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This iPhone 17 Pro Kevlar Case is like a Bulletproof Vest for your phone

The annual ritual of a new iPhone launch brings with it an equally important, almost spiritual, quest for the perfect case. Let’s be frank; the naked device, while a marvel of industrial design, feels unnervingly fragile in a world of concrete sidewalks and crowded coffee shops. The problem is that most protection comes at a steep aesthetic cost, forcing a choice between a bulky, utilitarian shell and a slim case that breaks if you squeeze it too hard. This yearly compromise has become an accepted part of the ownership experience, a trade-off between showcasing Apple’s design and actually keeping your several-hundred-dollar gizmo in one piece.

Benks is stepping into this arena with a solution that aims to end that compromise entirely. The new ArmorGrid Phone Case Series for the upcoming iPhone 16 and 17 models is built on a foundation of premium materials and thoughtful engineering. It is a system designed to work in concert with their GlassWarrior Sapphire Screen Protector, creating a full-coverage solution that respects the device’s form factor. The secret? Using one of the toughest materials known to mankind – Kevlar. Yes, the same material found in most bulletproof vests, but woven artistically to create a case worthy of your cutting-edge Apple smartphone.

Designer: Benks

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The foundation of the ArmorGrid series is 1000D DuPont Kevlar® fiber. For anyone unfamiliar, this is a high-tensile aramid fiber, the same family of materials used in body armor and aerospace components. Its key property is an incredible strength-to-weight ratio, which means you get rigidity and impact resistance without the bulk of traditional TPU or polycarbonate. Benks uses a “Fluxure Weaving Technology” to create a distinct, raised texture on the case. In practice, this gives it a satisfying, grippy feel in the hand that inspires confidence. It’s a tactile detail that elevates the experience beyond a simple plastic shell.

Looking at the lineup, the ArmorGrid ArmorAir is the mainstream choice for people who value a clean, minimalist aesthetic. It comes in a few solid colorways, including a standout Terra Orange for the iPhone 17 Pro, and has a sleek dual-anodized aluminum frame around the camera. For those who are a bit harder on their devices, the ArmorGrid ArmorPro seems like the logical step up. Available only in Obsidian Black, it adds a full TPU bumper for better drop protection on the edges, along with independent metal buttons. The addition of a dedicated Camera Control Button is an interesting touch for mobile photographers who want more precise, physical control.

One of the smartest design elements across the series is the camera protection. Benks calls it a raised “Volcanic” Platform, which is a bit of dramatic marketing, but the engineering is sound. The dual-anodized aluminum guard creates a pronounced lip around the entire camera module, ensuring the lenses never make contact with a flat surface. This is a far more elegant solution than the clumsy, oversized plastic humps seen on many other cases. It effectively shields the most expensive and fragile part of the modern iPhone from scratches and minor impacts while looking like an intentional design choice.

Of course, a case is only half the battle. The screen is a magnet for scratches from keys, coins, and all the other debris floating around in a pocket or bag. The GlassWarrior Sapphire Screen Protector addresses this with its Crystacle technology, which is a sapphire-inspired crystal coating. While it’s not a solid sheet of sapphire, the coating gives the glass an extremely hard surface that is highly resistant to the kind of micro-abrasions that dull a screen over time. It provides the necessary defense for the display, working in tandem with the ArmorGrid case to offer complete coverage.

Benks also offers a limited edition ArmorGrid Azure Blue Grand Combo, featuring a case with a color-matched ArmorPop Phone Grip and a braided charm lanyard. The cases themselves have an external magnetic core, ensuring they work flawlessly with the existing magnetic charging and accessory standard. This foresight ensures you don’t have to sacrifice convenience for protection, which has been a frustrating trade-off with many third-party cases in the past.

The cases come in a recyclable kraft drawer with a paper shell, a departure from the typical plastic clamshells that are impossible to open and terrible for the environment. Benks even has a ClimatePartner certification for its aramid fiber products, which suggests a genuine commitment to sustainability. It all adds up to a well-considered product line that feels premium from start to finish. If you’re looking to pick one up, YD readers also get a cool 20% discount using the coupon code YANKO20.

Click Here to Buy iPhone 17 Pro | iPhone 17 Pro Max Now: $32 $39.99 (20% off, use coupon code “YANKO20”). Hurry, deal ends in 48-hours!

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This Brutalist Tokyo House Hides A Stunning Secret

Walking past this house in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, you’d never guess what’s inside. The concrete exterior is intimidating—almost bunker-like in its severity. But that’s exactly the point. Apollo Architects calls it the Stealth House, and the name couldn’t be more fitting. Completed in April, this residence is all about blending in seamlessly. The brutal concrete facade gives nothing away, creating what feels like an impenetrable wall between the busy street and whatever lies beyond.

But push through that intimidating front door, and everything changes. The harsh concrete gives way to warm wood and carefully planned spaces that feel more like a high-end retreat than a city home. It’s a complete 180 from what you’d expect based on the exterior. The transformation is striking. Where the outside screams “keep out,” the interior whispers “stay awhile.” Natural light floods in through strategic openings and hidden courtyards, making the 214-square-meter space feel much larger than it actually is.

Designer: Apollo Architects

Architect Satoshi Kurosaki and his team at Apollo have gotten really good at this kind of architectural sleight of hand. Their previous project, the Timeless house from 2022, played similar tricks with privacy and light. Both homes tackle the same challenge: how do you create a peaceful sanctuary in one of the world’s most densely packed cities? The answer seems to be deception. Present a closed face to the world, then open up completely once you’re inside. It’s like those unmarked restaurants that only the locals know about—the best stuff happens behind doors that don’t advertise what’s inside.

What makes the Stealth House work isn’t just the dramatic contrast between inside and out. It’s the attention to materials and details that creates the warm atmosphere inside. The timber finishes feel organic against your skin, a world away from the cold concrete you touched to get in. Every surface seems chosen to make you want to linger. The basement adds another 106 square meters to the main floor, but it’s really the thoughtful use of space that makes everything feel so generous.

This approach to urban housing makes sense in Tokyo, where space is precious and privacy even more so. The dense neighborhoods don’t leave much room for traditional gardens or setbacks, so architects have to be creative about finding breathing room. Apollo’s solution is to turn inward, creating private courtyards and light wells that serve the same function as a suburban backyard. The result is a house that gives you the best of both worlds: the energy and convenience of city living, with the peace you’d expect from somewhere much more remote.

Projects like this make you wonder what other secrets are hiding behind Tokyo’s countless concrete facades. In a city where every square meter counts, maybe the most radical thing you can do is waste space on privacy and tranquility. The Stealth House proves that sometimes the best architecture is the kind you can’t see from the street. It’s urban camouflage at its finest.

The post This Brutalist Tokyo House Hides A Stunning Secret first appeared on Yanko Design.

Rabbit R1’s OS Update features a New Interface and Speech-to-Vibe-Coding Abilities

Remember when we were optimistic about AI? Sure, healthy skepticism, but also pretty optimistic about devices like the Rabbit R1 potentially ‘killing the smartphone’ as we know it? The R1 moved 100,000 units and kept return rates under 5% in the initial phases, but those early reviews were brutal. Tech YouTube called it “dog water” and “barely reviewable,” which is basically the digital equivalent of being declared DOA. The device promised a revolutionary AI experience where you could just talk and have things happen, but what users got was a gorgeous piece of hardware wrapped around software that felt half-baked at best.

But here’s where things get interesting. Instead of pulling a Google and quietly killing the project, Rabbit doubled down. Over 16 months, they pushed 30+ over-the-air updates while building what they call a “very unique community” of users who apparently enjoyed being beta testers for a $199 device. Now they’re back with Rabbit OS2, claiming they’ve completely rebuilt the experience from scratch. The question isn’t whether they’ve improved things, it’s whether they’ve improved them enough to matter.

Design: Rabbit

The biggest change is how you actually interact with the thing. The original R1 was almost aggressively voice-first, which sounds cool until you realize that talking to gadgets in public makes you look like you’re having a breakdown. OS2 finally acknowledges that humans have fingers by adding proper gesture controls. Swipe down from the top for quick settings (brightness, volume, camera access), and you get bottom navigation buttons for muting conversations, typing follow-ups, or activating the camera. The conversation flow now appears on screen in real-time, so you can actually see what the AI thinks you said before it does something completely wrong.

But the real visual differentiator is the new card stack system (which feels a lot like the Windows Phone if you ask me). Remember how nobody could figure out what the R1 actually did beyond looking pretty? Rabbit clearly got tired of that question because OS2 surfaces everything through discoverable cards. Swipe up from the main screen and you’ll find your feature overview laid out like a deck of cards. Tap any card to jump into that function, or stick with the old push-to-talk method if you’re feeling nostalgic. Card management works exactly like you’d expect: swipe left to dismiss cards above the stack. It’s basic UI design that should have been there from day one, but hey, better late than never.

The core features got meaningful upgrades too. Magic Gallery now centralizes all your Magic Camera photos through the card stack, while Rabbit Hole (their cloud service) finally supports bulk export for both processed and original images. Translation transcripts sync automatically to your account, and you can actually play back recordings directly on the device now, with AI transcripts uploading to your Rabbit Hole journal. The intern tasks feature gets a dedicated card for enhanced on-device agent interaction, which sounds fancy but basically means you can chat with their AI assistant without jumping through hoops.

Here’s where things get sort of interesting: R1 Creations. Rabbit is positioning this as making the R1 the “first vibe coding device,” which is either brilliant marketing or complete nonsense depending on your tolerance for startup speak. The concept is actually pretty wild though. You have a conversation with the Rabbit intern, describe what you want built, and it creates custom apps, games, or tools right on your device within minutes. Their demo involved building a cyberpunk Pong game through natural language: “Build a Pong game with a cyberpunk theme,” followed by back-and-forth refinement about neon colors, scroll wheel controls, and scoring systems. The AI clarifies details, you provide specifics, and apparently you get a working game deployed to your device.

The implications here are fascinating if it actually works reliably. Alpha testers have already created a bunch of apps available for free installation at rabbit.tech, with QR code sharing for social distribution. Rabbit frames this as an evolution toward a new kind of app store, though you need intern tasks (their premium service) to create custom stuff yourself. The free library approach is smart, turning early adopters into content creators for everyone else.

What’s most telling is that all these improvements come via software update. The hardware remains completely unchanged, that iconic orange design intact, which means Rabbit is essentially admitting they shipped unfinished software at launch. The question now is whether OS2 delivers enough to justify the R1’s existence in a world where your phone already does most of this stuff better.

The “what can R1 do that your phone can’t” question still looms large. Conversational app creation is genuinely novel, but how often do normal people really need custom Pong games built through voice commands? Rabbit seems to be betting on a future where AI-assisted creation becomes mainstream, positioning themselves as the hardware platform for that shift. Whether that future arrives fast enough to save the R1 remains to be seen, but at least they’re finally shipping software that matches their hardware’s ambition.

The post Rabbit R1’s OS Update features a New Interface and Speech-to-Vibe-Coding Abilities first appeared on Yanko Design.

The AirPods Pro 3 Live Translation still proves that Google’s AI is miles ahead

Apple just launched a pretty impressive feature with their AirPods Pro 3 – the ability to actively translate any language in real-time, so you can listen to anyone speak but understand them perfectly. The only problem is that this feature made it to Google’s Pixel Buds in 2017 – yes, nearly a decade back. I don’t mean to be hard on Apple, the company has a remarkable control over its hardware, but if the Live Translation feature on the AirPods Pro 3 demonstrated anything, it’s that Apple’s AI is still miles behind its rival… and one particular detail really drove this point.

Click on the video above and you’ll see the Live Translation feature in action – two people talk in their respective languages, and Apple Intelligence translates words and phrases in real-time. The only problem isn’t just that this feature’s 8 years too late… it’s that in the translation, you aren’t listening to the opposite person talking, you’re listening to the voice of Siri translating things instead. You could be talking to Morgan Freeman and the AirPods Pro 3 still play back his dialogues in Siri’s voice. The dissonance can be a bit jarring, which is why Google unveiled Voice Translate this year at their August event. Voice Translate doesn’t just translate languages, it translates them while maintaining the original speaker’s tone of voice. So in theory, Ariana Grande sounds like Ariana Grande, and Emmanuel Macron sounds like Emmanuel Macron.

Design: Apple

I don’t mean to knock the AirPods Pro 3, they’re honestly fantastic – Apple just debuted the AirPods’ ability to do incredible things like measure your health stats right from your ear – something that sounds absolutely mental on paper. Imagine your AirPods knowing your heart rate, knowing what music to play to calm you down or hype you up – that’s honestly game-changing. This is besides the fact that the AirPods Pro were designed to work as hearing aids last year. Google and other companies have some serious catching up to do here… but this just reinforces my point. Apple is the king of hardware, but as far as AI goes, the company has a lot of catching up to do.

Realistically, I do see this happening if Apple makes a few changes. There’s been talks of Apple potentially buying Perplexity, while the company already has a deep relationship with OpenAI for bringing ChatGPT to Apple Intelligence. However, nothing seems to be finalized as Tim Cook allegedly doesn’t believe in making such a splashy purchase. Apple’s own AI assistant still hasn’t replaced Siri effectively, as Craig Federighi mentioned in an interview after WWDC. The company’s also been ruthlessly moralistic about not training their AI on consumer data the way Google and Meta do – but that fortitude has come with a price.

The AirPods Pro 3 are currently on presale, with a $249 price tag. The new flagship earphones will hit the stores 10 days from now on September 19th.

 

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PLEASE don’t put a case on your iPhone Air…

Nobody who drives a Bentley keeps the seat covers on. Nobody installs bull-bars on a Rolls-Royce. Nobody puts aftermarket bumpers on an Bugatti. Certain cars are kept pure as a mark of respect to their sheer design and engineering. The iPhone Air is the phone equivalent of cars. Think about it – a specially formulated all-titanium frame, a ceramic shield backplate, a design so thin you’d expect it to bend but so resilient you’ll probably hurt your palms trying. Sure, an iPhone Air and a Bugatti are two entirely different beasts – but the both of them have the exact same ethos – they represent very pinnacle of design and engineering, coming together to create something impossibly beautiful and powerful. So here’s my pitch – if you plan on buying the iPhone Air, please don’t ruin it with a case.

Now I don’t expect or recommend you to buy an iPhone Air. It’s a brilliant celebration of Apple’s R&D, but it isn’t the best example of practicality. I own an iPad Pro M2 and I purposely chose not to upgrade to the M4… because just the thought of owning a tablet that’s 5.7mm thin terrified me. My iPad Pro perpetually lives in a case (it needs to, because the case has a kickstand), and I love my iPad Pro because it’s powerful, not because it’s thin. Anyone who buys the iPhone Air (and I’m pretty sure people are lining up already), do make sure your intent is in the right place. Don’t buy it because you think it’s a powerful computing device, or because you want to upgrade from your iPhone 13 and this seems ‘cool’. The only reason you should buy an iPhone Air is because its slim design gives you great social cache. And the best way to milk that social cache is to not shroud your iPhone Air in a crummy-ass case.

Designer: Apple

Before I talk about this further, here’s my complete disclaimer. I love cases. They’re awesome, and both my iPhone and iPad are clad in them. Apple is a marvelous company, but I don’t NEED a slim gadget, I need a gadget that’s intact. I’d much rather spend $30 on a case than $300 on AppleCare+… and you should too (in fact, I routinely find myself writing about some great casemakers on this blog, so it behooves me to ensure I don’t contradict myself just for the clicks). The iPhone Air isn’t for me, and it’s probably not for the most of us… yet a bunch of us are going to buy one anyway.

If you match it feature-for-feature, the Air’s only true highlight is its slimness. Apple’s gone to great lengths to ensure the phone measures just a mere 5.6 millimeters thick at an average, and doesn’t bend to pressure like its predecessor, the iPhone 6. It has a single camera lens, a 3,149mAh battery, a single speaker, and lacks a SIM tray. On paper, these specs are fairly average for a phone. What makes the iPhone Air impressive, however, is the sheer R&D gone behind making a device that feels paper-thin. That’s its USP (it’s literally in the name too), and that should be the only motivating factor at play.

So for the person either lining up at a store or placing your order for an iPhone Air online, don’t disrespect the phone’s one true pièce de résistance with a bulky, horrible case. Don’t put a crappy frame on an artistic masterpiece. And despite Apple’s claims at sturdiness, don’t, for the love of everything holy, drop the phone!

The post PLEASE don’t put a case on your iPhone Air… first appeared on Yanko Design.

Apple Watch Series 11, SE 3, and Ultra 3: From Silent Killer Detection to Satellite Emergency Rescue

Apple introduced an all-new Apple Watch Ultra today at its highly anticipated product launch event, positioning the updated model as “the ultimate sports and adventure watch” for extreme outdoor activities and professional athletes. The Ultra announcement caps off Apple’s comprehensive Apple Watch lineup refresh that includes the Series 11 and SE 3.

The new Apple Watch Ultra 3 represents Apple’s most rugged and capable wearable device, designed to seamlessly transition from sports watch to smartwatch to health monitor. The Ultra 3 is engineered for users who push the boundaries of what’s possible with wearable technology in challenging environments.

Ultra 3: Largest Display Ever in Apple Watch

The Ultra 3 features the largest display ever incorporated into an Apple Watch, utilizing Apple’s most advanced technology with wide-angle OLEDs and LTPO3. The new display technology delivers significantly improved readability when viewed at angles, making it crucial for checking pace in bright sunlight or reading depth measurements underwater.

Apple achieved the larger screen area by reducing border thickness without changing the overall case size, maximizing the usable display space. The advanced LTPO3 technology allows the display to refresh more frequently in always-on mode without impacting battery life, enabling features like real-time seconds display on watch faces.

New Waypoint Watch Face for Navigation

The Ultra 3 introduces a new Waypoint watch face that dynamically shows points of interest in relation to the user’s location. This navigation-focused feature is designed specifically for outdoor adventurers and athletes who rely on precise location awareness during activities.

Enhanced Workout Experience with AI Integration

The Workout app receives significant upgrades in the Ultra 3, making it faster to customize training views and access personalized feedback. The integration of Workout Buddy, a generative AI voice powered by Apple Intelligence, delivers personalized motivation and coaching during workouts based on individual performance data and goals.

Advanced Connectivity for Remote Adventures

The Ultra 3 maintains connectivity even in remote locations through enhanced 5G cellular technology that provides broader coverage and faster data speeds compared to previous generations. This connectivity ensures users can stay connected during extreme outdoor activities and emergency situations.

Breakthrough Satellite Connectivity for Off-Grid Communication

The Ultra 3 introduces what Apple calls a “huge leap forward” with satellite connectivity, enabling communication when users venture completely off the grid. This breakthrough technology allows users to stay safe and maintain contact with loved ones using satellite connections in available countries and regions.

Apple redesigned the radio and antenna systems to double the signal strength, enabling the Ultra 3 to communicate with satellites positioned 800 miles above Earth. The engineering achievement of fitting satellite connectivity into such a compact device represents a significant technological advancement for wearable devices.

Emergency SOS via satellite comes included with the Ultra 3, providing critical safety capabilities for remote adventures. Users can also send messages and share their location through Find My, ensuring connectivity during backcountry skiing, trail running, and other extreme outdoor activities where traditional cellular coverage is unavailable.

Extended Battery Life and Premium Materials

The Ultra 3 delivers exceptional battery performance with up to 42 hours of battery life, nearly doubling the typical Apple Watch endurance for extended outdoor adventures and multi-day activities. This extended power capacity supports the demanding satellite connectivity and advanced display features without compromising performance.

Apple will offer the Ultra 3 in black and natural titanium finishes, crafted using an innovative 3D printing process that utilizes 100 percent recycled titanium. This manufacturing approach demonstrates Apple’s commitment to environmental sustainability while maintaining the premium materials and durability expected from the Ultra line.

The combination of satellite connectivity, the largest Apple Watch display ever, AI-powered workout coaching, and extended battery life positions the Ultra 3 as the most capable adventure watch Apple has ever created, setting a new standard for wearable technology in extreme environments.

Apple Watch Series 11 Introduces Revolutionary Hypertension Detection and 5G Connectivity

Apple also unveiled the Apple Watch Series 11 during today’s keynote, positioning the new wearable as the most advanced health monitoring device the company has ever created. The announcement comes as part of Apple’s broader focus on design-driven innovation that CEO Tim Cook emphasized throughout the keynote.

The Series 11 represents what Apple calls “the best watch in the world made even better,” introducing breakthrough health monitoring capabilities alongside significant hardware improvements that make it both more durable and more connected than any previous Apple Watch generation.

Revolutionary Hypertension Detection Changes Health Monitoring

The most significant announcement centers on Apple Watch Series 11’s ability to detect high blood pressure, a feature that could impact the lives of the 1.3 billion adults worldwide who suffer from hypertension. The American Heart Association has called hypertension a “silent killer” because it often presents no obvious symptoms.

Apple’s new hypertension detection works entirely in the background using data from the optical heart sensor. The advanced algorithm analyzes how blood vessels respond to heartbeats, looking for chronic high blood pressure patterns over 30-day periods. When patterns consistent with hypertension are identified, the watch will notify users, potentially alerting them to a condition they didn’t know they had.

The technology was developed using advanced machine learning methods and validated through studies involving over 100,000 participants. Apple expects the feature to notify over 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension in its first year alone, empowering them to make life-saving behavioral changes or seek medical treatment.

FDA clearance is expected soon, with availability planned for 150 countries and regions this month, including the United States and Europe.

Enhanced Sleep Analysis with Sleep Score

Apple Watch Series 11 also introduces Sleep Score, a comprehensive sleep quality analysis system that goes beyond basic sleep tracking. The feature analyzes multiple factors including sleep duration, bedtime consistency, wake frequency, and time spent in different sleep stages to provide users with both a numerical score and actionable guidance for improvement.

The Sleep Score system was developed using over 5 million nights of sleep data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study, with guidance from leading sleep experts including the World Sleep Society. Users receive detailed breakdowns showing exactly how their score was calculated, making it easy to understand specific areas for improvement.

Hardware Improvements Focus on Durability and Connectivity

The Apple Watch Series 11 introduces several significant hardware advances, starting with what Apple calls “the thinnest and most comfortable watch” the company has ever made, while simultaneously making it more durable than previous generations.

The durability improvements center on Apple’s proprietary Ionex glass, described as “the toughest in the industry.” A custom Apple-designed ceramic coating bonds to the glass at an atomic level, making the watch face twice as scratch-resistant as the previous generation. The enhancement makes the watch better suited for everyday use and active lifestyles.

Connectivity receives a major upgrade with the integration of 5G cellular technology. The new 5G modem and antenna architecture improve performance while providing expanded coverage. The 5G implementation is also more power efficient than previous cellular generations, using less battery power for connectivity. Major carrier partners will support 5G on Apple Watch Series 11 at launch.

New Software Features and Design Elements

The Series 11 ships with watchOS 26, bringing new features and intelligence alongside elegant design updates. Two new watch faces highlight Apple’s design evolution: Flow uses liquid glass numerals to create beautiful refracting swirls of color, while Exactograph offers a modern interpretation of traditional regulator clocks that separate hours, minutes, and seconds for precise timekeeping.

The watch maintains Apple’s comprehensive health feature set, including heart monitoring, hearing protection, cycle tracking, and mental health tools, while adding the breakthrough hypertension detection and enhanced sleep analysis capabilities.

Market Impact and Positioning

Apple’s focus on health monitoring with the Series 11 represents a strategic expansion of the Apple Watch’s role from fitness tracker to comprehensive health device. The hypertension detection capability alone positions the watch as a medical device capable of identifying serious health conditions that users might otherwise never discover.

The timing aligns with Apple’s broader design philosophy emphasized throughout today’s event, where CEO Tim Cook stated that design “goes beyond just how something looks or feels” to encompass “how it works.” The Series 11 exemplifies this philosophy by making advanced health monitoring seamless and automatic.

Extended Battery Life and Sustainability Focus

Apple addressed one of the most common user requests with the Series 11 by re-engineering the battery system to deliver up to 24 hours of battery life. This improvement allows users to wear the watch continuously throughout the day and night, supporting the comprehensive health monitoring features that require constant sensor activity.

The extended battery life is particularly important for the new sleep tracking and hypertension detection features, both of which require continuous monitoring to provide accurate data and insights.

Design Options and Environmental Commitment

The Apple Watch Series 11 will be available in multiple finish options, showcasing Apple’s commitment to both style and environmental responsibility. Standard models come in jet black, silver, rose gold, and a new space gray finish, all crafted from 100 percent recycled aluminum.

For users seeking premium options, Apple offers polished cases made from 100 percent recycled titanium in natural, gold, and slate finishes. The company emphasized its environmental commitment by using entirely recycled materials for the watch cases.

The fall 2025 release includes a refreshed color palette across Apple’s entire band lineup. Notable additions include updated Nike Sport Band and Nike Sport Loop options, with the Sport Loop now featuring reflective yarn woven throughout the fabric for enhanced visibility during nighttime activities.

Apple also announced a new Hermes collaboration featuring a Jacquard knit band with matching watch face that displays whimsical animations set in the iconic Hermes Paris store, adding a luxury option that combines fashion with technology.

Comprehensive Health Platform Expansion

The Series 11 represents Apple’s most comprehensive approach to health monitoring, building on existing features like heart rate monitoring, hearing protection, cycle tracking, and mental health tools while adding the revolutionary hypertension detection and enhanced sleep analysis capabilities.

This positions the Apple Watch as moving beyond a fitness accessory toward a legitimate medical monitoring device capable of identifying serious health conditions before they become critical. The hypertension detection alone could have massive public health implications, given that high blood pressure affects over one billion people globally and often goes undiagnosed.

The integration of multiple health monitoring systems into a single wearable device represents a significant step toward Apple’s vision of comprehensive personal health management through technology.

Apple Watch SE 3 Brings Premium Features to Entry-Level Pricing

Apple also announced the Apple Watch SE 3, positioning it as the most accessible way for users to experience Apple Watch capabilities. The SE 3 represents a significant upgrade from previous SE models, bringing several premium features to Apple’s most affordable watch option.

The most notable improvement comes from the integration of Apple’s most powerful watch chip, the S10 processor, which enables features previously exclusive to higher-end models. This processing power upgrade allows the SE 3 to support advanced capabilities that were not possible in earlier SE generations.

Always-On Display Comes to SE Series

For the first time in the SE lineup, Apple Watch SE 3 includes an always-on display, allowing users to read the time and view watch faces without needing to wake the display. This feature has been a significant differentiator for the premium Series models and represents a major value enhancement for the SE line.

The always-on display functionality is made possible by the S10 chip’s improved power efficiency, ensuring that battery life remains acceptable despite the constant display activity.

Enhanced Interaction with Gesture Controls

The S10 processor also enables gesture-based controls on the SE 3, including double tap and wrist flick functionality. These gestures allow users to control their watch with just one hand, making it more convenient to interact with the device during activities or when the other hand is occupied.

The gesture control system represents sophisticated motion sensing technology that analyzes subtle wrist movements to trigger specific actions, bringing premium interaction methods to the entry-level watch.

Core Health and Safety Features Maintained

Apple emphasized that the SE 3 maintains the essential health and safety features that make Apple Watch valuable for users across all price points. The watch includes heart rate notifications and fall detection capabilities, ensuring that basic health monitoring and emergency features remain accessible to budget-conscious consumers.

These core features ensure that the SE 3 continues to serve as a legitimate health monitoring device rather than simply a scaled-back fitness tracker, maintaining Apple’s commitment to health accessibility across its product range.

The post Apple Watch Series 11, SE 3, and Ultra 3: From Silent Killer Detection to Satellite Emergency Rescue first appeared on Yanko Design.