News

Apple’s iPhone 17 Launch: Air, Pro, AirPods Pro 3, And More

Apple’s September event unveiled iPhone 17, iPhone Air, Pro models, AirPods Pro 3, and new Apple Watches. Pre-orders open September 12.

Published

10 months ago

September 9, 2025

Joanna Melki

Apple’s September showcase delivered the expected iPhone refresh — and a few surprises. The headline was the new iPhone Air, joined by the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro ranges, updated Apple Watches, and the AirPods Pro 3. All products land later this month, with pre-orders opening Friday, September 12.

iPhone 17

apple iphone 17 colors

The standard iPhone 17 line gets a 6.3-inch, 120Hz display with slimmer bezels and Ceramic Shield 2, which is now three times more scratch-resistant.

The A19 chip brings a six-core CPU, five-core GPU and upgraded neural engine. Apple claims it’s faster, more efficient, and stretches battery life by up to eight hours.

The rear system pairs a 48MP Fusion main camera with a 12MP telephoto, while the new square-sensor front camera improves stabilization and removes the need to rotate for landscape shots.

Pricing starts at $799 (256GB).

iPhone Air

The thinnest iPhone to date, the 5.6mm iPhone Air uses a titanium frame with Ceramic Shield 2 on both sides. The 6.5-inch always-on display supports ProMotion and peaks at 3,000 nits.

It runs on the A19 Pro chip and Apple’s new N1 wireless silicon, adding Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, alongside a faster C1X modem. Despite a slim design, it carries a dual-lens setup hidden behind a single housing: 48MP Fusion plus 12MP telephoto.

Adaptive Power Mode manages use patterns for longer runtimes, though Apple still frames it as an “all-day” battery. Apple has also built a thinner MagSafe pack to match.

Launch price: $999 (256GB).

iPhone 17 Pro

The 17 Pro is pitched as Apple’s most powerful iPhone to date, introducing an anodized aluminum unibody, a vapor-chamber cooling system and the largest iPhone battery so far.

The camera array sits on a raised “plateau” and includes a 48MP telephoto (up to 8x optical-quality zoom), plus 48MP wide and ultra-wide sensors. The front “center stage” camera jumps to 18MP. Display sizes are 6.3-inch (Pro) and 6.9-inch (Pro Max), both using Ceramic Shield 2. Battery life stretches to 39 hours of video playback on the Pro Max.

Pricing starts at $1,099 (256GB).

AirPods Pro 3

The third-gen AirPods Pro add heart-rate tracking, improved active noise cancellation (four times stronger than the original), foam-infused ear tips and spatial audio refinements. A headline feature is live translation, triggered by a new gesture and powered by Apple Intelligence. Battery life is rated at eight hours.

Available now for $249.

Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3 And SE

Series 11: Slimmer, more durable, 5G-enabled and with hypertension alerts via improved sensors. Battery life extends to 24 hours. From $399.
Ultra 3: Larger LTPO 3 display, satellite connectivity and Emergency SOS. From $799.
Watch SE: Gains always-on display, optional 5G and new gestures. Adds Sleep Score and sleep apnea alerts but keeps an 18-hour battery. From $249.

Availability

Pre-orders for all major devices open Friday, September 12, with general availability on September 19.

News

YouTube Rolls Out Supervised Children’s Accounts Across MENA

An industry-first feed timer lets parents cap Shorts scrolling. Access can also be switched off entirely ahead of exam season.

Published

11 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Dana Saadeh

YouTube

YouTube has launched supervised kid accounts across the Middle East and North Africa, giving parents a way to hand their children the main YouTube app without handing over all of it. Announced in Dubai on July 2, the accounts are built directly into the platform rather than the standalone YouTube Kids app, and are aimed at families who feel a child has outgrown the curated library but isn’t ready for the open feed.

Parents can choose from three content settings, each broadly aligned with international content ratings. Explore covers educational videos, tutorials, arts and crafts, and dance. Explore More adds gaming and live streams. Most of YouTube opens up almost everything except videos rated 18+ or deemed inappropriate for supervised accounts.

The standout tool is an industry-first Shorts feed timer, which lets parents set daily limits on short-form scrolling. Set it to zero and Shorts disappears altogether – a lever YouTube suggests parents might pull ahead of exam season. Other protections are on by default for all users under 18: “Take a Break” and “Bedtime” reminders, no personalized ad targeting, autoplay switched off, and no ability to upload videos or write comments. The accounts are optional, and parents can end supervision at any time.

The kid accounts join supervised teen accounts already available across the region, which notify parents by email when a teenager uploads a video or starts a live stream.

“YouTube has been a huge part of families’ lives across this region for over 20 years,” said Javid Aslanov, head of YouTube Middle East and North Africa, citing Kantar research showing 95% of viewers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE agree YouTube has top content in education and learning.

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“It’s essential that we protect young people in – not from – the digital world,” added Garth Graham, YouTube’s head of health.

The new settings are rolling out gradually across the MENA, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Iraq. The latest features can be set up through Family Center in the YouTube app or via Google Family Link.