There is nothing in this world that is certain, except for death, taxes and the reveal of a new iPhone every year. We’re likely weeks away from Apple’s iPhone 17 event, but we’ve already seen a lot of the product lineup through leaked photos and rumors.

In addition to the base model, you can expect an iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max and a slim version, nicknamed the iPhone 17 Air to be revealed during the event. We’re also likely to see an Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 and maybe an Apple Watch SE, which last got updated in 2022. The AirPods Pro 3 might also make their debut.

Tying the whole lineup together is iOS 26 which was showcased at WWDC 2025 and should drop shortly after the event.

Here are the biggest rumors and leaks about Apple’s new hardware. We’ll continue updating this piece ahead of the iPhone 17 event. Apple hasn’t announced any products or confirmed rumors, and we likely won’t find out for sure until the September iPhone event.

When will the iPhone 17 event be? What’s the iPhone 17 release date?

If you’re excited about the new iPhone’s debut, you might not have to wait long. Multiple leaks point to an early September date for Apple’s iPhone 17 reveal.

A July 13 newsletter from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman noted that an event is likely slated for Sept. 9 or Sept. 10. German site iPhone-Ticker claimed it gained access to internal documents from a local carrier that lined up with the Sept. 9 date. We don’t have access to these documents, so the rumors should be taken with a grain of salt. If these leaks turn out to be true, we can expect preorders for the new Apple hardware to begin on Sept. 12, with a release date of Sept. 19.

iPhone 17

The standard iPhone is the cornerstone of Apple’s September presentation, and the iPhone 17 should be no different. All in all, this year won’t mark a groundbreaking shakeup for the iPhone. That’s supposedly coming next year, for the iPhone’s 20th anniversary. But there are still new features to get excited over in the meantime.

The largest alteration to the design is rumored to be the phone’s camera bump, which will more closely resemble the pill-shaped design of Google’s Pixel. Analyst Jeff Pu also believes that the selfie camera will be 24 megapixels — a solid upgrade from the 12-megapixel front-facing camera present in the iPhone 16 lineup.

There are conflicting rumors about the iPhone 17’s internal specs. Pu stated that the new phone will have the same A18 chipset used in the iPhone 16, while leaker Fixed Focus Digital suggested that the phone will be upgraded to the A19 chip. It’s unknown whether the iPhone 17 will get a physical battery upgrade, but the Adaptive Power feature included within iOS 26 should help extend the phone’s battery life nonetheless.

Prominent leaker Majin Bu posted photos of the purported iPhone 17 lineup on X, and if they’re accurate, the device will come in black, blue, silver, purple and green.

iPhone 17 Air

The iPhone 17 Air could replace the Plus model in the lineup. Its key feature could be an ultra-thin design, like Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge. It will be interesting to see if the slim design comes with a sacrifice to battery life, like with the S25 Edge. A Bloomberg report states that the Air could be as thin as 5.5mm. Pu notes that the Air will likely have a 6.6-inch display, with a resolution of 1,260×2,740 pixels.

There is a mix of rumors about the Air’s chip, with trusted sources such as Bloomberg reporting that it will have the standard A19 chip. More recently, MacRumors reported on a leaker’s assertion that the phone will contain the A19 Pro chip, but there’s no substantial evidence pointing toward either claim.

According to MacRumors, the Air has a 2,800-mAh battery — though it might be the first Apple phone to use a high-density silicon battery, which could increase actual battery capacity by between 15% to 20%. Note that the Adaptive Power feature shipping with iOS 26 might help with the battery life.

Judging by the numerous leaked photos and renders, it’s also extremely likely that the Air will have only one wide-angle rear camera, like the iPhone 16E. The front camera may also be moved to the left of the Dynamic Island cutout (that camera sensor bar at the top of the phone’s display) to maintain its form.

While the iPhone 17 is expected to stay at the baseline 8GB of memory, the Air could have 12GB of RAM, which is the same memory that the Pro and Pro Max phones are rumored to include.

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max

Whereas the Air is expected to make sacrifices in order to achieve its design, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are the most premium models in the lineup. Recent photos substantiate rumors that the Pro’s chassis will change from titanium to aluminum, which will make them lighter than previous models.

The biggest rumored upgrades coming are the cameras. MacRumors reported that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an 8x optical zoom telephoto lens up from the 5x one on the 16 Pro. Pu wrote that the Pro phones will feature a 48-megapixel telephoto camera, which is a substantial improvement over the 16 Pro’s 12-megapixel sensor. He similarly reports that the selfie camera will be upgraded to 24 megapixels, up from the 12-megapixel front-facing camera on the 16 Pro.

As reported on by MacRumors, one leaker claimed the iPhone 17 Pro Max will have the biggest battery in any iPhone to date — and the Pro will likely have a similarly sized battery. Bu claimed that both phones will have a vapor chamber cooling system, which could help keep these batteries from overheating on the sunniest summer days.

The Pro phones will come with the A19 Pro chip, but while the iPhone 17 Air could likely have a five-core GPU, the Pro and Pro Max will have a six-core GPU, ensuring better performance across the board.

For folks who care about showing off their new phone, you’ll be happy to know that one supposed leaker on Weibo claimed that one of the color choices for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max is related to the slick iOS 26 Liquid Glass design, while we’ve seen leaked mockups of the Pro in black, silver, dark blue and orange.

Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3 and SE

The Apple Watch Series 11 could get key improvements to its core features, battery life and performance.

We might not see a drastic change in design from the Apple Watch Series 10, but MacRumors reports that the Series 11 could get a more energy-efficient screen with higher resolution and better brightness settings (which could improve battery life). Keeping with the trend of upgrading the processor in each new Apple Watch, we should see an S11 chip present in the Series 11.

Gurman reported back in March that Apple has been testing blood pressure tracking for future Apple Watch models, but it’s unclear how far along in development that feature is and whether it’s ready for release with the Series 11.

What is extremely likely to debut at this event, on the other hand, is the Apple Watch Ultra 3, since MacRumors found imagery for the smartwatch buried within the iOS 26 beta. The photos show an Ultra watch with a slightly larger display, clocking in at a 422×514-pixel resolution. The Ultra 3 would likely share an S11 chip with the Series 11. While the Ultra 2 already boasts the longest battery life of any Apple Watch, an S11 chip could see even greater returns on a single charge for the Ultra 3 — it could last three or four days in low-power mode.

The most unique feature that could come to the premium new Apple Watch is satellite connectivity. According to Gurman, Apple has been exploring adding this feature to the next Ultra model — if implemented, it would enable emergency messaging and location sharing in areas without cell service. Google’s new Pixel Watch 4 is the first smartwatch to support satellite connectivity.

There are some hints that we might see a new SE model. For starters, there hasn’t been an SE since 2022, which means Apple could be primed for a release this year. A report from Gurman also stated that there’s a possibility that a next-gen SE could be in the works. The next SE design could largely focus on an improved exterior, according to Gurman, but it’s also likely that the budget watch could get an upgrade to Apple’s S9 chip.

The WatchOS 26 AI-powered Workout Buddy feature would also be standard for any new Apple Watch introduced at this event, though they’ll need to be paired up with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone.

AirPods Pro 3

It’s been a hot minute since Apple has updated the AirPods Pro. The second iteration of the premium wireless earbuds was released in 2022, and the company has been radio silent about the AirPods Pro 3 despite releasing new AirPods models every year since 2019.

That’s likely to change very soon, since MacRumors contributor Steve Moser found references to the AirPods Pro 3 in the underlying code for iOS 26’s first beta.

Bloomberg’s Gurman predicts that the product announcement will happen during the iPhone 17 event. He also reported that the new design will likely feature heart-rate monitoring as a key feature, similarly to the Powerbeats Pro 2. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo further reported that the company is looking to add infrared cameras to future AirPods, but this hardware might not be ready until the AirPods Pro 4.

It’s also rumored that the AirPods Pro 3 could have an interactive touchscreen display in the charging case, doubling as a remote control. It’s also possible that the new wireless earbuds will have an H3 chip, an improvement over the AirPods Pro 2’s H2 chip that could improve battery life, enhance sound quality, provide better active noise cancellation and perform better during voice calls.

Announcement, beta and iOS 26 launch

A new generation of Apple hardware calls for new software as well, and iOS 26 is changing far more than the operating system’s naming convention. The iOS 18 successor — which was announced at WWDC — is on its fourth public beta, which fixes a number of bugs from the previous update and brings the software more in line with the most recent developer beta version.

We know what many of the main features of iOS 26 will look like before its full release. The design is largely minimalist, with a heavy emphasis on Liquid Glass, which presents a colorless «all clear» alternative to the light and dark mode interfaces. This unobtrusive design will make dynamic changes to the lock screen, where the time and date will change to fit your photo, and Safari, where unused tabs will gravitate toward the top of the screen.

The Camera, Photos, and FaceTime apps are also going back to basics with simplified designs, while the Messages app is getting more colorful. The biggest features for iOS 26 are call screening for unknown numbers, live translation for calls and texts, a dedicated Games app and lyrics translations on the Music app.

For an in-depth breakdown of all of the iOS upgrades Apple has revealed (as well as the updates the company didn’t mention), check out the roundup from CNET’s Jeff Carlson here.

We’ll continue to update this piece as more details for the upcoming iPhone 17 event are confirmed. Check back in for more information about release dates and upcoming Apple hardware as it becomes available.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

The very first clue in today’s Mini Crossword, «British «bye-bye,» stumped me until I’d filled in a bunch more answers. Need some help with today’s NYT Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: British «bye-bye»
Answer: TATA

5A clue: Hearty gulp
Answer: SWIG

6A clue: It’s been called the «City of Light» and the «City of Love»
Answer: PARIS

8A clue: Clark ___ a.k.a. Superman
Answer: KENT

9A clue: Comedically risky
Answer: EDGY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Baking measure: Abbr.
Answer: TSP

2D clue: Unable to sleep
Answer: AWAKE

3D clue: Sleepy
Answer: TIRED

4D clue: An extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been,» per David Bowie
Answer: AGING

7D clue: Pig’s home
Answer: STY

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle was all over the place for me. I solved the blue category right away, but did not even see the purple theme coming. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: A bad situation.

Green group hint: Tiny circles.

Blue group hint: Frosty the Snowman smoked one.

Purple group hint: Not up.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Predicament.

Green group: Small spherical things.

Blue group: Pipe-smoking accessories.

Purple group: What «down» might mean.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is predicament. The four answers are fix, jam, mess and pickle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is small spherical things. The four answers are mothball, pea, pearl and pom-pom.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is pipe-smoking accessories. The four answers are filter, lighter, pipe cleaner and tamper.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is what «down» might mean. The four answers are feathers, guzzle, sad and willing.