Apple unveiled its next-gen phones this week and they are now on pre-order in the first wave of countries with a release scheduled for September 19. That would be Friday next week – in the meantime, let’s look at some alternatives.
We will focus on one kind of alternative – flip foldables. Apple dropped the iPhone Plus from its lineup and introduced the iPhone Air, a phone that measures only 5.64mm thick and weighs 165g. However, it doesn’t hit those marks without some sacrifices. Some say that this is a practice run, building components thin enough for a future foldable iPhone. But there’s no such device yet.
Apple iPhone 17 Air
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 measures 6.5mm when unfolded and weighs 188g. Though that is with a battery that’s over 1,000mAh bigger (4,300mAh, 25W wired and 15W wireless charging) and it has a larger display – 6.9” vs. 6.5” on the Air. Not to mention the 4.1” cover display and two, count them!, two cameras (50+12MP). We joke, but the single 48MP camera on the $1,000 iPhone Air is an eyebrow-raising move. Anyway, the Z Flip7 is powered by the Exynos 2500.
The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite instead. It has comparable 7.0” inner and 4.0” cover displays and a 50+50MP camera. The battery on this one is even bigger (4,700mAh) and faster (68W wired, 30W wireless).
If the Ultra seems a bit pricey, the Motorola Razr+ 2025 offers a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, 6.9”/4.0” displays and a 50+50MP camera (the second module is a telephoto lens, not ultra-wide like on the others) for less money. You do lose battery capacity (down to 4,000mAh) and charge speed (45W/15W), though. And note that this is only an 8/256GB configuration, while the Ultra has double the RAM and storage capacity.
The Motorola Razr 2025 is close to half the price of the Ultra, however, aside from the displays (6.9” LTPO main and 3.6” cover) and the IP48 rating, this phone is more of a mid-ranger with its Dimensity 7400X chipset. It has a 4,500mAh battery with 30W/15W charging and a 50+13MP camera.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 brings an important upgrade that matches its adventurous spirit – satellite messaging. This includes SOS, short text messages and location sharing via Find My. Other changes include a refined LTPO3 display with wider viewing angles. Also, its cellular connectivity is 5G instead of 4G like other watches.
You could still buy the old Apple Watch Ultra 2, but right now the discount is quite minimal – you may as well get the improved model. Note that the Ultra 3 has Hypertension detection, which is expected to be enabled on select older watches via an update.
The Apple Watch Series 11 brings a couple of important changes – the highlights are improved battery life (up to 24h) and ceramic-coated glass that is reportedly 2x tougher than the glass on the Series 10. The improved battery life does enable sleep tracking and 24/7 heart rate and blood-oxygen tracking.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is still around with a $70 discount. Note that both watches are available in 42mm and 46mm sizes, aluminum and titanium, GPS and GPS+Cellular – the latter is a $100 upgrade.
The Apple Watch SE 3 is a more tangible upgrade to Apple’s affordable smartwatch. It brings Always-On Display and last year’s Apple S10 chipset (plus double the storage, 64GB). Also, charging is twice as fast as on the SE 2, getting 8 hours of use from a 15 minute charge. The Watch SE 3 is available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, in GPS and GPS+Cellular flavors.
Additionally, Apple launched the AirPods Pro 3. They offer double the ANC performance and live translation. The buds also have improved battery life. Additionally, a built-in heart-rate sensor lets you use them for workouts (without needing a watch or a chest strap).
Of course, the previous generation is still available at a $50 discount.
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