All 7 new products we’re expecting Apple to announce at its ‘Awe Dropping’ September event
- Apple may unveil as many as seven new products at its September 9 “Awe Dropping” event, including the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air that could replace the iPhone Plus line. The company is also expected to introduce health-focused updates across its Apple Watch and AirPods lineups, marking a significant hardware refresh amid ongoing challenges in artificial intelligence competition.
Apple’s September 9 “Awe Dropping” event, announced earlier this week, arrives at a critical moment for one of the world’s most valuable companies as it seeks to maintain momentum following strong third-quarter earnings that delivered record revenue of $94 billion. The event, scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif. headquarters, represents the opening phase of a reported three-year transformation strategy, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, that’s designed to reinvent Apple’s hardware ecosystem.
The timing carries particular significance as Apple faces mounting challenges in artificial intelligence, where the company has struggled to keep pace with competitors and recently faced an antitrust lawsuit from Elon Musk’s xAI over alleged AI monopolization. Apple’s stock has been hit particularly hard, declining roughly 15-19% so far in 2025, making it the one of the worst performers among the Magnificent Seven tech stocks. The stock lost roughly $75 billion in market value during Apple’s WWDC 2025 keynote in June when the company acknowledged its AI-powered Siri upgrade would be delayed until the following year. Despite these headwinds, Apple’s recent financial performance has shown resilience, with iPhone revenue surging 13.5% to $44.6 billion in the third quarter, partly driven by customers upgrading ahead of potential tariff increases.
The September event’s product lineup directly addresses Apple’s strategic priorities by introducing hardware designed to integrate with the company’s Liquid Glass design language: a translucent, depth-focused interface that represents the company’s most significant visual overhaul since iOS 7 in 2013. This design system, inspired by the Vision Pro headset, establishes a unified aesthetic across Apple’s platforms while preparing users for expanded spatial-computing capabilities.
The first iPhone “Air”
The centerpiece of Apple’s September 9 event will reportedly be the ultra-thin iPhone 17 “Air,” which would be the first time an iPhone is bestowed with the moniker that was so popular with Apple’s MacBook line two decades ago. The “Air” model is expected to replace the underperforming iPhone Plus in Apple’s product lineup. The device will reportedly measure approximately 5.5mm at its thinnest point, making it significantly thinner than the iPhone 16’s 7.8mm profile and in all likelihood, given the rumored name, the thinnest iPhone ever made.
The strategic timing aligns with Apple’s broader effort to diversify beyond the iPhone while maintaining its premium market position. Features like iOS 26’s 3D photo effects and spatial interface elements serve as stepping stones toward mainstream AR adoption, gradually acclimating users to spatial-computing concepts before introducing dedicated AR hardware. This measured approach allows Apple to build ecosystem readiness while competitors like Meta and Google rush to market with potentially premature products.
Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event will livestream on the company’s website, YouTube, and Apple TV, on Tuesday, September 9. Based on past iPhone launch events, where Apple holds the event on a Tuesday, pre-orders typically begin that Friday with general availability launching on week later: In this case, that would mean pre-orders opening on September 12 and at least some of the new iPhones launching on September 19.