Matter? The Answer to Universe’s Greatest Mystery Could Be Axions

The saga of how an odd hypothetical particle became a star dark matter candidate.

Physics is permeated by conundrums, and in a sense, that’s what keeps the field going. These mind-bending puzzles foster a race toward truth. But of all the dilemmas, I’d say two of them unquestionably fall under priority A.

First off, when scientists look up at the sky, they consistently see stars and galaxies traveling farther from our planet, and from each other, in every direction. The universe kind of looks like a bubble blowing up, which is how we’ve come to know it’s expanding. But something doesn’t make sense.

Space doesn’t seem to have enough stuff floating around in it — stars, particles, planets and all else — for it to inflate so swiftly. In other words, the universe is expanding way faster than our physics says it can, and it’s even picking up speed as you read this. Which brings us to problem two.

Per experts’ best calculations, galaxies are spinning so incredibly quickly as everything zips around that we’d expect the spirals to behave like out-of-control merry-go-rounds flinging metal horses off the ride. There doesn’t seem to be enough stuff in the universe to anchor them together. Yet the Milky Way isn’t drifting apart.

So… what’s going on?

As blanket terms, physicists call «missing» stuff pushing the cosmos outward dark energy, and pieces holding galaxies together — presumably in a halo-like form — dark matter. Neither interacts with light or matter we can see, so they’re essentially invisible. Combined, dark matter and dark energy make up a whopping 95% of the universe.

Zeroing in on dark matter’s portion, the authors of a recent review, published in the journal Science Advances, write that «it may well consist of one or more types of fundamental particle … although part or all of it might consist of macroscopic lumps of some invisible form of matter, such as black holes.»

Black holes or not, dark matter is totally elusive. In an effort to decode its secrets, scientists have picked a handful of suspects out of the cosmic lineup, and one of the most wanted particles is an odd little speck called the axion.

The wide-eyed hypothesis of axions

You might’ve heard of the Standard Model, which is pretty much the holy grail, ever-strengthening handbook of particle physics. It outlines how every single particle in the universe works.

However, as the Science Advances review points out, some «particle physicists are restless and dissatisfied with the Standard Model because it has many theoretical shortcomings and leaves many pressing experimental questions unanswered.» More specifically for us, it leads right into a paradox regarding a well-established scientific concept dubbed CPT invariance. Aha, the physics puzzles continue.

Basically, CPT invariance states that the universe must be symmetrical when it comes to C (charge), P (parity) and T (time). For that reason, it’s also called CPT symmetry. If everything had the opposite charge, was left-handed instead of right-handed and traveled through time backward instead of forward, it states the universe should remain just the same.

For a long while, CPT symmetry seemed unbreakable. Then 1956 came around.

Long story short, scientists found something that violates the P part of CPT symmetry. It’s called the weak force, and it dictates things like neutrino collisions and element fusion in the sun. Everyone was shocked, confused and scared.

Nearly every foundational concept of physics relies on CPT symmetry.

About a decade later, researchers discovered the weak force violating C symmetry, too. Things were falling apart. Physicists could just hope and pray that even if P is violated… and CP is violated… maybe CPT still isn’t. Maybe weak forces just need the trio to uphold CPT symmetry. Thankfully, this theory seems correct. For some unknown reason, the weak force follows total CPT symmetry despite C and CP blips. Phew.

But here’s the issue. If weak forces violate CP symmetry, you’d expect strong forces to as well, right? Well, they don’t, and physicists don’t know why. This is called the strong CP problem — and precisely where things get interesting.

Neutrons — uncharged particles within atoms — abide by the strong force. Plus, allowing for simplification, their neutral charge means they violate T symmetry. And «if we find something that violates T symmetry, then it must also violate CP symmetry in such a way that the combination CPT is not violated,» the paper states. But… that’s weird. Neutrons don’t because of the strong CP problem.

And so the idea of the axion was born.

Years ago, physicists Roberto Peccei and Helen Quinn suggested adding a new dimension to the Standard Model. It involved a field of ultralight particles — axions — that explained the strong CP problem, thereby relaxing the conditions for neutrons. Axions appeared to fix everything so well that the duo’s idea became the «most popular solution to the strong CP problem,» the paper states. It was a miracle.

To be clear, axions are still hypothetical, but think about what just happened. Physicists added a new particle to the Standard Model, which outlines specks of the entire universe. What might that mean for everything else?

The key to dark matter?

Per the Peccei-Quinn theory, axions would be «cold,» or very slowly moving through space. And… the study researchers say «the existence of [dark matter] is inferred from its gravitational effects, and astrophysical observations suggest that it is ‘cold.'»

The paper also states, «there are experimental upper limits on how strongly [the axion] interacts with the visible matter.»

So, basically, axions that help explain the strong CP problem also seem to have theoretical properties that align with those of dark matter. Extremely well.

The European Council for Nuclear Research, better known as CERN, which runs the Large Hadron Collider and is leading the charge for antimatter studies, also underlines «one of the most suggestive properties of axions is that, in a natural way, they could be produced in huge numbers soon after the Big Bang. This population of axions would still be present today and could compose the dark matter of the universe.»

There you go. Axions are among the hottest topic in physics because they seem to explain so much. But once again, those sought-after bits are still hypothetical.

Will we ever find axions?

It’s been 40 years since scientists began hunting for axions.

Most of these searches are «mainly exploiting the action field interaction with the electromagnetic fields,» say the authors in that recent review published in Science Advances.

For instance, CERN developed the Axion Search Telescope, a machine built to find a hint of the particles produced in the sun’s core. Inside our star, there are strong electric fields that could potentially interact with axions — if they’re really there, that is.

But the quest has so far faced a few pretty big challenges. For one, «the particle mass is not theoretically predictable,» the authors write — that is, we have very little idea of what an axion might look like.

Right now, scientists are still searching for them while assuming a vastly wide range of masses. Recently, however, researchers offered evidence that the particle is likely between 40 and 180 microelectron volts. That’s unthinkably small, at about 1 billionth the mass of an electron.

«In addition,» the team writes, «the axion signal is expected to be very narrow … and extremely feeble due to very weak couplings to Standard Model particles and fields.» In essence, even if minuscule axions try their very best to signal their existence to us, we might miss them. Their cues could be so weak we’d barely notice.

Despite these hurdles, the axion search marches on. Most scientists argue that they must be out there somewhere but they seem too good to be true when it comes to fully explaining dark matter.

«Most experimental attempts assume that axions compose 100% of the dark matter halo,» the study authors emphasize, suggesting that perhaps there’s a way to «look into axion physics without relying on such an assumption.»

Though they may be the star of the show, what if axions are just one chapter of dark matter history?

Technologies

Netflix Goes Vertical: More Phone-First Shows Coming in 2026

The streamer will add vertical video podcast clips and unveil a new mobile experience this year.

More vertical video features are coming to Netflix. Co-CEO Greg Peters revealed plans to expand the streamer’s mobile vertical video feed during Tuesday’s earnings call.

Testing is already underway to expand the mobile experience, which currently features vertical clips of Netflix TV shows and movies. New vertical video content, including snippets from video podcasts, will be available on Netflix this year.

«You can imagine us bringing more clips based on new content types, like video podcasts, which Ted [Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO] mentioned that we’re adding to the general service,» Peters said. «We’ll bring the sort of appropriate components of that into that vertical video feed.»

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Netflix’s move to expand its vertical video offerings comes after Sarandos acknowledged during the earnings call that social media apps like Instagram are now seen as competitors.

«TV is not what we grew up on. TV is now just about everything,» Sarandos said. «The Oscars and the NFL are on YouTube. Networks are simulcasting the Super Bowl on linear TV and streaming. Amazon owns MGM, Apple is competing for Emmys and Oscars, and Instagram is coming next.»

Competing with the likes of Instagram and TikTok means evolving the content the platform offers. And if it wants to attract Gen Z viewers, leaning into bite-sized vertical clips of live programming like WWE Raw, competition series Star Search and significant moments from Netflix hits like Stranger Things and KPop Demon Hunters is a good place to start.

«Vertical» is the hot buzzword in Hollywood right now. New production studios are dedicated to the mobile-first content, and with the massive popularity of vertical micro-dramas — which Variety calls «a multi-billion dollar global phenomenon» — more streamers will likely follow suit in the near future.

Peters also revealed Netflix’s plan to overhaul its mobile interface to «better serve the expansion of our business over the decade to come.»

«We’re going to roll this out later in 2026, and just like our TV UI, it then becomes a starting point, it becomes a platform for us to continue to iterate, test, evolve and improve our offering,» he said.

Technologies

I Want to Know What Pokemon Things Nintendo and Universal Are Cooking Up for Their Theme Parks

Is it a game? A show? No idea yet, but it’s been announced for Japan, and it’s coming to Orlando next.

I spent time inside living Mario and Donkey Kong attractions at Super Nintendo World in Orlando’s Epic Universe theme park last year, wondering when Pokemon might appear in the parks too. News from Universal Studios now confirms that Pokemon are also on their way, starting in Japan. Orlando will get them next, but we don’t yet know what the Pokemon experiences will be.

Nintendo’s been exploring real-life overlaps with its games in toys and theme parks for a while, going all the way back to Pokemon Go. But in a theme park, the ideas could go a lot further. The latest Pokemon game on the Switch even made me wonder how it could cross over into something location-based in a park.

According to the announcement from Universal Studios Japan released today, the details are still vague. The immersive Pokemon experiences don’t sound exactly like a ride, but they’re also unlikely to be a parade or show, since the press release already mentions shows that featured Pokemon in the past.

Expectations for some sort of Pokemon theme park experience have been high for a while, ever since Nintendo unveiled Super Nintendo World with Universal in 2020.

Since Pokemon Go still exists and Universal already has interactive toys in-park like tappable Power-Up bands and wizard wands, it also makes me wonder if some sort of interactive toy will be part of what’s in store. After all, Nintendo’s been getting into making more immersive home products, too. More details are coming in the future, so I’m curious.

Technologies

Apple’s iPhone 17 Specs Compared: Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max

In 2026, the iPhone 17 series are the best of Apple’s phones. Here’s how to pick the best one for you.

With the new year comes a new opportunity to get a new iPhone. Whether your current Apple handset is getting a little slow, can’t quite update to iOS 26 or you’re tempted by the newest cool features and cameras, there are lots of good reasons to upgrade. And while you could go for a slightly older model, the latest crop of new iPhones are all great picks. So…which is right for you?

The current lineup of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and the slim iPhone Air offers plenty of options to choose from, but each phone serves a different need. Here’s everything to know about the iPhone 17 family, and which is the best fit for your needs.

Looking to order the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max or iPhone Air? Check out our iPhone 17 deals guide for ways to get it for free and other great deals.

There are a host of improvements over the iPhone 16 series, which added a handful of upgrades over its predecessors, most notably the Camera Control key. The upgrades coming to the iPhone 17 lineup are myriad, but more noticeable than the incremental updates in previous generations.

Along with the redesigned camera blocks, all of Apple’s phones get better specs, more storage and brighter displays. The big change is the new super-thin iPhone Air, which takes the place (and price) of the larger standard Plus model.

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iPhone 17 lineup price comparison

iPhone 17: $799. The iPhone 17’s price remains the same as last year despite a bump to 256GB of starting storage.
iPhone Air: $999. The iPhone Air is slotted into the lineup where the iPhone 16 Plus was priced (as the more expensive standard model).
iPhone 17 Pro: $1,099. The smaller Pro model is the only one in the lineup to get a small price hike to start at $100 above last year’s iPhone 16 Pro, though it does start at a higher 256GB of storage.
iPhone 17 Pro Max: $1,199. The higher-spec iPhone 17 Pro Max didn’t get a price hike despite starting at a higher 256GB of storage.

Despite concerns about tariffs potentially passing more costs on to consumers, only one model in the iPhone 17 lineup got a price hike when the new lineup launched in Sept. 2025: the iPhone 17 Pro, which now starts at $1,099, though it does have double the starting storage at 256GB as its predecessor. The other models also got their storage bumped up without suffering higher prices.

At its Sept. 2025 event, Apple also announced new Apple Watch models, including the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, as well as the AirPods Pro 3.

iPhone 17 lineup’s design and display changes, compared

iPhone 17: Camera bump redesign. The square-shaped camera bump from prior years has been replaced with a vertical pill-shaped ovoid with the usual two cameras (main and ultrawide).
iPhone Air: Thinner, single-camera. The new, thin model takes the place of the iPhone 16 Plus as the larger non-Pro model, but it offers only a single main rear camera.
iPhone 17 Pro: Larger horizontal camera bump. The smaller Pro model’s big changes include a new rear camera bump as well as an internal redesign with an aluminum frame.
iPhone 17 Pro Max: Same larger horizontal camera bump. Likewise, the iPhone 17 Pro Max gets a redesigned camera bump that extends horizontally across the entire rear width of the phone, along with internal changes.

The biggest change in the iPhone 17’s design is in a single model added to the lineup: the iPhone Air. It is indeed a thinner model of the iPhone line, akin to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, which focuses on a slimmer, lighter body that seems to have reduced battery life as a consequence — but not by much. According to Apple’s specs (which don’t include exact capacity), the Air manages up to 27 hours of video playback, just slightly under the 30 hours for the iPhone 17, 33 for the iPhone 17 Pro and 39 for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The iPhone Air is 5.6mm thick, compared with 7.9mm on the iPhone 17 and 8.75mm on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. The thinner model is also lighter at 165 grams, compared with the iPhone 17’s 177 grams, the iPhone 17 Pro’s 206 grams and the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s 233 grams.

Despite that, the iPhone Air has a 6.5-inch OLED display (slightly smaller than the 6.7-inch display on last year’s iPhone 16 Plus). Compare that to the 6.3-inch screen on the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro (both up from 6.1 inches on their respective predecessors) and 6.9 inches for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

All models got upgrades to their screens. The standard iPhone 17 now has a ProMotion display with a refresh rate adjusting from 120Hz down to 1Hz (from a static 60Hz on last year’s iPhone 16) and a scratch-resistant Ceramic Shield 2 coating on the top — all features that also arrive in the iPhone Air. Every new iPhone’s display also has a maximum brightness of 3,000 nits, up from 2,000 in last year’s iPhone 16 lineup, making it easier to see their screens in bright sunlight.

The three returning iPhone 17, Pro and Pro Max models have had redesigns of their rear camera bumps. In place of the diagonal arrangement in last year’s model, the standard iPhone 17’s two cameras have been vertically aligned in a raised oval bump. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max keep their triangular triple-camera alignment, but the camera bump has been extended from a square to a rectangle that takes up the width of the phones. The iPhone Air just has a single camera.

There are bigger changes to the inside of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, all in the name of heat management. Apple swapped its titanium frames for aluminum ones that the company says are 20 times better at conducting heat, the better to disperse it across the phone’s body. The frame is stamped in a single sheet, and layered on top is a new vapor chamber filled with deionized water running along its length to carry heat away from the phone’s chips. Apple says this redesign leads to 40% better sustained performance than the iPhone 16 Pro. Instead of just glass, the Pro models have a more durable glass-ceramic shield on the back.

In contrast, the iPhone Air has a titanium frame, the only model in the lineup to still have one — possibly to ensure maximum durability in its thinner body.

The iPhone 17 comes in five colors: lavender, light blue, dark gray, silver-white and green. The iPhone Air comes in four hues: an ethereally light blue, light gold, black and white. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max come in a trio of colors: white, dark blue and bright orange.

Comparing iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max cameras

iPhone 17: Better ultrawide and selfie cameras. The iPhone 17 got an upgraded 48-megapixel ultrawide camera and 18-megapixel selfie shooter.
iPhone Air: Single camera. As was rumored, the iPhone Air has a single 48-megapixel main camera.
iPhone 17 Pro: Sharper zoom and selfie cameras. The rear 4x telephoto camera has been upgraded to 48 megapixels, while the front-facing camera is now 18 megapixels.
iPhone 17 Pro Max: Sharper zoom and selfie cameras. Likewise, the rear 4x telephoto camera has been upgraded to 48 megapixels, while the front-facing camera is now 18 megapixels.

The standard iPhone 17 has two cameras (48-megapixel main and 48-megapixel ultrawide), an improvement from its predecessor’s 12-megapixel ultrawide. Apple calls the 48-megapixel main camera «Dual Fusion» as it can take sharp photos at full resolution or take 2x crop-zoomed images at 24 megapixels — in fact, every camera in the iPhone 17 lineup has this fusion functionality.

The iPhone Air has only one camera, a 48-megapixel main, that seems similar to the one on the iPhone 16E. That sets the new thin phone apart from last year’s iPhone 16 Plus, which had the same two cameras as the standard iPhone 16.

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models also bump the ultrawide to 48 megapixels (up from 12 megapixels in their predecessors) and also improve the third telephoto camera to 48 megapixels as well (up from the 12-megapixel with 5x optical zoom of last year’s iPhones). The latter has gotten a big upgrade, and thanks to the crop focus on the fusion, the 4x optical zoom can double up to 8x at 12 megapixel resolution with an equivalent focal length of 200mm. The new maximum digital zoom goes up to 40x, up from 25x on earlier Pro models.

All four iPhones’ front-facing shooters have been upgraded to 18-megapixel cameras, up from 12 megapixels on last year’s Apple phones. They also get the Center Stage feature, which first debuted on the iPad Pro M-series models. This feature automatically keeps the focus centered on whoever’s holding the phone, even as they move around.

This is aided by a new square-shaped sensor in the front-facing camera that’s twice the size as those in the iPhone 16 lineup from last year. Essentially, this size format has a lot more vertical room than the 4:3 ratio sensors typically found in selfie cameras, allowing not only more area for Center Stage to focus on, but also for iPhone 17 series owners to take horizontal selfies without rotating their phones. Neat!

All iPhone 17 model specs compared

iPhone 17: Better specs. The iPhone 17 packs the new A19 chip as its predecessor and more base storage.
iPhone Air: Pro chip, Apple’s modem. The thinner iPhone Air got the A19 Pro chip that’s also in the Pro models out this year, as well as a presumably improved version of the Apple-made C1, a 5G modem that debuted on the iPhone 16E.
iPhone 17 Pro: Better specs. The iPhone 17 Pro has a new A19 Pro chip as well as more base storage.
iPhone 17 Pro Max: Better specs, bigger battery. The iPhone 17 Pro Max packs the new A19 Pro chip, more base storage and a larger battery.

As is typical with the feature gap between standard and pro models, the iPhone 17 has improved specs but not to the level of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max — or the iPhone Air.

The standard iPhone 17 packs the new A19 chip, which is 20% faster than the iPhone 16 with its A18 chip. The A19’s six-core CPU is made on a 3-nanometer process, has an improved Neural Engine with increased bandwidth to help make AI services faster, and has an updated Display Engine that helps power ProMotion and Always-On features of the display. The iPhone 17 comes in either 256GB or 512GB, an increase on the baseline 128GB storage of the iPhone 16.

The iPhone Air has slightly better specs with an A19 Pro chip, with better performance and efficiency. The chip’s graphics processing unit cores now have neural accelerators that deliver three times the peak output of the GPU on the A18 Pro found in last year’s iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. The iPhone Air is also the only one of the lineup to get another tech advancement — an upgraded version of Apple’s C1 chip, the internally developed 5G modem that debuted in the iPhone 16E released earlier this year. The iPhone Air comes in 256GB, 512GB or 1TB storage configurations.

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max both feature the A19 Pro chip, and combined with its redesigned thermal dissipation, reaches the aforementioned 40% better sustained performance over the iPhone 16 Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro comes in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage configurations, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max has those options as well as a 2TB selection, though that raises the price to $2,000.

While Apple never explicitly says how much RAM its iPhones pack, most phones require 8GB of RAM to use AI features — Given that Apple Intelligence debuted on the iPhone 16 lineup, it’s heavily suspected that those devices were given 8GB of RAM. Presumably, the iPhone 17 series has the same amount.

Apple is similarly coy about listing battery capacity, preferring instead to suggest how long they can last playing video content. As mentioned above, the iPhone Air has the lowest at 27 hours of video playback, but not by much. The iPhone 17 has up to 30 hours, the iPhone 17 Pro reaches 33 hours, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max tops out at 39 hours of video playback — made possible thanks to internal redesigns.

All three phones pack Apple’s new N1 wireless networking chip, which connects to Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread networking for smart home appliances.

All iPhone 17 models launch with iOS 26, the next version of Apple’s iPhone software, renamed to align with the year following its release. Among the new features are the Liquid Glass interface redesign, iMessage updates, a more transparent lock screen and a streamlined Camera app. These are just a few of the overhauls also coming to Safari, Photos and Music apps, among others.

The iPhone 17 series also packs Apple Intelligence, the company’s signature blend of generative AI features. But with no new tools or applications introduced during the event, it seems the phones will simply inherit the AI tools that debuted with last year’s iPhone 16 or those that were added in the year since.

Apple iPhone 17 vs. iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max

	Apple iPhone 17	Apple iPhone Air	Apple iPhone 17 Pro	Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	6.3-inch OLED; 2,622 x 1,206 pixel resolution; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate	6.5-inch OLED; 2,736 x 1,260 pixel resolution; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate	6.3-inch OLED; 2,622 x 1,206 pixel resolution; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate	6.9-inch OLED; 2,868 x 1,320 pixel resolution; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate
Pixel density	460ppi	460ppi	460ppi	460ppi
Dimensions (inches)	5.89 x 2.81 x 0.31 in	6.15 x 2.94 x 0.22 in	5.91 x 2.83 x 0.34 in	6.43 x 3.07 x 0.34 in
Dimensions (millimeters)	149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mm	156.2 x 74.7 x 5.64 mm	150.0 x 71.9 x 8.75 mm	163.4 x 78.0 x 8.75 mm
Weight (grams, ounces)	177 g (6.24 oz)	165 g (5.82 oz)	206 g (7.27 oz)	233 g (8.22 oz)
Mobile software	iOS 26	iOS 26	iOS 26	iOS 26
Camera	48-megapixel (wide) 48-megapixel (ultrawide)	48-megapixel (wide)	48-megapixel (wide) 48-megapixel (ultrawide) 48-megapixel (4x, 8x telephoto)	48-megapixel (wide) 48-megapixel (ultrawide) 48-megapixel (4x, 8x telephoto)
Front-facing camera	18-megapixel	18-megapixel	18-megapixel	18-megapixel
Video capture	4K	4K	4K	4K
Processor	Apple A19	Apple A19 Pro	Apple A19 Pro	Apple A19 Pro
RAM + storage	RAM N/A + 256GB, 512GB	RAM N/A + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB	RAM N/A + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB	RAM N/A + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB
Expandable storage	None	None	None	None
Battery	3,692 mAh. Fast charge up to 50% in 20 minutes using 40W adapter or higher via charging cable. Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using 30W adapter or higher via MagSafe Charger.	3,149 mAh. Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using 20W adapter or higher via charging cable. Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using 30W adapter or higher via MagSafe Charger.	4,252 mAh.Fast charge up to 50% in 20 minutes using 40W adapter or higher via charging cable. Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using 30W adapter or higher via MagSafe Charger.	5,088 mAh. Fast charge up to 50% in 20 minutes using 40W adapter or higher via charging cable. Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using 30W adapter or higher via MagSafe Charger.
Fingerprint sensor	None (Face ID)	None (Face ID)	None (Face ID)	None (Face ID)
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	None	None	None	None
Special features	Apple N1 wireless networking chip (Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 6, Thread. Action button. Camera Control button. Dynamic Island. Apple Intelligence. Visual Intelligence. Dual eSIM. 1 to 3000 nits brightness display range.IP68 resistance. Colors: black, white, mist blue, sage, lavender.	Apple N1 wireless networking chip (Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 6, Thread. Action button. Apple C1X cellular modem. Camera Control button. Dynamic Island. Apple Intelligence. Visual Intelligence. Dual eSIM. 1 to 3000 nits brightness display range.IP68 resistance. Colors: space black, cloud white, light gold, sky blue.	Apple N1 wireless networking chip (Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 6, Thread. Action button. Camera Control button. Dynamic Island. Apple Intelligence. Visual Intelligence. Dual eSIM. ProRes Raw video recording. Genlock video support. 1 to 3000 nits brightness display range.IP68 resistance. Colors: silver, cosmic orange, deep blue.	Apple N1 wireless networking chip (Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 6, Thread. Action button. Camera Control button. Dynamic Island. Apple Intelligence. Visual Intelligence. Dual eSIM. ProRes Raw video recording. Genlock video support. 1 to 3000 nits brightness display range.IP68 resistance. Colors: silver, cosmic orange, deep blue.
US price starts at	$799 (256GB)	$999 (256GB)	$1,099 (256GB)	$1,199 (256GB)
UK price starts at	£799 (256GB)	£999 (256GB)	£1,099 (256GB)	£1,199 (256GB)
Australia price starts at	AU$1,399 (256GB)	AU$1,799 (256GB)	AU$1,999 (256GB)	AU$2,199 (256GB)