Live Translate On Airpods 3 Is Genuinely Interesting!

The Live Translate feature on the Airpods 3 paired with the iPhone gave me Star Trek translator vibes. 

The idea you could have engaging in-person conversations with someone who speaks an entirely different language translated in real-time both ways seemed like the future. 

To be fair, unless I am mistaken, Samsung came out with Live Translate a couple of years ago with Galaxy AI for phone calls but this is the first time I think I have seen something this seamless for in-person conversations.

The Death of Physical SIM Cards As eSIMs Become The New Normal In The iPhone 17 Range

It seems that Apple has finally sounded the death knell for physical SIMs in their latest generation of iPhones and these will now be replaced by eSIMs going forward. 

In many ways, this feels reminiscent of the time Apple ‘killed’ the 3.5 mm audio jack on their devices and somehow we moved on from that and every competitor more or less followed suit. 

Apple rationalized this move ‘to make more space’ in the iPhone for more important features like a larger battery.

The iPhone 17 Center Stage Camera Feature Is Simply Genius!

The center stage feature on the iPhone camera system made possible by having a square sensor means you will never have to flip your iPhone 17 to take a wide angle shot for a selfie photo or video from here on. 

There is something so ridiculously simple and genius in Apple doing this that makes you wonder why no one else ever thought of doing the same all this time. Taking selfies will never be the same again!

The iPhone ‘Fusion Camera’ System Continues To Evolve Impressively.

The AI enabled ‘computational’ features in the iPhone 17 camera system means that although you may have one camera (iPhone 17 Air) or three (iPhone 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max) using their ‘fusion cameras’, you actually get a camera system that has far more capabilities in terms of what they can do compared to their physical appearance (one camera becomes two cameras for instance). 

This matters given that the iPhone is actually one of the best smartphones in the world for professional video production and photography and these features that first arrived in the iPhone 16 range have now been upgraded massively.

The 256GB Starting Storage Is Long Overdue & Most Welcome

I love the idea that all iPhone 17 devices come with 256GB as their base storage. This has been a long time coming and in the past Apple for some reason always had ridiculously small storage for a smartphone that takes large images and videos that quickly fill up your storage. I am sure many customers are looking forward to the extra space for those buying the entry-level models across the iPhone 17 range.

Apple Intelligence May Be A Work In Progress But The iPhone 17 Proves It Has Lots of Intelligence To Spare.

Although Apple seems to be stumbling in its journey to become a major player in the global AI era, when it comes to the iPhone 17 we can see that its AI capabilities are solidly embedded at the processor level with the A19 and A19 Pro chips. 

In both instances, the GPU and CPU capabilities have been significantly upgraded from the previous A18 chips and at the same time ‘Neural Accelerators’ have been integrated into each GPU core. 

This means that your iPhone has MacBook Pro grade processing capabilities, especially in the iPhone 17 Pro range. This is NOT just a phone, its actually a super computer in your pocket!

The iPhone Air Could Be A Massive Hit, Or Failure — Only Time Will Tell.

When the first MacBook Air came out, all those years ago, and Steve Jobs unveiled it by opening a large envelope and then slid it out, the whole world gasped in mesmerized delight wondering how Apple had done it to make a MacBook so light and thin. 

Today, the MacBook Air is the mainstay of Apple’s MacBook line-up. In my mind, I am wondering if the same could happen with the iPhone 17 Air and future iterations of the same. One thing is clear — the iPhone 17 Air looks impressively thin and it has the same A19 Pro chip as the iPhone 17 Pro range. 

However, on the back is one fusion camera and I am sure there will be battery life constraints going forward. But, just like the original MacBook Air, the iPhone 17 Air will definitely enable ‘flex mode’ for those who don’t mind some of the compromises to have the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever. 

The iPhone 17 Air will signal ‘higher technology status’ for those who choose to buy and get to use the next ‘new new thing’ from Apple. However, Samsung also came out with their super thin and super light Galaxy S25 Edge recently and global sales have been underwhelming. 

All this being said, when it comes to the iPhone 17 Air, things may be very different since Apple tends to always defy gravity when they a launch a ‘new new thing’ that everyone wants to have for the fear of missing out, also known as ‘FOMO’.