Apple pulled its online store offline Tuesday ahead of the “Awe Dropping” event, the classic move that signals new product launches are coming.
The company’s doing what it always does, shutting down the store so they can update everything with new phones, watches, and whatever else they’re planning to announce at Apple Park.
Apple event 2025: What’s expected at the event?
The main attraction is supposed to be the iPhone 17 lineup, headlined by something called the iPhone 17 Air that’s apparently going to be ridiculously thin at just 5.5 millimeters.
That would make it Apple’s skinniest phone ever, though it sounds like they’re trading off performance to get there.
Word is it’ll have just one rear camera and shorter battery life, which seems like a tough sell for people who actually use their phones heavily.
The regular iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are getting their first major design overhaul since 2020, with a camera module that stretches across the entire back and a switch from titanium back to aluminum frames.
That aluminum change is interesting; either they’re trying to cut costs or there were issues with the titanium that nobody talked about publicly.
One potentially big change is bringing the 120Hz ProMotion display to the base iPhone 17 model.
Apple’s kept that feature locked to Pro models for years, so opening it up could be a real selling point for people who don’t want to pay Pro prices.
The Apple Watch lineup is getting refreshed, too, with the Series 11 and Ultra 3.
The Ultra 3 supposedly gets satellite texting and 5G, which makes sense given how much Apple’s been pushing connectivity features. AirPods Pro 3 are also expected to have some kind of heart rate monitoring built in.
Pre-orders will probably start Friday if Apple sticks to their usual pattern, with phones hitting stores later this month.
Big risks, bigger rewards?
Wall Street analysts are calling this one of Apple’s biggest hardware refreshes in years, mainly because of that ultra-thin iPhone design.
Moving ProMotion to cheaper models shows Apple wants to spread premium features around more, probably to juice sales before the economy gets rougher.
But some analysts wonder if making a phone that thin creates more problems than it solves.
Battery life and camera quality could take hits, and power users might not be interested in those trade-offs.
Going back to aluminum from titanium also seems like a step backward for premium phones, even if it helps with manufacturing costs.
The store shutdown is vintage Apple marketing: build suspense, make people wait, then flood them with new products. It usually works, and they are probably expecting another surge when pre-orders open on Friday.
This event could reshape Apple’s product mix in meaningful ways, assuming the ultra-thin phone concept actually works and people want it.
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