Apple has officially unveiled the iPhone Air, its slimmest smartphone yet, measuring just 5.64mm in thickness.
While the sleek design has captured attention, it comes at a cost. Much like Apple’s past design experiments—such as the butterfly keyboard and bend-prone iPhones—the iPhone Air appears to sacrifice practicality for aesthetics.
One of the biggest trade-offs is the battery life. The iPhone Air houses a 3,149mAh battery, smaller than the iPhone 17’s 3,692mAh and significantly less than the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s 4,832mAh. As a result, endurance is slightly reduced, lasting around 40 hours on a single charge compared to 41 hours for the standard model and 53 hours for the Pro Max. Charging is also slower, taking 30 minutes to reach 50% compared to 20 minutes on other models.
Another compromise lies in the display. The iPhone Air comes with a 6.5-inch screen—smaller than the 6.7-inch and 6.9-inch panels of the Plus and Pro Max models. Apple retained a titanium frame for added durability, but the slim profile may have limited display size options.
Photography enthusiasts may also feel shortchanged. The camera setup is limited to a single rear lens with a smaller sensor than the Pro models. Features like LiDAR, telephoto, and ultra-wide lenses are missing, and video capture is capped at 4K 60fps without ProRes support.
The performance story is also puzzling. While Apple labels the Air’s chipset as a “Pro” variant, it falls slightly short of the iPhone 17 Pro’s GPU power. The device also lacks the faster USB 3.0 port, limiting professional workflows such as recording directly to external drives.
Other omissions include stereo speakers and dedicated durability features, with Apple even reintroducing protective bumpers for the Air.
In short, the iPhone Air may appeal to users prioritizing design and portability, but heavy users could find its compromises restrictive. Apple’s ultra-slim phone raises a key question: has the company sacrificed too much in its pursuit of elegance?