The new iPhones are indeed incredible. While I opted for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the iPhone Air is truly unbelievable. When Apple called it a “paradox” I was skeptical, but that’s exactly what it feels like. The thinness and lightness is jaw dropping. It also happens to just be simply beautiful. The polished titanium rails look stunning, the closest thing we’ve had to the iPhone X design in years. While the mismatched corner radii of the plateau and the casing does bother me, it’s far less visible on the best of the four colors: space black. I cannot get over how sexy this phone is. It feels entirely new, but is visually reminiscent of the jet black iPhone 7, which is the best black they have ever shipped. Until today. While I haven’t bought an iPhone Air today, I know myself. I won’t be surprised if I make a switch mid-cycle.

As for the iPhone 17 Pro models, orange is the winner. The blue and silver just don’t do it for me. I might argue the new blue is the worst blue they’ve ever done on an iPhone. The silver is clean, but I think the white components should’ve been black for a more unique look. These phones feel so much better than the past few pro models, the aluminum is more comfortable in the hand and the more curved edges make them softly sit in your grip. They also look more new than the iPhone Air given the two-tone design. Even if you put these new pro phones in a case, the camera plateau on the back is unmistakably new. So far in normal use this morning, I’m not noticing any sort of real functional difference. There aren’t really many new software features, but the battery has barely moved and returning to the big screen for the first time since the 13 Pro Max has been wonderful.

While the regular iPhone 17 looks sort of old now in my opinion, the new sage color is beautiful. It’s probably the best green they’ve ever shipped on an iPhone. The blue and lavender are nice too, but nothing special. Despite being visually the same as last year’s iPhone 16, it still stands as the best value in the lineup with all of this year’s upgrades.

The new Apple Watches are nearly indistinguishable from last year’s, unless of course you look at the bezels on the Ultra 3 or the space gray aluminum version of the Series 11. I think the space gray aluminum looks fantastic, it reminds me a lot of the old titanium Apple Watches (Series 5-7) before the Ultra entered the scene. I’m not sure why they called it space gray, it’s closer to silver than the old space gray models. Regardless, it’s probably the classiest of the standard watches but the jet black remains the overall best-looking one.

AirPods Pro 3 sound fantastic, I think it’s too early to tell just how much better they are but I do think they sound ever so slightly fuller. I’m also very happy with the new fit. The new shape sits better in my ears and the extra extra small tips finally match my ear canal. The extra small ones added with AirPods Pro 2 exponentially improved my experience, but I can already tell these are going to take that even further. I haven’t worked out with them yet, so I can’t comment on the heart rate sensor but I’m glad it’s there for folks who don’t have an Apple Watch.

On the accessories front, TechWoven actually turns out to be quite nice. It does indeed feel more durable than FineWoven. It also looks better. It strikes me as something you’d buy from REI or a sporting goods store. The cross body strap is something Apple is pushing very hard this year, I’m not entirely sure why though I suspect it could be a combination of global fashion trends and the increasing focus on visual intelligence. I bought one to try, we’ll see how it nets out over time. You certainly won’t miss them, they’re all over the Apple Store. The iPhone Air clear cases feel very nice, especially the shadow one. I wish they’d made a shadow version for the other phones as well. The bumper is very different from the classic iPhone 4 one. The construction is different and so is the finish. But I think it’ll be popular.

Overall, this feels like a good year. Certainly better than last and that was all I was hoping for. Now we wait for the foldable.