Welcome to the period of skinny smartphones (whether or not you need it or not)

We knew it was coming, and now it’s right here. The iPhone Air, as rumored, is simply 5.6mm thick and has fewer options than the bottom iPhone 17, which is $200 cheaper. Certain, it’s not the primary slimline reinterpretation of a significant smartphone — Samsung beat Apple to the punch with the Galaxy S25 Edge earlier this 12 months — however the affect of Apple can’t be underestimated. It’s too early to inform if the iPhone Air will shake up smartphones because the MacBook Air did with laptops, nevertheless it’s positively a safer evolution. And hey, maybe the iPhone Air is merely a pit-stop on the way in which to the primary Apple foldable.

Let’s return to 2008. With the MacBook Air, Apple ditched the optical disc drive and plenty of ports, resulting in a tool that was so skinny Steve Jobs pulled it out of a manila envelope when he first revealed it. The primary MBA had some points; it was underpowered, used a tiny and gradual exhausting drive and battery life was fairly terrible. However Apple refined the method, which led to numerous slimmed-down laptops and even a brand new class, the ultraportable.

Sadly, Apple didn’t work out an equally iconic option to reveal its tremendous slim iPhone. In reality, it dropped it in a rigorously ready advertising and marketing video, presumably in a bid to indicate off how assured it’s with the hardiness of the iPhone Air. But it surely felt like Apple making an attempt to assuage sturdiness fears in a approach that does not actually work, since this was simply a part of a carefully-manicured advertising and marketing promotion.

That’s considered one of two issues for thinner telephones: sturdiness. Apple’s iPhone Air has a body constructed from recycled titanium – beforehand an iPhone Professional characteristic. The Air additionally has the corporate’s Ceramic Defend, which Apple says is now 3x extra scratch-resistant than previous variations. It seems like Apple has engineered a telephone much less more likely to get broken. And naturally, the corporate is completely happy to supply a super-slim 1mm case for the paranoid amongst us.

The opposite concern is battery life. A slimmer profile in a smartphone means much less area for the battery. Apple claims that the iPhone Air’s inside structure “maximizes area for the battery,” however the firm doesn’t share particular battery capability figures. Regardless, Apple says the iPhone Air will ship “all-day battery life,” which stays massively subjective.

Apple additionally introduced a brand new $99 MagSafe charging pack to make sure the iPhone Air can play again video for as much as 40 hours. However that charging puck appears even thicker than the digicam unit — with the 2 gadgets mixed, that is not a superthin smartphone, it is an iPhone 17 with one digicam. The truth that it exists in any respect ought to give folks pause in regards to the Air’s longevity.

Additionally: that huge outdated digicam module. Samsung’s S25 Edge has a 5.8mm thick physique, however for those who rely the digicam, it is nearer to 10mm. The iPhone Air is thinner than the S25 Edge, at 5.6mm. However the digicam “plateau” provides a big width on prime of that, though Apple hasn’t stated simply how thick it’s. Judging by pictures, it could possibly be nearly twice as thick because the iPhone Air’s physique alone.

In comparison with the MacBook Air, the iPhone Air is unlikely to shake up the world of smartphones. Whereas filled with tech upgrades, there’s nothing revolutionary. For instance, the iPhone Air nonetheless has a USB-C port – early rumors instructed it would ditch all ports for wi-fi connections and charging. That single digicam will in all probability take nice pictures, however the utility could also be restricted and not using a devoted telephoto lens — a degree I have been emphasizing. Samsung’s S25 Edge tried to handle that with a 200-megapixel digicam, permitting for substantial digital zoom by cropping in.

Regardless of these potential pitfalls, I’m intrigued to see how the iPhone Air fares. I’ve typically returned to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, merely due to the lighter, slimmer profile. The weaknesses of slimmer smartphones I’ve outlined right here didn’t end in a foul telephone. Like Sam Rutherford put in his review, the S25 Edge is arguably a greater telephone than the S25+.

Are folks determined for a thinner smartphone? The $999 iPhone Air is cleverly priced between the bottom iPhone 17 ($799) and the iPhone 17 Professional ($1,099), and the dearth of a plus mannequin simply may push folks in direction of the Air.

I believe there’s a spot for the iPhone Air. It’s lighter, it’ll slot in pockets higher and it’ll have all of the options of iOS 26 at a time when new performance has shifted from {hardware} to software program. Apple has tried to handle most of the issues with superslim telephones, however the true check of battery longevity and sturdiness will include a couple of months of use.