Gadget Show host gives honest verdict of Apple's iPhone 17

The Gadget Show presenter Jason Bradbury has hailed Apple's latest release as a "thing of beauty" after the tech giant's 2025 keynote presentation. The brand unveiled a range of new products last week. This included the eagerly awaited iPhone 17, alongside the "impossibly thin" iPhone Air – a device the 56 year old presenter described as "extraordinary".

"It looks like a piece of jewellery," said Jason, who fronted The Gadget Show, the consumer technology programme from 2004-2016. "It's only 5mm thin – you have to see it against the other models to understand just how thin that is. It is a thing of beauty."

He mentioned there were numerous 'interesting' developments from the keynote but it's always interesting to see what innovations are important to the brand.

"Apple is excited about the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max," he said. "It's a lot of money for a phone, but they've gone big on the camera, and they are offering – I think it's fair to say – cinematic levels of video clarity. It's right up there with some of the best cameras you can buy."

Jason, who currently operates an iPhone 16 Pro, launched last year, maintains that whilst the cost is premium our dependence on smartphones makes the technology worthwhile investing in. He admitted he uses his device for emailing, reading the news, music, and all of the health features.

He explained: "I'm very aware that, for a lot of people, these are premium devices – and that's why it's important we know what we are getting.

"When you buy these pieces, you get a very sophisticated piece of industrial design. I do so much with my smartphone, I hardly need a laptop."

Jason added that it's not just about the phone itself, it's also the connection. "I live in Cornwall so I'm often travelling and working on my phone, which means it's really important for me to have a strong, stable connection.

"I'm with the network EE because they are so invested in 5G – it operates at unimaginable speeds and they've been awarded UK's best network for 12 years running by independent testers, RootMetrics."

In addition to the two new smartphones, Apple also unveiled the new Apple Watch Series 11, now equipped with 5G and a new feature alerting users to potential high blood pressure.

Jason added: "Having 5G connectivity means faster data, which is important because these devices really are computers on your wrist, offering all kinds of functionality.

"Apple has gone down this health route – measuring your pulse, sleep score, and now the blood pressure alerts too. It's very elegant. The new Airpods Pro 3 that they announced will also include heart rate sensing, so again we're seeing health features becoming more prominent.

"I like the idea that I can get this kind of data without having another device connected."