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Apple's iPhone Air Experiment Fails as Supply Chain Cuts Production by 80%

Not hard to see why the iPhone Air failed. It’s an objectively terrible phone. The thinness of a phone is its thickest part. There’s nothing thin about iPhone Air when the camera bump more than doubles it's width and they have to compromise it's specs just for some marketing gimmick.
 
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Interestingly, rumors has it that the iPhone 18 "regular" model may borrow a lot of the technology from the iPhone Air, but the phone will be a bit thicker to accommodate a bigger battery in the 3,800 to 3,900 mAh range. With the larger camera bump available on the regular iPhone, most of the electronics can be inside the "bump" and they could apply what amounts to a "thicker" iPhone Air design so it accommodates the dual speakers on the bottom like we see in the regular iPhone 17.
 
SactoGuy18 said:
Interestingly, rumors has it that the iPhone 18 "regular" model may borrow a lot of the technology from the iPhone Air, but the phone will be a bit thicker to accommodate a bigger battery in the 3,800 to 3,900 mAh range. With the larger camera bump available on the regular iPhone, most of the electronics can be inside the "bump" and they could apply what amounts to a "thicker" iPhone Air design so it accommodates the dual speakers on the bottom like we see in the regular iPhone 17.
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There's no real breakthrough technology in the Air.

If you look at teardowns, only the A19 SoC is in the Air camera plateau. There's some misconception the entire logic board is up there and it's not. If you have a second camera, the A19 cannot fit there.
 
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Steve Jobs once said design is not only how it looks, but how it works. This phone is form over function, that’s why it’s not selling well. Also, too pricey for the features it is offering, they just repeated the same mistake they made with the mini. 200 bucks less and people might actually try them.
 
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tomtad said:
Worth noting the first MacBook Air bombed. It was only when it was repositioned as the regular MacBook that it took off, again there's not much of a market for paying more for less, even with a cool form factor. Winding further back you then have the Power Mac G4 Cube, you guessed it, a failure because it cost more than Power Mac and came with less power and features. But damn it did look absolutely gorgeous.

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I found a far better use for the G4 Cube! :)

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tomtad said:
Worth noting the first MacBook Air bombed. It was only when it was repositioned as the regular MacBook that it took off, again there's not much of a market for paying more for less, even with a cool form factor. Winding further back you then have the Power Mac G4 Cube, you guessed it, a failure because it cost more than Power Mac and came with less power and features. But damn it did look absolutely gorgeous.

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I absolutely love that!
 
Come on, Macrumors. iPhone Air customers already read a couple disparaging articles about their choice today. We don't need more salt in the wound.
 
rchaser said:
No one needs a folding phone. There is zero justification to pay a premium for a made up solution. Hobbyists desires do not represent the market or real world demand.

The LARPing is out of control.

In the years ahead we'll all look back at the fad of foldable devices. It's technology for the sake of technology. It solves exactly zero problems. The public is not going to adopt $2000 foldable phones with no protective case. Zero research needed.
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No one needs anything but a flip phone if that's the argument.

A foldable phone has many practical benefits just due to a potentially ipad-mini sized screen and possible use of ipad apps to enhance functionality of mobile professionals, and even just the average Joe. I do think a foldable phone will be reasonably popular given its practical improvement as a new form factor for Apple. whereas a lighter weight and thinness, while nice, aren't worth the tradeoffs as it provides no new benefits as a tool.
 
tomtad said:
Then why market it with a battery pack? Clearly your average consumer sees that, along with the reported battery life numbers Apple provides (the worst of the 17 line up), and is turned off by it.
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Look at the tests, the Air doesn't need a battery pack, it has exactly the same battery life as the 17, which is a great result for such a thin device. The battery pack was an option to extend the battery life, but the internet took it to mean that the battery was bad. No, it's not, it lasts all day. Yes, Apple should have known better than to present this directly in the keynote; it was a fail and the Air's reputation took a hit. I got the Air in the Czech Republic on the first day, and to this day, the Pro is still unavailable.
 
iName said:
At that price point, very few people are going to be willing to compromise on the 2 most important phone features: camera and battery life.
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This is why I am so glad I got the iPhone 16 Plus instead. Yes, it is a tad heavy, but at least I get a phone with decently long battery life per charge and I have both regular and wide-angle camera sensors on the phone in addition to the big 6.7" display.
 
Returned Air for Pro, loved the form factor, not keen on the speaker or camera. If they’d squeezed in 2 cameras and a second speaker I think it would probably have been a winner. Just a tiny bit too restrictive. I hope we get a second gen.
 
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