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iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones
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The problem is the camera. Apple thought they could steal money from people by giving them inferior gear. I guess people voted with their wallets.
This is exactly the wrong take for manufacturers to have. It's not that the phone was a flop, it's that for a **** speaker and one camera, it should have cost $499. Maybe $799 because of the unique thinness or whatever.
Build an iPhone Air with two speakers, decent battery, and dual camera, price it at $999, and watch it take over the entire cellphone market.
Build an iPhone Air with two speakers, decent battery, and dual camera, price it at $999, and watch it take over the entire cellphone market.
Maybe we should recognize that Apple had a target audience in mind for the AIR which did NOT include folks needing the three lens camera system and 2TB of storage for the much larger images those generate.
A diversified product line to chase every free dollar is a smart move.
My requirements were not met by the iPhone Air but the iPhone Pro Max 2TB fills the bill.
Apple still won as they got a sale. Their bottom line improved slightly.
A diversified product line to chase every free dollar is a smart move.
My requirements were not met by the iPhone Air but the iPhone Pro Max 2TB fills the bill.
Apple still won as they got a sale. Their bottom line improved slightly.
Why has Apple never advertised the iPhone Air? How can people buy what they don’t know about?
Just last night I had a cashier ask what was up with my phone (an Air). She'd never heard of the thing.
You can't sell something that people don't know you're selling
Ultra-thin phones just have too many compromises: crappy battery life, overheat quickly when the CPU/GPU are pushed, and just one camera, and Apple has the balls to charge way too much for it.
If you could get a phone that thin with the same battery life as a pro max then fine, but that battery technology doesn't quite exist yet. Didn't exactly look great when Apple launched a new battery just for the Air, dead giveaway then it was too compromised.
I don't care for mini phones either, but Apple probably would have had more success with doing another small attempt than this thing.
If you could get a phone that thin with the same battery life as a pro max then fine, but that battery technology doesn't quite exist yet. Didn't exactly look great when Apple launched a new battery just for the Air, dead giveaway then it was too compromised.
I don't care for mini phones either, but Apple probably would have had more success with doing another small attempt than this thing.
Well it should NOT cause a retreat from good design.
It should cause a retreat from OVERPRICED phones that are missing standard features.
My iPhone Air is my favorite iPhone of the 18 I’ve had. But it’s overpriced and poorly positioned in the lineup. If there was no iPhone 17, and it were $200 cheaper, it would be selling like hotcakes. It has NOTHING to do with the design.
It should cause a retreat from OVERPRICED phones that are missing standard features.
My iPhone Air is my favorite iPhone of the 18 I’ve had. But it’s overpriced and poorly positioned in the lineup. If there was no iPhone 17, and it were $200 cheaper, it would be selling like hotcakes. It has NOTHING to do with the design.
The "googles" priced at over $3,500 kept the folks with less disposable income out of the purchase line and sales were not "out of this world" for this product. Apple spent lots of cash developing all the technology in this headset.
Same could be said about the iPhone Air.
It is over priced for what one gets. Glitz is not always going to sell, especially as the economy has softened.
Same could be said about the iPhone Air.
It is over priced for what one gets. Glitz is not always going to sell, especially as the economy has softened.
love the constant hit pieces. Funny thing is everyone that I see in the wild and ask "what do you think" say the same. They love it. Kind of reminds me when the AW came out. tons of hit articles saying no demand and flop etc. Time will tell. My guess it sells well this holiday.
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia.
Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production.
Apple supplier Foxconn has reportedly dismantled all of its production lines for the iPhone Air, while Luxshare, another supplier, stopped production at the end of October.
As a result of the device's poor reception among consumers, rival smartphone manufacturers including Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and others have either canned or adjusted their development plans for Air-style models, and reallocated eSIM solutions intended for the devices to other production lines.
Xiaomi reportedly planned a "true Air model" to rival Apple's offering, while Vivo targeted thinness within its mid-range S series. Both companies are now said to have halted related projects but have yet to officially comment.
Apple relied on the iPhone Air's new look to generate excitement – it's the first major redesign of the iPhone since the iPhone X introduced Face ID and an all-display front in 2017. However, achieving a super-thin 5.6 mm profile required trade-offs. The iPhone Air uses a smaller battery and a single rear camera, yet still carries a premium price.
Starting at $999, it seems too expensive for what many buyers view as style over substance. It sits only $100 below the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro, which offers a triple-lens camera system and far better battery life.
The tepid consumer response is also said to have forced Apple back to the drawing board: a report from The Information claims Apple has delayed the second-generation iPhone Air while it redesigns the device to potentially fit in a second camera and improve battery life.
Apparently it's been a similar story for Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge, the Korean company's equivalent ultra-thin offering. Samsung has reportedly cancelled the Galaxy S26 Edge and halted the production of the Galaxy S25 Edge, owing to poor sales.
(Via DigiTimes.)
Article Link: iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones
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I’d say in this case it DOES have something to do with the design as there are currently too many compromises due to the form factor. These types of design over form decisions aren’t new from Apple, but given how important the iPhone is to the company my guess is that it won’t take long for them to fix it.
In fact my conspiracy theory as to why the iPhone Air didn’t have a number attached to it is because they were likely anticipating some pushback and weren’t sure about an “iPhone 18 Air” to release alongside the rest of the lineup in 2026. Maybe we’ll see an iPhone 19 Air in 2027.
the iPhone 16e is apparently not doing so hot either, but I would think the 17e should be out fairly soon since it’s a tried and true formula. The numbering of that line was actually surprising to me as I would have thought they would have just kept the “SE” line going and release it every few years without a number attached to it.
I could have told them this for a $0 consultant fee. It has been years since I have heard from any of my friends that they want a thinner phone, specially being well-aware of the downsides that come with it: short battery life, lower sustained peaks of power/performance, and heat management issues.
Because it's hard to advertise a device that it's highlight is its thickness…
I think you already know the answer. They make more money selling the standard 17 Pro and Pro Max. The Air is a remarkable phone that is over priced for its feature set. I guess the idea of selling a 'boutique' iPhone has not caught on, although I know a few people who have bought it for that very reason. Better than a 'bling' case, I think.
The Air is, currently, form over function and the fact is that the technology is still not good enough to make a slim phone with all the features we expect and currently get in the chunky ugly phones like the 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max plus all the Android versions of the same design. Think the first portable phones and where we are now. At the moment we are still at the leading edge in what we can achieve with technology in a mobile device. I am looking forward to the day when I can have phone like the Air and not have the technical compromises our current technology forces on us.
Thing AIR iPhone with a case is probably a very nice fit.
Apple are doing a few things with this phone that they can do without big risk. There is no failure.
I do not understand the "bump" thing, you never look at it. Yes sitting flat on a table, it might cause it to rock and/or not lay flat, but a case probably fixes that, see first line.
I thought it would act as a secondary grip point if the phone ever slid down in the hand, but you never really look at it, ever, you're only ever looking at the screen. So for applicable aesthetics, I don't really think it applies!
The thinness looks great. Find the perfect case and you have the perfect iPhone AIR.
Think about it they reduced the final footprint/size in real terms because most people use cases and the phone will feel unusually light with a light case and still thiner than the rest. Nice work.
Apple just did something very interesting in that respect.
The iPhone 6-8/SE20-22 is a beautiful thing to hold in the hand, you never get to truly enjoy it's physical tactile form, because you are probably going to use a case, but find the right case and you still have a neat not to heavy, not to big phone.
Meanwhile you have a ton of other great iPhones to choose from if you do not like the V1 iPhone AIR, and they are selling well too by all accounts making the dough.
Spoilt for choice.
I rest my case 😉
Apple are doing a few things with this phone that they can do without big risk. There is no failure.
I do not understand the "bump" thing, you never look at it. Yes sitting flat on a table, it might cause it to rock and/or not lay flat, but a case probably fixes that, see first line.
I thought it would act as a secondary grip point if the phone ever slid down in the hand, but you never really look at it, ever, you're only ever looking at the screen. So for applicable aesthetics, I don't really think it applies!
The thinness looks great. Find the perfect case and you have the perfect iPhone AIR.
Think about it they reduced the final footprint/size in real terms because most people use cases and the phone will feel unusually light with a light case and still thiner than the rest. Nice work.
Apple just did something very interesting in that respect.
The iPhone 6-8/SE20-22 is a beautiful thing to hold in the hand, you never get to truly enjoy it's physical tactile form, because you are probably going to use a case, but find the right case and you still have a neat not to heavy, not to big phone.
Meanwhile you have a ton of other great iPhones to choose from if you do not like the V1 iPhone AIR, and they are selling well too by all accounts making the dough.
Spoilt for choice.
I rest my case 😉
There's always going to be a segment of people who have different priorities and are willing to pay for it. That's why there's handbags that cost as much as used cars. I think some of it is crazy, especially the people who do it just to show off, but I also think if I had a chance to carry around or drive one piece of art or engineering marvel that I would actually enjoy and love, I'd be willing to do the same.
As a company that has experience catering to that segment, Apple should have known to have more modest expectations as to just how many people would go for this. Perhaps they should actually have made it even more expensive and used more exciting materials to make it more alluring and prestigious. On the other hand, I also wonder just how low the sales were to be "disappointing." It's possible the numbers would have been thought of as successful by other phone manufacturers. Apple is just so huge now.