Latest / Connecting the Dots / Apple Event unveils new Fall products, including new iPhone 17

Transcript

Apple Event unveils new Fall products, including new iPhone 17 · Connecting the Dots

• 0:00
  Today's tech news moves fast, but understanding
• 0:03
  it shouldn't be hard. That's why Snarfl Solutions
• 0:06
  Group brings you Connecting the Dots, where we
• 0:09
  break down what's happening in tech and why it
• 0:11
  matters to you. Now, let's dive in with your
• 0:14
  hosts. Welcome to Connecting the Dots. I'm Alex.
• 0:18
  And I'm Morgan. It's Wednesday, September 10th,
• 0:20
  2025. Really glad you could join us today. Absolutely.
• 0:23
  We're here to break down the tech news that matters
• 0:26
  to you. That's right. So before we dive into
• 0:29
  the big stuff, let's get a quick feel for the
• 0:30
  morning. Okay, here in Sacramento, it looks like
• 0:33
  there's a chance of showers later, high around
• 0:35
  79 degrees. And nationally, well, there's some
• 0:39
  significant weather, heavy rain down in Florida,
• 0:42
  the peninsula specifically, and out west, a storm
• 0:45
  system moving through. Could be some isolated
• 0:48
  flash flooding, especially near those burn scar
• 0:51
  areas. Oh yeah, always a concern. And even some,
• 0:53
  potentially some dry thunderstorms that could
• 0:55
  spark fires. So, something to watch. Okay, market
• 0:58
  check. Yep. Dow Jones finished yesterday at 45
• 1:01
  ,711 .34. That was up, let's see, 163 points,
• 1:07
  about 0 .36%. Solid. S &P 500, also up a bit,
• 1:10
  closed at 6 ,512 .61, gained about nine points.
• 1:14
  Okay. And Bitcoin, having a good morning, currently
• 1:17
  sitting around 113 ,689, up over 2 ,800 bucks
• 1:21
  today, almost 2%. Wow, okay. Strong showing for
• 1:24
  crypto. And you know what else is strong are
• 1:26
  San Francisco Giants. Ah, yes. Yes, they beat
• 1:29
  the Diamondbacks yesterday 5 to 3. Nice. Robbie
• 1:32
  Ray got the win. Just a fantastic start to the
• 1:35
  week for the Giants. Love to see it. OK, so writing
• 1:39
  that high note, let's switch gears. Let's do
• 1:41
  it. Time for our Morningstar report. Exactly.
• 1:44
  And today, well, it's basically all Apple, isn't
• 1:47
  it? That big event they had yesterday, September
• 1:49
  9th. It really is. It dominated the news cycle.
• 1:52
  So we've looked at the reports, the announcements,
• 1:54
  and today we're going to connect those dots for
• 1:56
  you. Yeah. We want to talk about how these new
• 1:58
  iPhones, these new watches, how they actually
• 2:00
  fit into your life, you know, for work, for family,
• 2:03
  maybe even for your adventures. Right. It's not
• 2:05
  just about the specs. It's the real world stuff.
• 2:08
  So story number one from the Morningstar. all
• 2:11
  about the new iPhones, the 17, the Air, the 17
• 2:14
  Pro, Pro Max, the whole lineup. And the big headline,
• 2:19
  a really revolutionary front camera. OK, tell
• 2:23
  me more. What's revolutionary about it? It's
• 2:25
  an 18 megapixel center stage front camera. But
• 2:28
  the key thing, the really different thing, is
• 2:30
  it has a square sensor. A square sensor. That's
• 2:33
  unusual. Most are rectangular, right? Like 4
• 2:35
  .3. Exactly. So by using a square sensor, it
• 2:37
  basically captures like extra information around
• 2:40
  the edges. And then the AI, it's really clever.
• 2:44
  It can intelligently crop and reframe your shot
• 2:46
  on the fly. So wait, does that mean like for
• 2:50
  selfies, you don't have to turn the phone sideways
• 2:54
  for a landscape shot? Precisely. No more awkward
• 2:56
  arm stretching for that group selfie, you know?
• 2:59
  Ah, yeah. The AI just adjusts the framing. It
• 3:02
  can go from a standard portrait 4 .3 to a 16
• 3:05
  .9 landscape, or even a perfect square, and it
• 3:08
  does it seamlessly. All while keeping that high
• 3:10
  18 megapixel resolution, it's a big jump from
• 3:13
  the 12 megapixel on the iPhone 16. Okay, that
• 3:16
  actually sounds really useful. Not just for selfies,
• 3:19
  I'm guessing. Oh, definitely not. Think about
• 3:21
  video calls, Zoom, FaceTime, whatever you use.
• 3:23
  Right. Center stage keeps you perfectly framed,
• 3:25
  even if you, like, get up and walk around your
• 3:27
  office a bit, you stay centered, you stay in
• 3:29
  focus. That's a big deal for looking professional
• 3:31
  on calls, yeah. Totally. And for anyone creating
• 3:34
  content, this is huge. You get ultra stabilized
• 3:37
  4K HDR video from the front camera now. Wow,
• 3:40
  4K HDR on the front. Yep. And get this. dual
• 3:44
  capture. You can record with the front and the
• 3:47
  rear cameras at the same time. Okay hold on so
• 3:50
  I could film like an unboxing video showing the
• 3:52
  product with the back camera and capture my reaction
• 3:55
  with the front camera simultaneously. Exactly
• 3:58
  or imagine being at say a Giants game Okay, you
• 4:02
  could capture your reaction to a home run while
• 4:04
  also showing the play on the field It just makes
• 4:07
  storytelling so much more natural on the device
• 4:09
  itself That does open up possibilities is less
• 4:11
  about just capturing a moment and more about
• 4:14
  sharing an experience almost For businesses,
• 4:17
  too, I can see that being useful for marketing,
• 4:19
  making things feel more authentic. For sure.
• 4:21
  And it's not just the camera, though that's the
• 4:23
  big highlight. There are other upgrades across
• 4:25
  the line. Like what else? Well, durability. They've
• 4:28
  got ceramic shield, too. Apple says it's got
• 4:31
  three times better scratch resistance. OK, everyone
• 4:34
  appreciates better scratch resistance. That's
• 4:37
  always welcome. Always. And under the hood, the
• 4:39
  A19 ship, it's built on that new 3nm process.
• 4:43
  Right, 3nm, so faster, more efficient. Exactly.
• 4:46
  It powers everything, handles demanding stuff
• 4:49
  like, you know, editing that 4K video we mentioned,
• 4:51
  but it's also crucial for their new AI stuff.
• 4:54
  Apple Intelligence, yeah, that's their big push.
• 4:56
  Right. This chip makes things like the live translation
• 4:59
  features possible, better visual search in your
• 5:01
  photos, all that AI relies on this efficient
• 5:04
  power, and you'll likely feel it in just like...
• 5:07
  snappier apps and maybe even better battery life
• 5:10
  despite the power. Makes sense. And the display?
• 5:13
  Any changes there? Yep. A bit bigger on the standard
• 5:15
  and pro models, I think. 6 .3 inches now for
• 5:18
  the base 17. Super Retina XDR, naturally. Promotion
• 5:22
  for that smooth scrolling, always on display.
• 5:25
  And the brightness gets a serious boost. 3 ,000
• 5:28
  nits, peak brightness outdoors. 3 ,000 nits,
• 5:31
  wow, okay, so no trouble seeing your screen even
• 5:33
  in bright sunlight, that's practical. Definitely,
• 5:35
  and storage good news here, the entry level is
• 5:38
  now 256 GB. Finally, yeah, 128 was feeling a
• 5:43
  bit tight for a lot of people. Right. Connectivity
• 5:45
  gets upgrades to Wi -Fi 7, Bluetooth 6. OK, future
• 5:49
  -proofing things there. And Thread support via
• 5:51
  a new N1 chip that's big for smart home integration,
• 5:55
  makes connecting devices potentially much simpler.
• 5:58
  Ah, Thread. Yeah, that's been gaining momentum.
• 6:00
  Good to see it integrated. And one more thing
• 6:02
  on connectivity, eSIM only in some major markets
• 6:05
  like the US and Japan. Right. Easier for travel,
• 6:09
  potentially more secure, though some people still
• 6:10
  like having the physical SIM slot. True, true.
• 6:13
  So. Pricing. The iPhone 17 starts at $799. Okay,
• 6:18
  same starting point as last year, I think. I
• 6:20
  believe so, yeah. Pre -orders are this Friday,
• 6:23
  the 12th, and they'll be available on September
• 6:25
  19th. The Air starts at $999, the Pro at $1099,
• 6:32
  and the Pro Max, you can even get it with two
• 6:34
  terabytes of storage now. Two terabytes in a
• 6:36
  phone. Wow, okay, so definitely some significant
• 6:39
  upgrades, especially around that front camera
• 6:41
  and the AI integration. It definitely feels like
• 6:43
  they're focusing on how you actually use the
• 6:45
  phone day to day. All right, let's move on to
• 6:47
  the wrist. Story number two from the Morningstar
• 6:50
  is about Apple Watch and some potentially life
• 6:53
  -changing health features. Yeah, this one's really
• 6:55
  interesting. We're talking hypertension notifications
• 6:57
  and a much more advanced sleep score. Okay, hypertension,
• 7:01
  high blood pressure. How does the watch detect
• 7:03
  that? That sounds complex. It is pretty complex,
• 7:06
  yeah. They're saying the optical heart sensor,
• 7:08
  using some advanced algorithms, analyzes your
• 7:11
  blood flow over time, like over 30 days. It looks
• 7:15
  for patterns, subtle changes in how your blood
• 7:18
  vessels respond that might indicate consistently
• 7:20
  high pressure. Wow. So it's looking for trends,
• 7:23
  not just a single high reading. Exactly. And
• 7:26
  this matters because... Well, hypertension is
• 7:28
  often called the silent killer, right? Yeah,
• 7:30
  affects a huge number of people, something like
• 7:31
  1 .3 billion adults globally, and many don't
• 7:34
  even know they have it. Precisely. So having
• 7:36
  something on your wrist that could potentially
• 7:38
  flag these patterns early, that's remarkable.
• 7:41
  Truly remarkable. Is this FDA clear? They expect
• 7:44
  clearance this month, and it'll roll out in over
• 7:46
  150 countries. But here's the kicker, and I think
• 7:49
  this is really important. It's not just for the
• 7:52
  new watches. This hypertension notification feature
• 7:55
  is coming via the WatchOS 26 update to Apple
• 7:59
  Watch Series 9 and newer. OK, last year's models.
• 8:02
  And the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and newer as well.
• 8:05
  So people who bought a high end watch last year
• 8:07
  get this major new health feature without buying
• 8:11
  new hardware. That's actually huge. It really
• 8:13
  is. It speaks volumes about, you know, the longevity
• 8:15
  and value you get from these software updates.
• 8:17
  It's not just about pushing new hardware sales
• 8:19
  all the time. That's a very good point. It encourages
• 8:21
  people to focus on their health using the tech
• 8:24
  they already have. What about the sleep score?
• 8:27
  How's that enhanced? It digs deeper than just
• 8:30
  how long you slept. It looks at duration, sure,
• 8:33
  but also consistency, how often you woke up,
• 8:35
  time in different sleep stages, REM deep core.
• 8:38
  Okay, more granular data. Yeah, and it puts it
• 8:41
  all together into a personalized score. Plus,
• 8:43
  it gives you guidance on how you might improve
• 8:45
  your sleep quality based on your patterns. So
• 8:48
  actionable insights, not just data logging. Exactly.
• 8:51
  And again, accessibility is key here. Which models
• 8:53
  get this one? This enhanced sleep score is coming
• 8:56
  to Series 6 and later. Oh, wow. Going back a
• 8:59
  few years. Yep. All the ultra models and the
• 9:01
  SE2 and later. You just need an iPhone 11 or
• 9:04
  newer to pair with it. That covers a lot of users.
• 9:08
  So watchOS 26 is bringing some serious upgrades
• 9:11
  even to older hardware. It really is. They also
• 9:13
  mentioned live translation coming to compatible
• 9:15
  older watches and a new wrist flick gesture for
• 9:18
  certain actions. Makes those devices even more
• 9:21
  useful. Interesting. Okay, but there are new
• 9:23
  watches, too, right? Oh, yeah. There's the Series
• 9:26
  11. It's thinner. They say it's twice as scratch
• 9:28
  -resistant. It gets 5G connectivity now. 5G on
• 9:31
  the regular Apple Watch. Okay, and a 24 -hour
• 9:33
  battery life. Starts at $399. All right. And
• 9:37
  the SE? The SE3 gets a bump, too. More powerful
• 9:40
  S10 chip inside. It gets an always -on display,
• 9:42
  which is a first for the SE line. Well, that's
• 9:44
  a nice addition for the SE. Temperature sensing,
• 9:46
  faster charging, 18 -hour battery. Starts at
• 9:49
  $249. OK, so solid updates for the new models.
• 9:54
  But yeah, the fact that those major health features
• 9:56
  are coming to older watches is probably the bigger
• 9:58
  story for many people right now. I think so,
• 10:00
  too. It really emphasizes that preventative health
• 10:03
  aspect. One more big story from the Apple event
• 10:06
  focusing on the most extreme users. Our third
• 10:11
  Morningstar item. The Apple Watch Ultra 3. Ah,
• 10:16
  yes, the tank. This one's built for adventurers,
• 10:18
  right? Definitely. Rugged design, obviously,
• 10:20
  but the headline features this year seem to be
• 10:23
  about connectivity and safety, especially when
• 10:26
  you're way off the grid. OK, how so? Satellite
• 10:29
  connectivity. Desatellite. On a watch. Yep. For
• 10:31
  emergency SOS, sending messages, and even find
• 10:34
  my location sharing. All when you have zero cellular
• 10:37
  signal. Wow, how does that even work on something
• 10:40
  so small? They've redesigned the radio and antenna
• 10:43
  system. It communicates directly with satellites
• 10:45
  orbiting about 800 miles up. That is incredible.
• 10:48
  Talk about peace of mind if you're hiking or
• 10:50
  backpacking deep in the wilderness. Exactly.
• 10:52
  If you get lost, if you get injured, you still
• 10:54
  have a way to call for help or let people know
• 10:56
  where you are. That's not just a feature. That's
• 10:58
  potentially a lifesaver. For families too, knowing
• 11:01
  someone out there has that capability. Huge.
• 11:04
  Absolutely. It's like a safety net that travels
• 11:06
  with you no matter how remote you go. What about
• 11:08
  power? Does satellite chew through the battery?
• 11:11
  And how's the regular battery life? Good question.
• 11:14
  They've boosted the battery. Up to 42 hours in
• 11:17
  normal use now. 42 hours? That's pretty good
• 11:20
  for an ultra. And get this, 72 hours in low power
• 11:25
  mode. 72. Okay, so that covers a multi -day trek
• 11:28
  easily. For sure. The display is also their largest
• 11:32
  and brightest ever on a watch. Same 3 ,000 nits
• 11:35
  peak as the new iPhone, so super visible. Right.
• 11:37
  Crucial if you're outdoors. And it now gets 5G
• 11:40
  connectivity too, like the Series 11, for faster
• 11:42
  connections when you are in cellular range. Okay.
• 11:45
  Any new fitness stuff specific to the Ultra?
• 11:47
  Yeah, in the workout app there's a new workout
• 11:49
  buddy feature. It uses Apple intelligence to
• 11:51
  give you like personalized voice feedback during
• 11:54
  your workouts, motivation, pushing you on, that
• 11:57
  kind of thing. Huh, an AI workout coach on your
• 12:00
  wrist. Interesting. And I assume it's still super
• 12:03
  durable. Oh, yeah. Built like a tank, as you
• 12:06
  said. Water resistant to 100 meters, dive certified.
• 12:09
  It meets those MIL STD 810H military standards
• 12:13
  for toughness against altitude, temperature extremes,
• 12:15
  shock, you name it. Right. and a little sustainability
• 12:19
  note they mentioned using 3d printed recycled
• 12:21
  titanium in the construction nice touch okay
• 12:24
  so what's the damage for this one price the ultra
• 12:27
  3 starts at 799 same as the ultra 2 launched
• 12:31
  at i believe pre -orders are open now shipping
• 12:33
  september 19th Gotcha. So definitely a premium
• 12:36
  device aimed squarely at those who need that
• 12:38
  extreme durability and now that incredible off
• 12:42
  -grid satellite safety net. Exactly. It pushes
• 12:44
  the boundary of what a personal device can do
• 12:46
  in terms of safety and connection. Okay, wow.
• 12:49
  That was a lot from Apple yesterday. Let's quickly
• 12:52
  connect the dots on the big takeaways. Sounds
• 12:54
  good. First up, the new iPhone lineup 17 Air
• 12:57
  Pro Pro Max. The star was really that 18MP center
• 13:00
  stage front camera with the square sensor and
• 13:02
  AI smarts. It's going to make your selfies, your
• 13:04
  video calls, your content creation just smoother,
• 13:06
  smarter, more flexible. Right. Less fiddling,
• 13:09
  more just communicating or creating naturally.
• 13:11
  Second. the huge health news for Apple Watch.
• 13:14
  Those hypertension notifications and the enhanced
• 13:16
  sleep score aren't just for new buyers, they're
• 13:18
  coming via WatchOS 26 to many older models like
• 13:21
  Series 9, Ultra 2, even back to Series 6 for
• 13:24
  sleep. That's massive for preventative health,
• 13:27
  using tech you might already own. Yeah, potentially
• 13:29
  detecting that silent killer high blood pressure
• 13:31
  early on. And third, the Apple Watch Ultra 3.
• 13:35
  built tough, incredible battery life 5G, but
• 13:38
  the real game changer is that satellite connectivity
• 13:40
  for SOS, messaging, and find my when you're totally
• 13:43
  off -grid. Unmatched peace of mind for adventurers.
• 13:46
  Yeah, these updates really do show how cutting
• 13:48
  -edge tech is translating into tangible everyday
• 13:50
  benefits for you. Better communication with the
• 13:52
  iPhone camera, potentially life -saving health
• 13:55
  insights from the watch, and enhanced safety
• 13:57
  in extreme environments with the Ultra. It touches
• 13:59
  professionals, families, adventurers, pretty
• 14:02
  much everyone in some way. It really is fascinating,
• 14:05
  isn't it? How these devices we carry every day
• 14:08
  are becoming such integral parts of our health
• 14:10
  and safety systems. It's way beyond just making
• 14:13
  calls or sending texts now. Absolutely. It really
• 14:16
  makes you think about where this integration
• 14:18
  is headed. How much more intertwined will our
• 14:21
  tech become with our actual physical well -being?
• 14:24
  And maybe what is your next tech choice say about
• 14:27
  how you want to live and stay connected and safe?
• 14:30
  Lots to think about there. We're here to help
• 14:31
  at Snarful, so reach out on our website if you
• 14:33
  have any more questions. That's a wrap on today's
• 14:39
  top stories. Remember, tech doesn't have to be
• 14:42
  complicated and we're here to help connect the
• 14:44
  dots. If you've got questions or want to learn
• 14:47
  more, visit us at snarful .com. Thanks for listening
• 14:51
  and we'll catch you next time.