Apple event 2025 live: the AirPods Pro 3 and iPhone 17 phones are expected, but what about the HomePod Mini 2 and a new Apple TV?
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The AirPods Pro 3 could be a damp squib if this rumour comes true
Words by What Hi-Fi? contributor, Joe Svetlik
Ever since the AirPods Pro 2 became the first Apple earbuds to earn five stars from us, our expectations have been high. All of a sudden, Apple could compete with the best wireless earbuds around!
Watch out, Sony and Bose! But earlier today I had my expectations dashed from a great height courtesy of Apple analyst Mark Gurman.
Why? He posted that the AirPods Pro 3 won’t feature any major upgrades to either noise cancellation nor sound quality.
Instead, we’ll get heart rate tracking courtesy of LED optical sensors. It’s thought to work just like the feature already found on the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 (which are also made by Apple).
Talk about disappointing.
The AirPods Pro 2 have very good sound quality and noise cancellation, even compared to more recent rival pairs. But they’re three years old now. The fiercely competitive world of wireless earbuds has moved on, and will only keep advancing.
If Apple keeps these buds on the shelves for three years – as it did with both previous models of AirPods Pro – they will be sorely lacking quite soon.
All hope is not lost. Previous rumours said the AirPods Pro 3 would have “much better” ANC than their predecessors.
And Gurman himself has said he expects a new H3 chip to feature, which could bring some modest upgrades to both sound and ANC.
But considering that Bose overhauled the ANC for its recent QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), and that Sony’s much anticipated WF-1000XM6 are said to be launching soon (probably with some serious improvements to core areas), I can’t see this move as anything other than a step backwards by Apple.
It could prove to be wrong, of course. But Gurman has a solid track record of Apple predictions. And it’s unlikely he would go on record just 24 hours before the launch with a statement he wasn’t 100 per cent sure about.We can but hope…
Will we see the hotly rumoured HomePod with a screen?
Words by What Hi-Fi? contributor Esat Dedezade
If you’ve been anxiously refreshing this page all day to see if any new snippets may have leaked ahead of the Apple event, you will have noticed our previous speculation on the potential reveal of a new HomePod Mini 2.
Well, there’s plenty more hopium where that came from. What about an ultra-surprising, One More Thing reveal of the – wait for it – Apple HomePod with a screen?!
That’s right, the Apple rumour mill has long teased us with secretive whispers of a screen-toting HomePod smart speaker to rival the likes of the Amazon Echo Show 10 and co.
The possibilities are endless. You could see the weather at a glance! Your photos could be displayed for all the world to see.
Visible prices on your ill-advised crypto meme coins could be but a voice command away. But before you praise the Cupertino engineers for the graciousness, bear in mind that when we last covered this rumour, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (who has a very reliable track record when it comes to Apple news and rumours), stated that the HomePod with screen could “... finally hit the market by the end of this year at the earliest…”
And if that doesn’t fill you with much confidence, he also stated that it remains “up in the air.”Now, are we going to sit here and categorically state that we definitely won’t see a HomePod with a screen make a surprise appearance tonight?
No. There’d be no fun in that.But as with most Apple rumours, it’s best to tentatively manage expectations and be happy with whatever ‘magical’ items do grace the stage. Not long to go now, at least…
2 things we want, but 100 per cent won’t see tonight
We all have things we want in life that may never happen and right now there are two bits of Apple tech that fall into that category for the What Hi-Fi? Team.
The first comes from our TV and AV editor, Tom Parsons. Specifically, he’s been calling for Apple to make a proper Dolby Atmos soundbar for many moons now. And to be fair to him, while there are no rumours whatsoever indicating this is in the works, it makes sense.
Apple’s current HomePod 2 speakers have a stereo home cinema mode that lets two of them work in tandem with the Apple TV 4K to great effect. We even penned a feature detailing how well the setup works when we first reviewed the HomePod 2 at launch.
But, a proper dedicated soundbar focussed on delivering a home cinema experience first and foremost would be awesome – especially if it targeted the same top of the line, industry leading space currently ruled by the KEF XIO we tested earlier this year.
The second is one myself and senior staff writer, Lewis Empson, have long discussed: an actual Apple TV.
Apple has a strong track record with display tech, especially OLED, with its tandem OLED tech winning a What Hi-Fi? Award and being a key reason the current Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) is the best tablet available for movie fans. So it would be great to see it take the same know how and use it to make a proper TV.
Sadly, like the Apple soundbar Tom wants, there are no rumours, even the vague kind, suggesting this is planned or even on the firm’s radar. At this rate we’re more likely to see a car or pair of glasses with Apple’s branding first.
Will there be a new Apple TV?
The Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen) has long been the streaming box the What Hi-Fi? team recommends for buyers looking for the best movie and audio quality possible.
The reason why is simple, it offers superior performance that’s a cut above any of the, admittedly usually cheaper, Amazon, Roku or Google rivals we’ve tested it against.
But, it is getting a little old, which is why, despite rumours suggesting a new Apple TV won’t appear at the event, some of the team remain hopeful an upgrade will appear soon.
Sadly, concrete rumours about what specific upgrades a new box would bring remain vague at best, with the only semi-regular one being it will have an integrated camera and upgraded chipset.
We’d also expect some upgrades to its WiFi connectivity and potentially support for the newly announced Dolby Vision 2 / Max HDR standard, given Apple track record in the space.
But, like a lot of the pre-event rumours we’ll only know the precise details when and if Apple unveils a new Apple TV 4K 2025.
What about the AirPods Max 2?
The AirPods Max 2 have been rumoured for quite a while now, with Apple clearly happy to take its time releasing a truly second generation pair of premium, wireless, over-ear headphones.
The closest it has come was last year when it gave the original generation a minor spruce, adding USB C charging. Though often referred to as Max 2, these are technically just the originals modified, with Apple still referring to them as AirPods Max on its store.
For the actual, true second generation information is thin on the ground. Even the most optimistic reports we’ve seen suggest next year, or even 2027, as the most likely launch date for a true successor to the AirPods Max. We’re not expecting to see them at today’s event, as a result.
Meet the team covering the Apple launch
With close to two decades of experience chasing shiny things for a living, Alastair’s covered more Apple launches than he cares to count – including ones so far back they included iPod announcements. As a result he’s got an all round knowledge of the firm’s products, past and present.
Andy Madden is one of What Hi-Fi?’s leading wireless earbuds experts. Frequently stopped at AirPort (see what we did there) customs for the “collection” he carries with him, ready to jump into testing at a moment's notice, he’s reviewed nearly all the sets currency seen in our best wireless earbuds guide. He’ll be on hand over the event, offering his thoughts and hot takes on all Apple’s audio announcements.
Kashfia Kabir runs What Hi-Fi?’s hi-fi and audio section and has reviewed everything from the original HomePod Mini up to top of the line stereo amps and turntables that cost the same as the deposit on a decent car. This gives her a holistic understanding of how Apple’s products compare to rivals and a key member of the team covering tonight’s event.
Lewis Empson is Tom’s number two in the TV and AV space. He’s worked his way up the ranks, having started as a staff writer three years ago. Having tested everything from affordable TV streamers to top of the line projectors he has a great understanding of all things home cinema. He also does a lot of our phone testing, often acting as the second, or sometimes first, set of eyes and ears when reviewing new iPhones for the team, in collaboration with Tom.
Harry McKerrell is the senior staff writer on the audio side of our team, direct lining into Kash. He is a key team member who reviews everything from wireless earbuds to hi-fi speakers. He’ll be on hand at the event using his holistic knowledge of the hi-fi and tech industry to help handle all the audio news.
Robyn Quick is the newest member of the What Hi-Fi? team having joined less than a year ago. Despite being new, they’ve already dived into the deep end of home cinema tech, helping review everything from the premium KEF XIO Dolby Atmos soundbar to affordable Xgimi MoGo 4 portable projector since joining.
What about the Apple HomePod Mini 2?
Cards on the table, many of the audio team at What Hi-Fi? want to see a new HomePod Mini as much as the rest of you – the original is a cute unit that fits the bill when it comes to feeding the need for more small, great sound audio hardware to help get people into hi-fi.
But, from what we’ve seen in the pre-release rumours and based on our conversations with our sources, it’s not clear cut if a HomePod Mini 2 will launch later today.
This leaves us slightly nervous as analysts have already made numerous predictions about the units prediction, only to subsequently be proven wrong. The biggest was when, usually on the money, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrongly predicted the unit would launch in the second half of 2024. Fool us once etc…
If it does appear, which some optimists still hope it will, there are numerous rumours about what upgrades it will have doing the rounds.
The only consistent ones are generally common sense, promising upgrades to a newer chipset (the same seen in the current generation Apple Watch), better WiFi 6E connectivity and the smattering of Apple Intelligence AI upgrades pretty much every new tech from the firm gets.
While we’d personally like to see some audio upgrades, given Apple’s tendency to keep information on things like the drivers used and nitty gritty of its designs under wraps we’re going to reserve judgment on any changes here until we actually see and hear one.
The AirPods Pro 3
The second product most Apple-watchers are predicting is a new set of AirPods Pro 3 wireless earbuds.
This move would make sense with Apple having launched the AirPods 4 with ANC alongside the iPhone 16 last September and its current AirPods Pro 2 are getting a little long in the tooth.
However, while many rumour mills are suggesting its a done deal with the AirPods Pro 3, be warned there are some naysayers with a strong track record predicting Apple release strategies saying they won’t appear at the event.
Analyst Jeff Pu suggests they may not come in 2025 at all, suggesting the firm may do a dedicated launch in 2026 for them.
Regardless of if they appear at the event, one thing the experts at What Hi-Fi? are confident of is that they will be an evolution, rather than rethinking, of the firm’s Pro earbuds line.
As our deputy editor Andy Madden, said earlier this year, we’re expecting a similar design with reworked internals, including a modernised wireless chipset, USB C charging and improved “digital ANC” – not a completely rethought product.
Will that be enough to compete in the increasingly accomplished market which has seen amazing new sets, including the five-star Technics EAH-AZ100 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) launch in the past year?
We won’t know until the AirPods Pro 3 are actually unveiled and we get a chance to hear them. But considering Apple’s strong track-record in the market we can’t help but get a little excited to see new premium AirPods try.
What to expect from the iPhone 17
Apple events always come with some chaos factor. This has been part of the firm’s DNA since the Steve Jobs era, with the deceased co-founder and former CEO famously always having “one more thing” to show off at the firm’s launch events.
So, even with the sea of pre-event rumours and our knowledge of the firm’s previous release strategies to go off, we’re not ruling out at least one or two surprises coming out of the event. However, there are a few products we’re particularly convinced will appear.
The biggest is the firm’s newest iPhone 17 line of smartphones. Outside of rare exceptions, Apple has launched its new handsets in the same September window for as long as we’ve been covering them and we can’t see that changing this year, especially given current industry rumblings.
Why is that a big deal? Because if you jump to our best phones for music and movie fans you’ll see a lot of Apple handsets in the list.
Why? Because they tend to offer the best audio and picture quality year-on-year. That was certainly the case with the iPhone 16 Pro when we reviewed it, with its audio in particular making it the most musically minded options for serious fans who don’t fancy investing in a portable player.
However, the two biggest rumours we’ve heard relevant to our audience, don’t actually discuss the new handsets’ expected audio upgrades.
Instead they forecast potential price increases across the range. There are also growing rumours about a potential new foldable iPhone, sometimes referred to as the iPhone 17 Air to take on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and for movie fans’ attention.
