New York —
It’s the equivalent of Super Bowl Day for diehard Apple fans.
On Tuesday, Apple is expected to announce the latest iterations of the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods at its annual hardware event. The event, which Apple has teased with the phrase “awe dropping,” kicks off from the company’s Cupertino, California, headquarters at 1 p.m. ET.
While the iPhone event is always Apple’s most important of the year, the pressure to impress with its latest devices is especially high this year. The company’s sales have been bumpy for years, the iPhone is falling behind competitors on artificial intelligence and Apple has been caught in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s trade wars. Considering those challenges, a simple refresh in the iPhone’s color options or camera capabilities would almost certainly not be enough to appease users or shareholders.
Apple shares were down around 2.5% since the start of this year as of Monday night’s close, mostly missing out on the big market rally that has been taking place – particularly in Big Tech – since the spring.
Apple has been tight-lipped about its plans for the event, as usual. But the company is reportedly hoping that a new, slimmer model of the iPhone — potentially called the “iPhone Air”— will be enough to spur a strong uptick in sales, by giving consumers more options in addition to the release of the core iPhone 17 models.
Some analysts also predict Apple could raise iPhone prices because of tariffs. And while most don’t expect any major Apple Intelligence announcements, Wall Street is hoping for some clarity on the company’s AI strategy.
Here’s what we know about the event and what Apple is expected to announce. CNN will be covering the event live.
The most anticipated announcement expected on Tuesday is the introduction of a slimmer addition to the iPhone 17 lineup, possibly called the iPhone Air, according to reports from Bloomberg and TFI Securities.
Apple is rumored to be announcing four iPhone 17 models: the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 17 Air.
Of those four expected models, the iPhone 17 Air will likely be the main attraction. It would be the first time Apple has added a slimmer new device to its lineup, although that could come at the expense of battery life and the camera, according to Bloomberg. Its screen is expected to be larger than the regular iPhone 17’s but smaller than the super-sized Pro Max, the report states.
The Air could give Apple a new alternative to its entry-level and high-end devices, after its Mini and Plus models struggled to catch on with consumers. And the “Air” branding would align with models in Apple’s other product lines: the MacBook Air and the iPad Air.
Android rivals have tried to beat Apple to the punch by releasing their own thinner smartphones. Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Edge, with 5.8-millimeter sides, in May. And Tecno, a smaller smartphone maker, announced the 5.9-millimeter Tecno Slim last week at IFA, a major consumer tech trade show in Europe.
The rest of the iPhone 17 lineup is also expected to see improvements to core functionalities like battery life, camera quality and design.
“With hardware and design under its command, but the unpredictable landscape of AI out of its hands, Apple is determined to capture consumer excitement and keep momentum rolling, regardless of the shifting tides in technology,” Emarketer senior technology analyst Gadjo Sevilla said in emailed commentary last week.
Apple rarely hikes the price of its most important product. But that could change this year, with Apple expecting to take a $1.1 billion hit because of tariffs this quarter.
Morgan Stanley analysts estimated in a research note last week that Apple will raise the price of the iPhone Pro model by $100 and list the iPhone Air for $100 more than the mid-range iPhone 16 Plus.
Monness Crespi Hardt analyst Brian White estimated in a note on Monday that iPhone prices will go up 5% to 10% compared to the previous year’s model.
A costlier iPhone could be a hard sell for consumers — and a problem for Apple as it faces steeper competition from Google and Samsung, particularly when it comes to AI features. But analysts say that after years of keeping prices stable, shoppers may give Apple a pass for slightly higher prices, especially if it impresses with the iPhone Air.
“In the face of rising inflation in recent years, we commend Apple for not taking advantage of the crisis to price gouge customers as has occurred across numerous industries,” White said. “That said, we believe Apple is warranted in hiking prices with the iPhone 17 family” because of the uncertainty around tariff policies, he added.
Morgan Stanley analysts called the likely hikes “modest” and said they’d be unlikely to dent iPhone demand.
Analysts told CNN earlier this year that Apple could also look to quietly raise prices by charging extra for additions like increased storage, rather than upping the base price tag in a way that could cause sticker shock for consumers.
Several of Apple’s other core devices are also expected to get a refresh, likely with an emphasis on new design and health-related features.
Health has been a key focus for the company (and its competitors) as a way to get more users to buy Apple Watches and sign up for services like Apple Fitness+. Apple could also roll out a paid Health+ service next year, Bloomberg has reported.
Apple will likely announce its new Apple Watch Series 11, as well as a new pro model, the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and lower-cost model, the Apple Watch SE 3. Both the lower and high-end models are expected to get larger screens and faster chips. And Gurman reports that Apple could add satellite connectivity, already an important emergency feature in the iPhone, to the Ultra 3.
The high-end AirPods model could get their first upgrade in three years. Apple may announce the AirPods Pro 3 which could have a smaller charging case, live translation capabilities and, potentially, a heart rate model, according to Bloomberg.
But Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst known for his Apple product forecasts, has predicted an even bigger update for the AirPods Pro next week, with the potential inclusion of a small camera that would make gesture control easier. That could help Apple compete with new styles of AI-powered devices like smart glasses.
That could be important as companies continue to experiment with devices that are “less reliant on traditional touch screens and keypads,”as Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst for market research firm Forrester, put it in an interview ahead of Tuesday’s event.
“You can almost sense that there is something coming around the corner,” Chatterjee said. “There will be a viable alternative to these traditional phones.”
–CNN’s Lisa Eadicicco contributed to this report.
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