iPhone 17 iPhone Air a Flop, 17 Pro a Massive Hit

[ThomasJL]

The Air is selling worse than the 16 Plus in the same time frame.

Regarding the iPhone Air, Tim Cook is so clueless and mediocre, that he's oblivious to the fact that users who prefer a light phone, do so for reasons related to hand comfort. Making a phone light while being too wide defeats the purpose because it being too wide negates the benefit of it being light.

Also, America is not the world. In much of the world, people still use SIM cards, not eSIM. Cook is too clueless to understand that too. He thinks he's being innovative like Steve Jobs by getting rid of longstanding things, but he's not. When Jobs got rid of the floppy drive, it was replaced with something better and widely available. When Cook gets rid of the headphone jack and SIM card slot, he's just being trying to maximize profits.

Cook is just a bean counter, so he doesn't care about functionality.

 

[bbarras]

I have had my Air since pre-ordering it and have been pleased with it so far. It is my primary iPhone.

I could care less what the sales data have to put out with regards to percentages of sales for each device. I look at which device “works” for my use case. To me this is what matters . . .

EXACTLY !! The only thing that matters is that I love my product. I needed a sleek and stylish APPLE phone where the cmaera wasn't the main focus!! No issue here.

 

[bbarras]

Unfortunately, it means no subsequent updates for that form factor.

RIP iPhone mini

Actually, i think they will release another version. This wasn't a 1-hit wonder. JMO-

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Well at least they tried something new. With the mini and plus it was just a boring size difference.

Is the Air not just an iPhone with a size difference though, like being thinner across 3/4 of the body?

 

[Paul1964]

So Apple sold about 247.5 million iPhones in 2025. 6% of that is 14,850,000 iPhone Airs. Not that shabby really for a total failure. Very happy with mine.

Actually no. That's 247.5 million for the whole of the year. The 6% would only be for Q4 - so maybe "only" 3,712,500 - that's still a respectable number though.

 

[MarkX]

Is the Air not just an iPhone with a size difference though, like being thinner across 3/4 of the body?

Exactly.

Other than being thin it's nothing special or different.

 

[Paul1964]

Exactly.

Other than being thin it's nothing special or different.

Yep - you pay more than the standard iPhone to get less. Still, if someone prefers form over function then that's their choice.

I'll stick with my function over form 17 Pro Max.

 

[toto75]

The Air got a 250€ reduction in my country, and is being sold for the same price as the 17. Which would you go for?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

The Air got a 250€ reduction in my country, and is being sold for the same price as the 17. Which would you go for?

The 17 for me hands down due to the better camera and battery life.

 

[Wando64]

First quarter sales are in from CIRP.

My main takeaways:

I am late to this thread, but:

The chart only shows iPhones sales % for the US market (i.e. approx 28% of worldwide iPhone sales).
The chart doesn't say anything about how it translates into actual units sold.

But also, most importantly, I am not sure what point you are trying to make.
The iPhone Air has sold considerably more units that the Mac Mini during the same period, and we can safely assume that it grossed a significantly larger amount of revenue.
Does that make the Mac Mini an even greater failure?
What about the Mac Studio, with approx 3% of Mac share?
Should Apple stop producing it immediately?
Or could it be that both the Mac Mini and the iPhone Air are serving strategic shares of the market in which Apple wants to be a player?
What I am trying to say is that units sold for a particular product sometimes are secondary to the larger strategic goals of a corporation.

 

[bbates123]

Yep - you pay more than the standard iPhone to get less. Still, if someone prefers form over function then that's their choice.

I'll stick with my function over form 17 Pro Max.

It's not just form over function. For people who prefer thin/light that is justifiably a reason for buying, just like having 3 cameras would be. I would never want to carry around a Pro Max, I even hated my 16 Pro because it was too chunky and heavy. Even my wife's base 16 seems heavy by comparison now. Thankfully we have options.

 

[tomtad]

I just don't know what Apple was thinking with the Air, it was clear it would bomb based solely on them charging more for a device with less battery, cameras and speakers than a regular iPhone. Bizarre marketing decision and the only thing I can think of is it was a way to begin getting a return for the R&D for parts developed for the Fold.

My prediction is the Air is dead, it will not see a second model.

What you will see is a discount in September to start shifting some of the existing stock and the early 2027, you'll see an Air 'inspired' regular iPhone 18 (think plateau but thicker and with 2 cameras and speakers) replace both the 17 and the Air, and this experiment will be quietly forgotten about. The iPhone E will then essentially be what was the iPhone 17.

It will also be the end of the larger non Pro model. The future iPhone line up will be:

iPhone E - iPhone (regular) - iPhone Pro - iPhone Pro Max - iPhone Fold

 

[tomtad]

17 Pro is the best so far. But do you know what is an actual hit? An iPhone 17, regular model, very underrated phone. It costs similarly to original iPhones yet packs a punch: 2 cameras and multiple virtual lenses, fast processor (smokes all the competitors and especially puts Pixel 10 to hall of shame), actually GOOD color options (hello space gray!!), magsafe, 120hz display with PWM control, doesn't have any of the weird features of Pro models like a huge "plateau" with vapor chamber and no stupid LIDAR sensor that often makes it impossible to focus on smth. A real bang for a buck, and by choosing it you still got enough money to buy an iPad Air as a companion device to scroll webpages easier for your eyes.

iPhone Air is more like an experiment (but who asked for it?). Same will happen to iPhone Fold or whatever name they choose for it, it will be a very niche/geek device not meant for 95% of consumers who just want something that slides into their pocket, scrolls Instagram, makes calls and works with AI chatbot assistants

I think you'll see the regular model beating the Pro in the next quarter. Supply was very constrained on the regular due to the unexpected demand for this model, I had to wait months to get hold of mine.

 

[JPack]

I am late to this thread, but:

The chart only shows iPhones sales % for the US market (i.e. approx 28% of worldwide iPhone sales).
The chart doesn't say anything about how it translates into actual units sold.

But also, most importantly, I am not sure what point you are trying to make.
The iPhone Air has sold considerably more units that the Mac Mini during the same period, and we can safely assume that it grossed a significantly larger amount of revenue.
Does that make the Mac Mini an even greater failure?
What about the Mac Studio, with approx 3% of Mac share?
Should Apple stop producing it immediately?
Or could it be that both the Mac Mini and the iPhone Air are serving strategic shares of the market in which Apple wants to be a player?
What I am trying to say is that units sold for a particular product sometimes are secondary to the larger strategic goals of a corporation.

Mac mini has a clear reason for existence. iOS app development requires a Mac: to sell the iPhone ecosystem, Apple needs a cheap Mac. The same is true for developers who want to create and test multiple complex iOS and iPadOS apps. They need Mac Studio.

So what’s the strategic reason for iPhone Air to continue to exist?

 

[Paul1964]

So what’s the strategic reason for iPhone Air to continue to exist?

To serve the form over function market. 😉

 

[mjschabow]

I'm still a firm believer that if I'm already paying a grand for a phone, I might as well dish out a couple extra hundred dollars to have the very best of the best when it comes to camera, battery, etc. So always Pro Max for me

 

[snipr125]

Mac mini has a clear reason for existence. iOS app development requires a Mac: to sell the iPhone ecosystem, Apple needs a cheap Mac. The same is true for developers who want to create and test multiple complex iOS and iPadOS apps. They need Mac Studio.

So what’s the strategic reason for iPhone Air to continue to exist?

Well in this case to allow Apple to artificially increase the price of the base iPhone 17 Pro by £100! The Pro got a £100 increase for its 256GB bump, but the base 17 model did not.

 

[ericgedi77]

I'm still a firm believer that if I'm already paying a grand for a phone, I might as well dish out a couple extra hundred dollars to have the very best of the best when it comes to camera, battery, etc. So always Pro Max for me

This was me too. Till I realized I wasn't using any of those pro features. I upgraded from a 15PM to an Air and love it. It serves all my smart phone needs.

 

[JPack]

Well in this case to allow Apple to artificially increase the price of the base iPhone 17 Pro by £100! The Pro got a £100 increase for its 256GB bump, but the base 17 model did not.

I’ve always said Air is an iPhone for Apple by Apple.

Apple engineers relished the fact they could work on a prestige, form over function project. Only they could create something so thin.

Apple execs thought, “We’ve been doing this all wrong. Why sell iPhone 16 Pro for $999 when we can sell them fewer pricy components for the same $999 but focus on “design”? Those fools will lap that up!”

So it’s no surprise they green lit this in the boardroom.

 

[nkgmd]

I’m bristling a bit at the form over function argument. I got the Air to replace my 16 Pro Max and I don’t feel like I’ve sacrificed any significant amount of function. I have all day battery life, the fastest newest processor, highest quality and almost largest screen, a camera that takes beautiful photos and videos, and amazing sound quality. And my phone is half the thickness and much lighter than a pro so it doesn’t pull my pants down when I’m not using any of those things. And I saved a couple hundred bucks to boot.

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

I really think from here on out when it comes to the Iphone, I will prefer the "e" or the "Air" line. Something about not having the "common iphone" appeals to me.

 

[mjschabow]

This was me too. Till I realized I wasn't using any of those pro features. I upgraded from a 15PM to an Air and love it. It serves all my smart phone needs.

Definitely happy for you because I cannot live without a good telephoto lens.

 

[ericgedi77]

Definitely happy for you because I cannot live without a good telephoto lens.

I have a camera for that.

 

[maerz001]

Even my wife's base 16 seems heavy by comparison now. Thankfully we have options.

i guess its more of a psychological trick. The difference is only 5 grams. even a thin lightweight case weighs more than that

 

[bevsb2]

i guess its more of a psychological trick. The difference is only 5 grams. even a thin lightweight case weighs more than that

I think it's the balance of the phone in hand. I have an Air and a Mini12 that weighs less, but the Air feels lighter in my hand.