The iPhone Air is not promoting nicely to this point

In a method, 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; reasonably, 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 primary issues separating them have been cameras, efficiency, display screen measurement, and refresh charges. On the surface, you most likely 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 will even see a manufacturing improve, the Air has to this point confronted “relative weak point,” as Woodring places it. That is a obscure declare, and gross sales might at all times flip round — however anyway you slice it, it is most likely 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 possibly can most likely guess the explanation why, but it surely’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

Just lately, I acquired into hassle in a web based 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 might be price as a lot as any function. From there, issues rapidly took a flip. Just a few 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’ll say upfront that I am impressed by the Air as a bit 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 wanting to level out throughout its announcement, a lot of the “guts” of the telephone — akin to its processor and storage — are all stuffed into the digicam bump (AKA plateau). A lot 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 aren’t that significant in 2025. Whereas the Air is perhaps nice to carry, I am unable to bear in mind the final time I heard anybody, wherever critically complain concerning the measurement 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 considerations at work.

Larger fashions could also be more durable to stuff right into a pocket, however that is owing to display screen measurement greater than thickness — which the Air would not remedy. The product has a 6.5-inch show, larger than the 6.3-inch one on the iPhone 17. Apple would not even rely the Air’s digicam bump when it measures thickness, both. At that a part of the machine, it is about 11.32mm — just under the 11.4mm of the iPhone 17’s bump. If you cannot get a 17 in your pocket, likelihood is the Air will probably be simply as unhealthy, if not worse.

All this is able to be irrelevant if it weren’t for the Air’s digicam tech, battery life, and pricing. Not like the 17, there isn’t any secondary ultra-wide digicam. You possibly can’t shoot macro pictures, not to mention tight group portraits or large vistas. Battery life, in the meantime, is enough, 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 stay with. You do get a quicker 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 in some way proves well-liked in the long term, it is going to 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, attempt once more

Except the present mannequin is a catastrophic failure, I feel it is protected to count on an iPhone Air 2 in 2026. Apple has clearly invested loads of money and time into the underlying expertise, and it is uncommon for the corporate to place that type of effort right into a one-off product. Bear 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 might 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 aim is laying the groundwork not only for a foldable iPhone, however for thinner type components on the whole as soon as fewer compromises are needed. I am betting that the iPhone 19 (or no matter it is known as) will look just like the Air, however embrace triple cameras, contemplating that Apple’s rivals are already making telephotos normal 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 actual fact, if Apple have been to modify to silicon-carbon (Si-C) battery tech, the Air 2’s runtime might 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.