The iPhone Air Might Set off a Skinny Telephone Avalanche

The largest announcement popping out of the iPhone 17 collection’ launch occasion earlier this week wasn’t about essentially the most highly effective iPhone but — it was for the thinnest. At 5.6mm, or lower than 1 / 4 of an inch, the iPhone Air stole the present. And despite the fact that it was removed from the primary mainstream “thin phone,” it might simply kick off the development in a serious method within the years to come back.

There’s a long-running sentiment within the cell business round Apple’s affect on telephone tendencies: Once the iPhone-maker makes a powerful design alternative, different corporations comply with. That was true in 2007 when the corporate debuted the unique iPhone (and others adopted the entrance glass touchscreen design), true when the iPad debuted to popularize the pill format and was sadly true when it removed the headphone jack. 

So the large query is: Will the iPhone Air make skinny telephones mainstream? Probably not, says CNET Senior Technology Reporter Abrar Al-Heeti, who was on the bottom at Apple headquarters for the launch occasion and received hands-on time with the brand new, skinny iPhone. But now, the skinny telephone area of interest is being strengthened by a model with among the most loyal followers.

“Apple isn’t necessarily setting a trend with the iPhone Air, since so many phone manufacturers have already developed thin phones,” Al-Heeti mentioned. “But it may have legitimized the form factor among people who have wanted a thin phone and sworn allegiance to Apple’s products.”

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There are a pair causes Apple would make a skinny iPhone. The most evident: The firm believes customers need one. It would not be alone in that considering, as Samsung debuted its Galaxy S25 Edge earlier this yr. We’re nonetheless ready for official gross sales tallies to see if patrons had been desirous to go for a 5.8mm telephone over its 7.2mm and thicker S25 collection siblings. Leaked information suggests gross sales had been underwhelming, in line with The Elec, however Al-Heeti discovered that, “I’ve grown so used to its thin, lightweight design that holding any other phone feels like a drag.”

The iPhone Air is the most important redesign to the iPhone in a while, and judging by the X-ray cutaways of the brand new machine in the course of the launch occasion, Apple has carried out some technical wizardry in cramming almost all of the chips and {hardware} into the highest of the telephone to realize its 5.6mm profile. Aesthetically, it is a new web page within the firm’s product e book, a method for Apple to enchantment to a different subsegment of consumers, mentioned Nabila Popal, senior director of the International Data Corporation’s knowledge and analytics workforce.

“The iPhone Air is Apple’s thinnest phone ever and its boldest design move since the iPhone X,” Popal mentioned. “It will draw in users who love leek aesthetics, while the Pro lineup takes the crown for majority of users prioritizing battery and camera performance.” 

Analysts I spoke to agreed that the iPhone Air serves just a few functions, from changing the iPhone 16 Plus with a extra premium alternative in Apple’s lineup to serving as a showcase machine for the corporate’s rising applied sciences (like its in-house C1X modem and N1 connectivity chip). But in addition they pushed again on the concept that the iPhone Air would open the floodgates for thinner telephones.

“I think we knew thin and light phones were going to be coming regardless of Apple’s launch,” mentioned Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.

What function does the iPhone Air play?

Thus far, the iPhone Air and Galaxy S25 Edge have each been slotted into the center of their lineups, providing an aesthetic alternative that however had slight specs upgrades over their customary iPhone 17 and Galaxy S25 siblings, respectively. They are the novelties in the course of more-of-the-same, and maybe arrive on the proper time amid not a lot different innovation.

This iPhone era is much less about introducing breakthrough specs and extra about cleverly rearranging the worth bands and distinguishing the design variations at every tier, mentioned Counterpoint Research Associate Director David Naranjo.

“The iPhone Air is the wild card — if it resonates, Apple widens the premium middle and lifts the margin mix without needing a Pro-class camera across the board,” Naranjo mentioned.

That single 48-megapixel digicam on the again of the iPhone Air is its largest apparent deficiency. (We’ll watch for our full evaluation to see how different elements like its battery life and efficiency measure up.) At $999 to begin, it has the same solo digicam setup because the $599 iPhone 16E. Even the Galaxy S25 Edge managed to retain an ultrawide rear digicam. Clearly, there is a value to pay for going skinny.

“I just think that this first generation of really thin phones make lots of compromises, whether it’s on battery capacity or camera configuration that I hope will be resolved with time,” Sag mentioned. “Much like we’ve seen on foldables.”

Sag is bullish that the Air will promote exceptionally effectively, and believes that its digicam and battery capabilities will enhance with time. In some methods, it nonetheless is a first-generation machine, and later years’ Air units could handle to cram in additional cameras and battery capability. 

Apple is working into the identical design constraints as different phone-makers who’ve tried to make skinny handsets previously, identified Avi Greengart, president and lead analyst at Techspontential. He pointed to the modular Motorola Moto Z that launched in 2016, which was 5.2mm thick by itself however wanted its magnetic battery accent clipped to the again that added bulk: “Without that accessory, the Moto Z was too compromised, and it didn’t sell well,” Greengart mentioned.

Battery life has been the chief concern for skinny telephones. Losing house inside a telephone means one thing has to provide, and that is assumed to have been battery capability. Though they’ve the identical measurement display, the Galaxy S25 Plus has a 4,900 mAh battery whereas the skinny Galaxy S25 Edge’s is 3,900 mAh. For its half, Apple would not share specifics on capability. But in the course of the iPhone 17 launch occasion, the corporate promised the iPhone Air would have all-day battery life… after which instantly launched a MagSafe charging pack. That received fun out of the attending press within the viewers.

Whether or not the iPhone Air sells at mass volumes, it does open up alternatives for Apple — not only for a brand new buyer subset, however for no matter Apple could be engaged on. IDC’s Popal explicitly famous that the thinner telephone’s design paves “the road to a foldable iPhone possibly next year.” She’s not alone in considering so.

“I think a lot of these thin phones are much more an engineering exercise to enable better foldables,” mentioned Sag.

Does the iPhone Air lay groundwork for the iPhone Flip?

Apple has reportedly been engaged on a foldable iPhone, generally known as the iPhone Flip, since doubtlessly earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. While the primary foldable telephones debuted that yr from Samsung and Motorola, they had been in tough form, however subsequent iterations over time elevated their sturdiness and options. While leaks and rumors counsel Apple has been working towards its personal folding machine, a few of these early studies declare the lack to cut back the on-screen crease, the place it folds, has delayed its launch.

Screen tech apart, the iPhone Air does seem to be a stepping stone to an iPhone Flip, which is rumored to be a clamshell foldable just like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7. Relocating a lot of the {hardware} to the highest half of the brand new iPhone is one thing that seems to be the favored method for corporations to put out the internals of their clamshell foldables — simply have a look at iFixit’s Z Flip 6 teardown, the place the underside half of the machine is actually simply the bigger battery pack (a smaller one is paired with the chips and most {hardware} within the prime half). 

Getting the iPhone Air down to five.6mm thick can be necessary for ensuring a folded-up iPhone Flip is not too cumbersome. Recent book-style foldables launched this yr have been thinner than ever: The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is barely 8.9mm when folded shut (or 4.2mm when unfolded), whereas the Oppo Find N5 is roughly similar at 8.93mm thick when folded (or 4.21mm when unfolded flat). Even the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is not a lot thicker at 10.8mm when folded closed (or 5.2mm when unfolded).

Thus, Apple has good purpose to trim away on the thickness of its iPhones, even when gross sales do not take off for this primary era of the iPhone Air. But past making a marketable product out of R&D milestones, it is also an experiment, of types, to see if customers will probably be entranced sufficient by thinness alone.

“Apple is betting that advanced materials, eSIM, and more efficient silicon now enable a smartphone experience good enough to allow consumers’ emotional decision making to take over,” Techsponential’s Greengart mentioned. “Super-thin, super-dense phones like the iPhone Air and Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge feel extremely nice.”