The iPhone Air is not promoting nicely to this point

In a manner, the iPhone Air is essentially the most radical departure for Apple since 2017’s iPhone X. Not a lot as a result of it has a novel type issue; slightly, it is as a result of it is the primary time for the reason that X that Apple has bought a non-budget iPhone that is not only a minor variation of one other one. The iPhone XR I owned was a scaled-back model of the iPhone XS — likewise, the iPhone 13 could have shipped in Mini, Professional, and Professional Max variations, however the principle issues separating them have been cameras, efficiency, display dimension, and refresh charges. On the skin, you in all probability would not be capable to inform the distinction between a 13 and 13 Professional besides for his or her lenses.

The phrase from Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring (through MacRumors), although, is that the Air gambit is probably not paying off. Whereas demand for the iPhone 17 lineup is reportedly robust, and should even see a manufacturing improve, the Air has to this point confronted “relative weak spot,” as Woodring places it. That is a obscure declare, and gross sales may all the time flip round — however anyway you slice it, it is in all probability not what Apple wished to listen to, not when it spent a lot of its September 9 occasion singing the Air’s praises.

Frankly, I hope Air gross sales proceed on a downward trajectory. You’ll be able to in all probability guess the the reason why, nevertheless it’s price elaborating on them, and whether or not we’ll see a follow-up Air in 2026.

The iPhone Air is a nasty deal

Sending a message to Apple

Not too long ago, I acquired into bother in an internet feedback part by claiming that individuals “ought to” purchase the iPhone 17 as an alternative of an Air, as a result of the Air is an inherently worse product. As anticipated, some folks rushed to the Air’s protection, arguing that thinness and lightness may be price as a lot as any characteristic. From there, issues rapidly took a flip. A number of folks insisted that I had no proper to say what different folks ought to worth; one individual even argued I used to be “dictating” what folks can purchase, as if I have been placing a gun to somebody’s head on the Apple Retailer.

To make my place clearer, I will say upfront that I am impressed by the Air as a chunk of engineering. Regardless of it being so skinny, it is remarkably powerful, to the purpose that testers have wanted industrial gear to get it to bend or break. And as Apple was desperate to level out throughout its announcement, a lot of the “guts” of the telephone — corresponding to its processor and storage — are all stuffed into the digicam bump (AKA plateau). Many of the body is devoted to its lithium-ion battery, and that is no imply feat.

Let’s get this straight although: excessive thinness and lightness are usually not that significant in 2025. Whereas the Air may be nice to carry, I can not bear in mind the final time I heard anybody, anyplace critically complain in regards to the dimension or weight of a smartphone that wasn’t deliberately outsized, just like the iPhone 17 Professional Max or the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely. That is as a result of smartphones have been each skinny and light-weight for a really very long time. Even the heaviest iPhones ever, the 13 Professional Max and 14 Professional Max, weighed simply 8.47 ounces (240 grams) every. The Air could also be noticeably lighter at 5.82 ounces (165 grams), however nobody is struggling to carry up a Professional Max except they have better issues at work.

Greater fashions could also be more durable to stuff right into a pocket, however that is owing to display dimension greater than thickness — which the Air would not clear up. The product has a 6.5-inch show, greater than the 6.3-inch one on the iPhone 17. Apple would not even depend the Air’s digicam bump when it measures thickness, both. At that a part of the system, it is about 11.32mm — slightly below the 11.4mm of the iPhone 17’s bump. If you cannot get a 17 in your pocket, chances are high the Air will probably be simply as unhealthy, if not worse.

All this might be irrelevant if it weren’t for the Air’s digicam tech, battery life, and pricing. In contrast to the 17, there isn’t any secondary ultra-wide digicam. You’ll be able to’t shoot macro pictures, not to mention tight group portraits or huge vistas. Battery life, in the meantime, is ample, however nonetheless decrease than that of each different iPhone within the fall 2025 catalog. So actually, you are paying $200 greater than a 17 for one thing that will probably be more durable to dwell with. You do get a sooner A19 Professional processor, however even that has one much less GPU core than the identical chip within the iPhone 17 Professional.

Sure, then, the iPhone Air is a nasty deal. And if it by some means proves standard in the long term, it may ship the unsuitable message to Apple — that you could cost folks extra for much less and get away with it.

Is there a future for the iPhone Air?

Reply hazy, strive once more

Until the present mannequin is a catastrophic failure, I feel it is secure to count on an iPhone Air 2 in 2026. Apple has clearly invested quite a lot of money and time into the underlying expertise, and it is uncommon for the corporate to place that form of effort right into a one-off product. Keep in mind, we acquired two generations of iPhone mini regardless of weak gross sales.

The actual query mark is 2027. If the Air 1 continues to get a lukewarm response, and/or the Air 2 would not blow anybody out of the water, I may simply see Apple pulling the plug on an Air 3. Certainly, that may not be within the playing cards anyway — it is apparent that Apple’s final purpose is laying the groundwork not only for a foldable iPhone, however for thinner type components usually as soon as fewer compromises are vital. I am betting that the iPhone 19 (or no matter it is known as) will look much like the Air, however embody triple cameras, contemplating that Apple’s rivals are already making telephotos commonplace on their base {hardware}.

For the Air 2 to be a success, Apple has two choices, as I see it. The primary is to present it modest upgrades over the Air 1, however dramatically decrease the value, making it not less than $100 cheaper than the iPhone 18. The opposite is to carry onto the present price ticket, however convey digicam and battery specs as much as snuff. In reality, if Apple have been to change to silicon-carbon (Si-C) battery tech, the Air 2’s runtime may doubtlessly crush that of the 18 with none improve in thickness. After all, the 18 would nonetheless reign supreme if it switched to Si-C as nicely. I am maintaining my ear to the bottom for rumors on this one.