Over the past ten years, Apple’s iPhone has become the company’s most valuable —and recently, somewhat volatile— asset. Since its introduction in 2007, the iPhone helped to jumpstart the smartphone revolution, and with it came some big innovations. The App Store, touchscreen gaming, the mass adoption of social media, and protecting user data with biometrics. Its product lineup is enmeshed in Apple’s ecosystem, and the impact that it continues to have around the globe is vast.
Abidur Chowdhury, who worked on the iPhone Air and introduced it during Apple’s September event, has reportedly left for an AI startup. Even though the phone hasn’t sold well, “his exit is unrelated to the debut of the phone, which has seen its design praised despite underwhelming sales,” according to Bloomberg.
This week the company launched three new versions of its Juice Pack cases. They’re all $99.99 but the iPhone 17 Pro version has a 3,000mAh battery while the 17 Pro Max one is 3,600mAh providing 50 percent more power. The iPhone Air case has a 2,400mAh battery providing up to 60 percent more power.
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This is the self-aware way Apple used to launch socks for its devices at a fraction of the cost of its new iPhone Pocket. I’m guessing it too, was inspired by “a piece of cloth.”
Apple’s thinnest iPhone is finally launching in China next week, with preorders this Friday. The eSIM-only phone’s launch was delayed a month ago over regulatory issues to do with the electronic SIM cards, which aren’t widely available in the country.
Side note: this is how I found out Tim Cook has a Weibo account?
Last week, Ford CEO Jim Farley stepped up to the Decoder mic to explain why Ford isn’t offering CarPlay Ultra. Then this week, our friend Joanna Stern followed up with RJ Scaringe to discuss (again) why his company’s cars don’t have CarPlay support at all.
The free iOS app is now available to download worldwide today, following its announcement earlier this month, bringing Premiere Pro editing features to mobile devices. An Android version is also in development, but Adobe hasn’t said when it will arrive.
There are fixes for bugs that some new iPhone 17 / Pro / Air owners have noticed, like wonky Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, as well as camera artifacts experienced “under certain lighting conditions.”
One iOS 26 issue addressed is blank custom tinted icons, plus one security flaw for a “maliciously crafted font.”
In a short video, iFixit speculates that the battery inside is the same as the one that’s in the iPhone Air itself. I’m convinced!
The Verge team has spent the week putting Apple’s brand-new lineup through the test — the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air.
Now, Jake, Allison, and Todd have answered the questions you submitted in a live AMA today at 1 PM ET, and you can look below in the comments to see what they had to say.
🎁 Bonus: Our iPhone 17 Pro review is free to read all day — no subscription needed.
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This year’s iPhone is more useful, has more storage, and starts at the same price. What’s not to like?
But most people should buy the regular iPhone 17.
With the launch of iOS 26, Apple planned to let you create a digital ID with your US passport and store it in its Wallet app, allowing you to pass through TSA checkpoints while traveling within the country. Now, Apple says this feature will be “available in a software update,” as spotted by MacRumors.
