Apple iPhone 17 launch event live: Every big announcement as it happens

It's not clear if Apple will increase the prices of the iPhone 17 compared to the iPhone 16. That's in part because we're not sure how President Donald Trump's global tariffs have affected Apple, though the tech giant is incredibly unlikely to attribute any price rises to the tariffs, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Here are the current UK prices of the cheapest versions of each iPhone 16 model:

iPhone 16 - £799 for 128GB

iPhone 16 Plus - £899 for 128GB

iPhone 16 Pro - £999 for 128GB

iPhone 16 Pro Max - £1,199 for 256GB

As it did with the 16 Pro Max, Apple could well scrap other 128GB model iPhones to raise the prices of the cheaper models.

It'll be interesting to see how much the rumoured iPhone 17 Air costs, and whether it's more expensive than the 17 Pro. My guess is that Apple has to keep it cheaper than the Pro for the pricing tiers to make sense.

For the full skinny on the iPhone 17 series and all that is rumoured to be coming, check out my handy rumour round up of all the major whispers and leaks.

But in a nutshell, and bearing in mind this is all rumoured and not official:

Apple is expected to announce four new iPhones today: the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

They will replace the iPhone 16 range as Apple's top iPhones for the next year. We don't know if Apple will sell the iPhone 16 at a cheaper rate after today, as it has done for the last year with the iPhone 15.

With the alleged demise of the iPhone Plus, there will be a base line iPhone 17 all on its own. My favourite rumour is that this base model will finally get a ProMotion 120Hz display to bring it up to speed with the Pro iPhones and practically every Android phone in existence.

The 17 Air will slim things down, apparently, but besides a single camera and smaller battery we'll have to wait and see how Apple spins it. It could get expensive.

All the chat around the Air shouldn't detract from the big design change to the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max though, which are said to be switching to alumiumim after the 15 Pro and 16 Pro were made of titanium.

The back of the phones in leaks show a wide camera module at the top of the devices where before they sat in the top corner:

Although it was first shown off at Apple's WWDC event in June, today is when Apple will shout loudest about the successor to iOS 18, confusingly called iOS 26.

This is because Apple wants to bring all its software version numbers in line with the year they will be most used in - so 2026 for this version.

iOS 26 will be available as a free software update to existing iPhones as well as shipping on the iPhone 17, so if you own an iPhone, be prepared for a new look and feel to your device.

Apple should confirm today when that free update will be available. If you have an iPhone 11 or newer, you'll be getting it, most likely in the next couple of weeks.

Apple calls the new software design 'Liquid Glass'. As you can see in the video below Tim Cook posted on X, it changes the elements of iOS to have a see-through, shiny, glassy look.

This is one of the most sought-after badges in the world of tech today. This will get us into Apple Park and a seat in the Steve Jobs theatre for the keynote.

One of the hottest rumours is that Apple will replace the 'Plus' model iPhone this year with a special thinner model, potentially called the iPhone 17 Air.

It's said to have a larger screen than the regular iPhone 17 but only one rear camera, and a very thin chassis at likely less than 6mm.

Pricing could be key as to whether buyers flock to it, but with iPhones looking very similar the past few years, an injection of design flair could be what Apple needs.

Leaker Evan Blass posted an alleged image of a case for the 17 Air, which shows what the back of the phone could look like, alongside similar images of the rest of the supposed iPhone 17 line up:

Intrepid Express tech editor Dave Snelling is, as you can see below, up with the lark and on the ground in California to attend today's big launch event, which is due to start at 6pm UK time.

Today is Apple's biggest day of the year, as it is every year. The iPhone holds up a vast percentage of Apple's enormous business, and if rumours and leaks are correct, the iPhone 17 range will present a more notable set of updates to Apple’s smartphone line up than the iPhone 16 was last year - the rumoured thinner iPhone 17 Air being chief among those updates.

But Apple has failed to deliver on some of its promises for Apple Intelligence, its AI features for iPhone, including a smarter Siri that has yet to materialise. It'll be interesting to see if that is addressed today.

Dave's across the pond but I'll be here in the UK with you for the next few hours for the build up to the event, plus giving updates the whole way through as we see what's new.

There could well be new Apple Watch models, AirPods and more - we'll have to wait and see.

The sun has just risen in Mountain View, just a few miles away from Apple's HQ in Cupertino. We'll be heading into Apple Park very soon to bring you all the news live from the 'Awe-Dropping' event.