The iPhone Air is a tool with shorter battery life, fewer cameras and a price ticket that’s $200 greater than a base iPhone 17. Certain, it’s received an even bigger display screen and it's unbelievably modern, however regardless of the way you slice it, that worth proposition doesn’t make sense. Not less than on paper. That’s as a result of as quickly as you maintain an iPhone Air, you immediately get a way that this handset represents far more than a easy quest for thinness. The iPhone Air is a tool with a mission: To push the corporate’s design and engineering additional than ever earlier than whereas doubling down on model. Plus, it’s doubtlessly laying the inspiration for one thing much more radical down the road.
Editor's be aware (on September 19, 9:00AM ET): The iPhone Air is now formally obtainable in shops, and people who have pre-ordered their units might be receiving them beginning at present. As you make your selections on whether or not or which of those you should purchase, be sure that to take a look at our critiques of the iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, in addition to the AirPods Pro 3 and the Apple Watch Series 11. We additionally revealed a more in-depth take a look at the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s satellite connectivity characteristic, which has some impressions of what it’s like to make use of in actual life.
What’s the iPhone Air?
New iPhones typically don't should be defined, however the Air is a distinct kind of iPhone. On a purely sensible degree, it might be considered as a (very) glowed-up substitute to the iPhone 16 Plus. Nevertheless, the Air begins at $999, which is $100 greater than the launch value of final 12 months's closest Apple equal (or $200 extra after its latest value drop). Moreover, the Air has a smaller 6.5-inch show (versus 6.7 inches on the 16 Plus) and solely a single rear digicam as a substitute of the 2 you usually get on a base mannequin iPhone. Then, to make issues a contact extra complicated, the Air has almost the identical A19 Professional chip utilized in Apple's Professional sequence this 12 months as a substitute of a daily A19 processor. However most significantly, the Air’s design is in contrast to any iPhone that's come earlier than it, and it could find yourself turning into a bridge to Apple's subsequent period of smartphones (whereas additionally being irresistibly skinny and classy at present).
Design: Merely beautiful
Even with the arrival of Samsung's tremendous modern Galaxy S25 Edge earlier this 12 months, Apple is setting new highs for cell design with the iPhone Air. Not solely is it even skinnier at simply 5.6mm (versus 5.8mm for the S25E), it's the most effective instance but of what I wish to name “the sci-fi house pebble look” because of its rounded corners and fantastically polished edges. It's a correct marvel of engineering and whereas I typically don't like saying this, you actually do have to carry one to totally respect Apple's craftsmanship.
Regardless of its dimensions, the Air isn't all sleekness and no energy. You continue to get a full IP68 score for mud and water resistance, whereas the titanium body makes the entire handset remarkably sturdy. On prime of that, the Air has a display screen coated by a brand new Ceramic Protect 2 panel that additionally comes with an anti-reflective coating. And whereas it doesn't utterly remove glare, it does a superb job of stopping annoying brilliant spots.
As for the show itself, there's not a lot to complain about right here both. The Air's display screen has a peak brightness of three,000 nits and it has ProMotion help with a refresh fee that varies between 1Hz and 120Hz relying on the scenario. However the actual influence is that if you put a show this good in a tool this skinny, typically it actually does seem like somebody has ripped a web page out of {a magazine} and made it float in your hand. It's form of uncanny and I can't get sufficient. To be truthful, Samsung's S25 Edge does produce an identical impact but it surely isn't fairly as pronounced.
I additionally respect that Apple nonetheless discovered room for the iPhone's Motion button and a flush Digital camera Management key. Round again, there's refined sophistication in the best way the Air's Ceramic Protect rear panel slopes up gently to create Apple's digicam plateau (although I don't love that identify). And weighing simply 5.82 ounces (165 grams), the Air's heft (or lack thereof) provides much more to its ethereal in-hand really feel.
My major difficulty with the Air's design is that it solely has a single mono speaker. Granted, it packs a punch each when it comes to quantity and presence, however after years of stereo sound being the de facto gear on premium smartphones, one-sided audio doesn't sit fairly proper. The opposite potential sore spot is that the Air's USB-C port isn't completely centered within the backside edge. However I absolutely admit that that is probably the most minor of nitpicks, and when you think about that as a result of Air's thinness Apple needed to 3D-print the connector out of titanium (a primary for the corporate), I'm not bothered.
Efficiency: Manner higher than ok
In comparison with the bottom iPhone 17, the Air has a extra highly effective A19 Professional chip. Nevertheless, in contrast to the silicon obtainable within the iPhone 17 Professional line, the Air's processor has one fewer GPU core (5 as a substitute of six). However even with that small shortfall, the cellphone was by no means hurting for velocity. Flipping between apps is actually instantaneous and because of the brand new Liquid Glass visible design in iOS 26, doing so appears to be like higher than ever.
Extra intense duties like gaming didn't do a lot to sluggish it down both. Body charges remained steady in demanding titles like Future: Rising whereas extra informal fare like Sword of Convallaria appeared effortlessly fluid. The one time the cellphone appeared mildly taxed was when utilizing instruments like Apple's Picture Playground. Simply be careful if when do you any excessive efficiency duties for a protracted time, as a result of the the Air can get a bit heat — notably on its digicam bump. Fortunately, in my expertise, it by no means received too scorching to the touch.
Elsewhere, the addition of Apple's new N1 and C1X chips rounds out the package deal that the corporate claims makes this probably the most power-efficient iPhone but. That's vital as a result of and not using a vapor chamber like on the Professional line, or room for a big battery, the Air doesn't have a lot leeway for extra warmth or energy draw. The draw back is that Apple's C1X modem doesn't help mmWave 5G. This is probably not a difficulty relying on the place you reside or what community you're on, however for these demanding peak cell knowledge speeds, it’s one thing price contemplating earlier than upgrading.
Digital camera: Crisp photos however is one lens sufficient?
The photographs and movies the iPhone Air takes are wonderful. However on the finish of the day, there nonetheless isn't an actual substitute for extra glass, and with solely a single lens in again, Apple's lone 48MP rear digicam will be the cellphone's largest limitation. In a shot of some do-it-yourself cookies, particulars have been sharp and colours have been so wealthy that my mouth was nonetheless watering lengthy after the treats have been eaten. Similar goes for a tough photograph at sundown, the place the Air nonetheless managed to seize the heat and refined tones of the day's fading mild. And at evening, it stored tempo with and even outshot its largest rivals, together with the Pixel 10 Professional and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge — like in my picture of an area mural and flower in low-light. Nevertheless, in the event you're the form of one that loves a superb telephoto shot or the additional discipline of view an ultra-wide lens gives, the Air's 2x optical high quality zoom means you’re out of luck.
Impressively, regardless of solely having a single rear digicam, the Air nonetheless manages to take portrait pics that look virtually simply pretty much as good as these from iPhones with two. Apple says that it reengineered its portrait pipeline to work with out the necessity for stereo cameras for the Air, and it completely works. Now, in the event you do some severe pixel peeping, you would possibly discover some small discrepancies between the iPhone 17 and the Air on issues like flyaway hairs. However ultimately, it's good to see that even with out the identical variety of lenses, there isn't a significant drop in high quality.
Nevertheless, in entrance, Apple's Heart Stage characteristic and the Air's new 18MP selfie cam is likely to be the following large photograph revolution that different corporations will copy quickly. Through the use of a sq. sensor as a substitute of an oblong one, the cellphone can flip between wider panorama pictures or taller portrait-style pics at a second's discover. In actual fact, there's even an auto setting that enables the cellphone to modify between the 2 by itself, relying on how many individuals are within the body.
As somebody who’s selfie-averse, the instances that I do need to take a photograph of my face are normally once I'm standing in entrance of an enormous vista and need to seize myself and the surroundings. Heart Stage lets me just do that with no need to awkwardly flip the cellphone on its aspect. Moreover, whereas the photographs you see right here have been taken with Apple's default “Normal” Photographic Fashion, I have to admit I like the brand new "Shiny" choice in iOS 26, which provides simply sufficient pop and coloration to your photographs with out going overboard.
Battery life and charging: Not an issue
The iPhone Air's emphasis on thinness means there's much less room for an enormous battery, so that you would possibly suppose longevity could be a priority. However in my expertise, it's been a whole non-issue. Formally, Apple doesn't present specs for the scale of the ability cells in its units, although the corporate does state the Air ought to present 27 hours of steady video playback, which is simply three lower than what you get from a base iPhone 17. That's a drop of simply 10 % and, contemplating the sleekness of the Air, it's a trade-off I'm blissful to make.
Moreover, my outcomes typically line up with Apple's numbers. In a streaming video rundown check over Wi-Fi, the iPhone Air lasted 23 hours and 39 minutes — barely an hour lower than what I received from a base iPhone 17 (24:45). And in the actual world, the Air fared even higher than anticipated. Even on a day with over seven hours of display screen on time (which incorporates operating benchmarks and gaming), the cellphone has 25 % juice left within the tank. And on lighter days once I'm not working or continuously checking my cellphone, I typically had 40 to 45 % power remaining. In the case of recharging, the Air retains issues easy: a 30-minute cost (both wired or wirelessly) can add 50 % battery in simply half-hour.
Apple's MagSafe battery pack: The Air's finest buddy
I don't usually point out peripherals throughout a evaluate, since I'm not a fan of instances however I can perceive wanting additional safety for a $1,000 cellphone. Nevertheless, I'd argue that Apple's MagSafe Battery for the iPhone Air could also be a necessary accent for folk who wish to journey mild however don't need to fear about their electronics dying — even when its $99 price ticket stings.
Consistent with the iPhone Air's design, Apple's energy pack is exceedingly slim at simply 7.5mm and it snaps neatly onto the again of the gadget magnetically, so there aren’t any wires to fret about. By itself, recharging tops out at 12 watts. Although if there's a wire mendacity round, you’ll be able to increase speeds as much as the Air's 20-watt restrict. Alternatively, you may also use the pack’s built-in USB-C port to energy up any of your different devices. And when you have to recharge the transportable battery, all you need to do is preserve it connected to the iPhone whereas it’s charging and it’ll mechanically go by juice as wanted.
However my favourite half is that not solely does the battery pack refill the iPhone Air, it will probably recharge the AirPods Professional 3 wirelessly as nicely. Admittedly, Apple's slim MagSafe Battery doesn't have the most important capability at 3,149mAh (which is sufficient to add an additional 65 % cost to the cellphone). So regardless that you're paying a premium to maintain issues tremendous skinny and breezy, between the handset, the ability pack and Apple's newest earbuds, I actually respect the comfort for what is likely to be the last word light-weight journey equipment for iPhone devoted.
Wrap-up
Whereas the iPhone Air's thinness could also be its most putting high quality, it's abundantly clear that this handset is a lot greater than that. Not solely does this gadget signify a radical evolution of Apple's design chops, it compelled the corporate's engineers to give you extra power-efficient options to make all this potential. And in that respect, the iPhone Air is an enormous success. It's modern, it's quick and it's wildly trendy in a manner that each fashionistas and individuals who similar to packing mild can respect.
One attention-grabbing wrinkle in all of that is that the true potential of the Air's success won’t be really felt for an additional 12 months or two. Whereas Apple won’t need to say so simply but, I'm keen to wager that this gadget may even be the template for an upcoming foldable iPhone. You slap two Airs collectively, join them with a hinge and a versatile display screen and child you bought stew going. That stated, for followers of earlier Plus fashions, the Air's elevated value, smaller display screen and single rear cam actually aren't perfect. So long as you don't thoughts the shortage of additional lenses, for individuals who respect a strong however nonetheless eminently effervescent cell companion, the iPhone Air is in one other stratosphere.
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