The iPhone Air is not promoting nicely to this point

In a means, the iPhone Air is probably the most radical departure for Apple since 2017’s iPhone X. Not a lot as a result of it has a singular kind issue; moderately, it is as a result of it is the primary time because the X that Apple has offered 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 dimension, and refresh charges. On the skin, 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 enhance, the Air has to this point confronted “relative weak spot,” as Woodring places it. That is a obscure declare, and gross sales may 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 may most likely guess the explanation why, however it’s value 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 a substitute of an Air, as a result of the Air is an inherently worse product. As anticipated, some individuals rushed to the Air’s protection, arguing that thinness and lightness could be value as a lot as any characteristic. From there, issues rapidly took a flip. Just a few individuals insisted that I had no proper to say what different individuals ought to worth; one particular person even argued I used to be “dictating” what individuals should 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 chunk of engineering. Regardless of it being so skinny, it is remarkably robust, to the purpose that testers have wanted industrial tools 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 cellphone — similar 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 usually are not that significant in 2025. Whereas the Air is perhaps nice to carry, I can not bear in mind the final time I heard anybody, anyplace significantly complain concerning 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 lightweight 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 until they have higher issues at work.

Greater fashions could also be tougher to stuff right into a pocket, however that is owing to display screen dimension greater than thickness — which the Air does not remedy. The product has a 6.5-inch show, larger than the 6.3-inch one on the iPhone 17. Apple does 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 likely be simply as dangerous, if not worse.

All this could be irrelevant if it weren’t for the Air’s digicam tech, battery life, and pricing. Not like the 17, there is no secondary ultra-wide digicam. You may’t shoot macro photographs, not to mention tight group portraits or huge 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 likely be tougher to stay 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 someway proves fashionable in the long term, it is going to ship the improper message to Apple — you could cost individuals 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 believe it is secure to anticipate an iPhone Air 2 in 2026. Apple has clearly invested plenty of money and time into the underlying expertise, and it is uncommon for the corporate to place that kind of effort right into a one-off product. Bear in mind, we acquired two generations of iPhone mini regardless of weak gross sales.

The true query mark is 2027. If the Air 1 continues to get a lukewarm response, and/or the Air 2 does 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 objective is laying the groundwork not only for a foldable iPhone, however for thinner kind components basically 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 customary on their base {hardware}.

For the Air 2 to be successful, Apple has two choices, as I see it. The primary is to provide it modest upgrades over the Air 1, however dramatically decrease the worth, making it no 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. Actually, if Apple have been to modify to silicon-carbon (Si-C) battery tech, the Air 2’s runtime may probably crush that of the 18 with none enhance in thickness. In fact, the 18 would nonetheless reign supreme if it switched to Si-C as nicely. I am preserving my ear to the bottom for rumors on this one.