Apple (AAPL) on Tuesday unveiled its iPhone 17 lineup during an event at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., including its all-new iPhone Air.
Apple’s iPhone is its most important product, and major redesigns like the iPhone Air generally work to help power sales well into the year ahead. The change comes after years of what was more or less the same design styling across iPhone generations.
In addition to the iPhone Air debut, Apple announced major improvements to the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, including upgraded cameras and batteries and better overall durability. But the Air is easily the star of the show.
The $999 iPhone Air brings the biggest changes to the iPhone since the company unveiled its iPhone X in 2017, when Apple implemented its edge-to-edge screen design.
Apple said the Air’s frame, constructed out of titanium, is both light and durable. The company also uses its Ceramic Shield protection around the entire phone to make it its strongest phone yet.
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At just 5.6 millimeters thick, the iPhone Air is the company’s thinnest iPhone to date. It packs a 6.5-inch display, along with the company’s always-on display and Pro Motion technology.
Inside, the Air features Apple’s new A19 Pro chip, with improved AI acceleration via neural accelerators built into each of the chip’s 5 GPU cores.
The Air also comes with Apple’s N1 chip for wireless and Bluetooth, plus its C1X modem, which Apple said uses 30% less power, which, the company claimed, makes the iPhone Air its most power-efficient yet.
Apple said the Air’s rear 48-megapixel Fusion camera allows you to capture 2x telephoto-like images. The Air also gets Apple’s new Center Stage camera, which the company said can capture landscape and portrait photos without having to rotate your camera.
You can also now record video from the rear and front cameras simultaneously, so you can capture your reaction during a sporting event or concert.
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Apple’s new iPhone Air.
Still, it will be interesting to see if consumers will be OK with the iPhone’s 2x telephoto-like camera when they can opt for a true telephoto lens on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.
As far as battery life, Apple claimed the Air will be able to last all day.
The iPhone Air is seen as the first step toward the company’s plans for a foldable iPhone, expected to hit the market in 2026, according to reports from Bloomberg and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple’s $799 iPhone 17 doesn’t get the same wholesale redesign as the Air, but it does come with a larger 6.3-inch display and Apple’s Pro Motion, with a refresh rate up to 120 hertz that drops to 1 hertz on the lock screen.
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The 17 also gets improved glare resistance and Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2, which the company said makes the display two times more scratch-resistant.
Inside, the iPhone 17 gets the company’s 3nm A19 chip, complete with a six-core CPU and a five-core GPU for graphics. Apple said that makes the iPhone 17 20% faster than the iPhone 16.
Around back, the iPhone 17 gets an improved 48-megapixel Fusion main camera with up to 2x software zoom. The phone also gets a new 12-megapixel wide-angle camera.
Up front, the iPhone 17 comes with Apple’s Center Stage camera. AI tracking also keeps everyone in the frame in selfies. Video shot using the front camera is also more stabilized for when you want to shoot selfie videos on the run.
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The phone starts with 256GB of storage rather than iPhone 16’s 128GB.
Apple’s new iPhone lineup.
Apple’s premium $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max both come equipped with the company’s A19 Pro and a new aluminum unibody design.
Apple is promoting the Pro and Pro Max’s new built-in vapor chamber, which it said will help move heat away from the phone’s internal components and prevent slowdown. That, Apple said, will allow the phone to have 40% better sustained performance than prior-generation iPhones.
The iPhone 17 Max and iPhone 17 Pro Max get enhanced batteries, with the Pro Max getting the longest-lasting battery in an iPhone yet.
Apple’s Pro line is always the company’s camera showcase, and it’s no different for the iPhone 17 Pro. The phone’s cameras feature upgraded front cameras with the same Center Stage capabilities as the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air.
Around back, all three of the Pro’s cameras are 48MP, and each is now one of Apple’s Fusion cameras. The telephoto camera now gets up to 8x optical zoom with a 56% larger sensor for better shots taken from afar.
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Apple’s iPhone is its biggest revenue generator, making up $201.2 billion of the company’s $391 billion in sales in 2024. Even Apple’s second-largest business, its Services segment, made just $96.2 billion.
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Baker McKenzie today announced that leading project finance lawyer Matthias Schemuth has joined the Firm’s Singapore office* as a Principal and Asia Pacific Co-Head of Projects in its Finance & Projects practice, alongside Partner Jon Ornolffson in Tokyo.
Matthias joins the Firm from DLA Piper, bringing more than 20 years of experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors across Asia Pacific. He advises sponsors, developers, commercial banks, multilateral lending agencies, and export credit agencies on the structuring and financing of large-scale projects. His practice also spans international banking, structured commodity and trade finance, with a strong focus on emerging markets. Matthias has been consistently recognised by Chambers Asia Pacific and Who’s Who Legal as a leading project finance practitioner.
James Huang, Managing Principal of Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow in Singapore, said: “We are excited to welcome Matthias to our team. His expertise and proven record in managing teams will be invaluable as we expand our regional and global finance offerings for clients.”
Emmanuel Hadjidakis, Asia Pacific Chair of Baker McKenzie’s Banking & Finance Practice, commented: “Asia Pacific is seeing strong momentum in infrastructure development, energy transition investments, and cross-border project financing, much of it centred in Singapore. Having Matthias on board will further enhance our ability to help clients seize opportunities in the region’s evolving energy and infrastructure markets.”
Steven Sieker, Baker McKenzie’s Asia Chief Executive, added: “Matthias’s appointment underscores Baker McKenzie’s continued commitment to investing in exceptional talent across key markets to support our clients in navigating today’s increasingly complex business and regulatory environment.”
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Matthias said: “I’m thrilled to join Baker McKenzie and contribute to its strong growth in Asia Pacific. The Firm’s global reach and local depth provide an unparalleled platform for delivering innovative projects and financing solutions to clients in this dynamic region.”
With more than 2,700 deal practitioners in more than 40 jurisdictions, Baker McKenzie is a transactional powerhouse. The Firm excels in complex, cross-border transactions; over 65% of our deals are multijurisdictional. The teams are a hybrid of ‘local’ and ‘global’, combining money-market sophistication with local excellence. The Firm’s Banking & Finance lawyers are ranked in more jurisdictions than any other firm by Chambers.
Matthias’s hire continues the expansion of Baker McKenzie’s global team. His joining follows the recent arrivals of Carole Turcotte in Toronto; Tom Oslovar in Palo Alto; Jenny Liu in New York and Palo Alto; Helen Johnson, Mark Thompson, Nick Benson, Kevin Heverin, James Wyatt and Michal Berkner in London; Jan Schubert in Frankfurt; Todd Beauchamp and Charles Weinstein in Washington DC; Dan Ouyang, Winfield Lau, and Ke (Ronnie) Li in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong; and Alexander Stathopoulos in Singapore.
*Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow is the member firm of Baker McKenzie in Singapore
The Federal Reserve gave investors an early Christmas present by lowering interest rates by 25 basis points (i.e., 0.25%) marking its third rate cut this year. In the past, a change like this in the “long end” of the interest rate yield curve has triggered a predictable, investable pattern. Typically, this pattern would be bearish for finance stocks, particularly banks—investors would buy bank stocks when rates rose and sell them as rates fell….
Dozens of protesters from the “Religious Zionist Reservists Forum” and the “Shared Service Forum” demonstrated Saturday evening outside the home of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in Kedumim.
The protesters arrived with a direct and pointed message, centered on a symbolic “draft order,” calling on Smotrich to “enlist” on behalf of the State of Israel and oppose what they termed the “sham law” being advanced by MK Boaz Bismuth and the Knesset’s haredi parties.
Among the protesters in Kedumim were the parents of Sergeant First Class (res.) Amichai Oster, who fell in battle in Gaza. Amichai grew up in Karnei Shomron and studied at the Shavei Hevron yeshiva.
Protesters held signs reading: “Smotrich, enlist for us,” along with the symbolic “draft order,” calling on him to “enlist for the sake of the State’s security and to save the people’s army – stand against the bill proposed by Bismuth and the haredim!”
Parallel demonstrations were held outside the homes of MK Ohad Tal in Efrat and MK Michal Woldiger in Givat Shmuel.
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Representatives of the “Shared Service Forum” said: “We are members of the public that contributes the most, and we came here to say: Bezalel, without enlistment there will be no victory and no security. Do not abandon our values for the sake of the coalition. The exemption law is a strategic threat, and you bear the responsibility to stop it and lead a real, fair draft plan for a country in which we are all partners. It’s in your hands.”
