Apple Keynote 2025: Thinnest iPhone ever unveiled

Cupertino. Apple is expanding its iPhone lineup with a thinner model. The iPhone Air is 5.6 millimeters thick, making it appear slimmer than the other models. It's the thinnest iPhone model yet, Apple executive John Ternus emphasized at the launch. At the same time, Apple promises the performance of a MacBook notebook and a particularly robust case.

The new iPhone 17 is also available, as usual, as a standard model and as a more expensive Pro version with more features. With the Pro model, Apple has also gone all out with orange.

The slimmer design required a technical balancing act. There's only a single camera lens. Thanks to software and the lens design, telephoto images with the quality of a 12-megapixel camera are also possible. The chip systems were rearranged and compressed to allow as much space as possible for the battery. Apple promises that the battery should last all day. Nevertheless, the company designed a new – equally thin – external battery, which is held to the back of the device by magnets.

Some market observers expressed skepticism about how popular such a model could be after initial details emerged in media reports. For example, Craig Moffett of the financial firm Moffett Nathanson pointed out that the design could result in shorter battery life: "I'm not sure people will be too keen on making such a compromise." The iPhone Air will be sold in Germany at a starting price of €1,199, placing it between the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro.

Speculation about an additional, thinner iPhone had been rife for some time. Samsung beat Apple to the market a few months ago with the 5.8-millimeter-thick Galaxy Edge model.

The next iPhone Pro will have a significantly new look for the first time since 2020: The camera island on the back now extends across the entire width of the device. The frame is also made of aluminum instead of titanium. The reason: It's lighter and dissipates heat better, according to previous media reports. The standard model will also get a new chip as well as improvements to the cameras and display. Since iPhone users took half a billion selfies last year, a new image sensor on the display-side camera gives users more flexibility in composing images.

The new generation of the Apple Watch can now also alert users to suspected high blood pressure. While the device won't be able to detect all cases, Apple executive Sumbul Desai said it expects to notify one million users of elevated blood pressure in the first year.

The next generation of the larger Apple Watch Ultra, designed specifically for adventurers and extreme athletes, will have a larger display. It will also be able to communicate directly with satellites and have a longer battery life of up to 42 hours. At the other end of the price range, the cheapest Apple Watch SE will also get a chip update and faster charging times.

A new model of the AirPods Pro earbuds is capable of measuring heart rate, making it ideal for use during workouts. When paired with the iPhone, the AirPods Pro 3 can also translate users' conversations in real time between different languages. This works even better when both users are wearing the earbuds, Apple noted. The AirPods Pro 3 also offer better sound quality and twice the ambient noise cancellation. The price remains at €249.

The iPhone has been by far Apple's most important product for years. Rivals like Samsung and Google have recently focused heavily on marketing their competing models, with their many features based on artificial intelligence, as personal everyday assistants. Apple, too, had announced major AI leaps with a more helpful version of its Siri assistant software in the previous iPhone generation. However, the company then had to postpone the new Siri until next year.

Now, AI is once again subordinate to individual functions like cameras and photos. Analysts like William Kerwin of the financial firm Morningstar, however, don't see this as a major problem for Apple. While artificial intelligence is thought of as software, it will ultimately be used on devices, Kerwin pointed out on CNBC. And Apple is the leading device provider with the iPhone, as well as Mac computers and iPads. "To me, that means they still have time to get their strategy right."

RND/dpa