Apple's week September 12: pre-order chaos
It's iPhone pre-order day, but that doesn't mean nothing else happened this week. Here's what I want to highlight before diving into the event and pre-orders.
News from the event:
The Friday after the Apple event is always a crazy, fun, stressful moment where the entire internet I follow lurches at the same storefront. As many people started posting their victories, I noticed a pattern.
Many people said their iPhone, seconds after pre-orders opened, would deliver on September 25. There's no way this is correct, as the window for release day didn't shift for more than an hour.
So what gives?
It seems everyone, me included, that did financing of any kind was left with the same delivery date. It was certainly odd.
Apple hasn't confirmed anything, but the only conclusion I could arrive at is that financing options like the iPhone Upgrade Program left users with a placeholder date. If the company has any sense, and I expect it does, it had some inventory set aside for the faithful early pre-orders centered around its most loyal customers.
However, frustratingly, there is no transparency here. I expect many of us to get a notification that the delivery date has moved up, but there is no indication of this as I write.
I hope my efforts to order the instant the Apple Store opened weren’t in vain. Though, I won't cry too much about a September 25 delivery nearly a week after the product release.
The biggest problem for me is my full review won't be able to begin until much later than everyone else. I hope I can deliver a proper review with a few days of access, but still, there's no reason users should be punished for being the most loyal customers, taking advantage of the upgrade program offered by Apple.
Perhaps there's a chance my date could move up. For now, let's talk about the Apple event.
Update at 7PM: Apple finally updated my pre order delivery for iPhone 17 Pro Max to deliver on September 19th. Crisis averted.
Awe Dropping
Apple's events are always interesting to me, but it's especially amazing when there are some proper upgrades announced. ProMotion on all iPhones, A19 improvements, advancements in Apple Silicon including networking chips, and 48MP Fusion Cameras for everyone.
I'll admit it, I was impressed overall.
The photographic pipeline continues to evolve after 2024's push into reversible Photographic Styles. Every camera is improved, more machine learning is used for enhancement when the sensor is cropped, and users should see incredible utility in the focal distances of each lens.
The 100mm Fusion Telephoto Lens at 4x the main camera is going to be amazing for portrait photography. The 8x 12MP at 200mm is a nice bonus, but getting more zoom at the same resolution as the previous 120mm 5x is quite nice too.
There's no doubt I'll be taking some interesting photos with the new iPhone 17 Pro Max.
I'm also happy with what Apple announced with the AirPods Pro 3. The battery life pretty much ensures that if you want an AirPod in your ear all day, you'll be able to.
I'm not all day yet, but it's nice to know I won't have to worry about that sad, depleted sound playing in the middle of a podcast. 10-12 hours should prove to be more than enough.
Not to mention rumors of poor audio quality and ANC improvements being totally wrong. I'm excited to see what AirPods Pro 3 sound like.
Apple Watch Series 11 isn't enough of an update for me, but luckily Apple offered a good-enough upgrade for Apple Watch Ultra 3. So, I'll be trying out the super fancy Ultra for the first time this year.
I'm also quite happy with the iPhone Air, even though people will find reasons to be angry. It's got good battery life, comparable to iPhone 16 Pro, while remaining thin and light.
There's also the camera, which is likely more than enough for most users. It's not enough for me, but others will find it sufficient. My fiancée Natalie will be getting the iPhone Air, so I can at least examine how it works firsthand.
You can hear William and I discuss the event in detail on this week's AppleInsider Podcast:
Overall, I'm happy with how the event went. No doubt there will always be haters looking for reasons to call Apple boring and lazy, but this was a particularly good year for upgrades.
Some people will never be happy. It was a great event with something for everyone across every product line, but of course, that's not enough for those seeking negativity.
I, for one, love how Apple reengineered the iPhone lineup, introduced more battery life for Apple Watch, and made AirPods Pro even better. It's hard to find these updates boring or iterative.
Apple's MagSafe Battery problem
I did order the MagSafe Battery that is supposedly exclusive to the iPhone Air. And of course, it's something customers should heed.
I wasn't sure exactly how the battery could be exclusive until after I hit the purchase button. How could a MagSafe Battery not work with all MagSafe-compatible iPhones?
As it turns out, the new battery is taller above the MagSafe magnets in a way that makes it not so universal. It collides with the camera bump on any other iPhone model, so it's not useful in normal circumstances.
Of course, any iPhone can attach if the battery is in landscape. There's also a wired option for charging small devices like the iPhone or AirPods case.
Otherwise, yes, this is an iPhone Air-only device.
What I'm ordering
Of course, I wouldn't purchase the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery without having an iPhone Air up for purchase. However, it's not for me. My fiancé, Natalie, is up for an iPhone upgrade, so she's opting for the super thin iPhone.
I chose the iPhone 17 Pro Max, AirPods Pro 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 3. I'm interested in these products and how they'll improve versus the iPhone 16 Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 10, and AirPods Pro 2 I have today.
Not much happened in the world of tech this week, and I'm not going anywhere near the nonsense in political news. So all I ask is that everyone stay safe out there.
And of course, please donate to Saint Jude if you haven't already. It's Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and it's as good a time as any to send some extra funds their way.
