iPhone Air Said to Be Roughly Twice as Popular as iPhone 16 Plus

[MacRumors]

While it certainly has its critics, the iPhone Air appears to have validated Apple's decision to retire the iPhone Plus, if new results from an independent analysis are anything to go by.

Crowdsourced Speedtest data published by Ookla suggests the iPhone Air captured 6.8 percent of iPhone 17 generation samples in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2025, up from the 2.9 percent share the iPhone 16 Plus managed in the same launch window a year earlier.

However, the gains seem to have come at the iPhone 17 Pro's expense. The latter model's share fell from 34.9 percent to 30.6 percent year over year, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max remained essentially flat at 55.5 percent. The figures suggest that roughly 4 percent of buyers were willing to trade the better camera and processing power of the smaller iPhone 17 Pro model for the Air's thinner chassis.

Apple has had several attempts at making a differentiated fourth iPhone model work. The iPhone mini under-performed over two iterations, while the iPhone 14/15/16 Plus – with its larger screen but without the Pro Max's premium features – fared worse, and neither carved out anything more than a niche fan base. In contrast, the iPhone Air has done what those models couldn't, at least in its opening months of availability.

Based on Ookla's data, adoption of Apple's ultra-thin device was even stronger abroad, with the Air taking 11.2 percent share in South Korea, 8.9 percent in Japan, and 8.4 percent in Singapore.

Separately, Ookla's testing found that Apple's in-house C1X modem in the iPhone Air has reached effective download parity with the Qualcomm X80 in the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and beat it on latency in 19 of 22 analyzed markets. Upload speeds are still Qualcomm's advantage, however, with the X80 holding up to a 32 percent lead in some regions – a gap Ookla attributes to more mature Uplink Carrier Aggregation (UL-CA).

For all the details, check out Ookla's full report.

Article Link: iPhone Air Said to Be Roughly Twice as Popular as iPhone 16 Plus

 

[MacUserFella]

What? But it’s not April Fool’s Day yet

 

[WB2Colorado]

I love my Air, I just wish it had the ultra wide camera, then it’d be perfect

 

[dannys1]

I mean i’m looking at someone that owns an Air right now and I’ve never known anyone to own any of the forgettable budget devices.

The Air is special, it’s lovely to hold and use. I love niche devices that offer something different, not just cheaper contents of the more expensive version like the others have

 

[mikethebigo]

I would have stuck with an Air over the Pro if the Air had stereo speakers. Can definitely see it eating into Pro sales.

 

[joshwithachance]

It's the most exciting and awe-inspiring iPhone announced in September. And since the X imo.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Glad to read that! I've yet to see an Air in person (not that I pay that much attention to what phone a person is using), but I still think it's the best looking phone in the lineup.

Not hard considering the 17 Pro and Pro Max with its Pangea-sized "bump". I have seen those, and no thank you.

 

[Zenman12]

I doubt. It hasn’t been selling well.

It’s a novel poshy thing to care about how thin a phone is. Most people want a phone that works and has longer battery life, better camera, etc. They will choose that over “THINNEST MODEL EVAR!!!!!” For most, people don’t want a phone with the thickness of paper.

 

[MarkNewton2023]

iPhone air is indeed an attractive beautiful product due its thinnest body. I love the design. If I were in the market for the features it offers, I would have been sure to get it.

 

[jclardy]

Makes sense, the budget consumer isn't going to upsell to a device with lesser battery life and fewer cameras. So the Air market is taking away from Pro sales.

 

[skoodlyboop]

Loving my Air! The modem's performance at cell edge is substantially better than the Qualcomm X60 in my last iPhone (especially upload, which is usually the bigger bottleneck, especially on AT&T).

 

[Tagbert]

I doubt. It hasn’t been selling well.

It’s a novel poshy thing to care about how thin a phone is. Most people want a phone that works and has longer battery life, better camera, etc. They will choose that over “THINNEST MODEL EVAR!!!!!” For most, people don’t want a phone with the thickness of paper.

Not all of us are yearning for more battery life. Even the Air has good battery life equivalent to the iPhone 16 Pro which was no battery slouch.

The Air doesn't have to sell to "most people". That is the job of the regular and pro phones. The Air just has to appeal to enough of a subset to be worth the effort for Apple.

 

[HouseLannister]

"Roughly twice" 2.9%? And wasn't the Mini about 3% as well? The Air is doing better, but still not fantastic and far from the limited 8-10% Apple was hoping it would nab. Meanwhile foldables account for 2.5% of total smartphone shipments. Apple seems to keep going after smaller submarkets hoping to turn a niche form factor into an overnight success. Hasn't happened yet, but I wish them luck with the Fold.

 

[iPadFan2010]

I doubt. It hasn’t been selling well.

It’s a novel poshy thing to care about how thin a phone is. Most people want a phone that works and has longer battery life, better camera, etc. They will choose that over “THINNEST MODEL EVAR!!!!!” For most, people don’t want a phone with the thickness of paper.

It's actually selling better than expected. I got one too, and I love it, and just found out a friend of mine did as well a few days later. I think it's more liked then you realize.

 

[Entilzha]

I freely admit that if the Air had two camera sensors, I might have gone for it.

Sadly, I take a lot of close-up photos and the lack was a complete dealbreaker.

 

[Jay Bly]

I was on a trip this week. And I saw three in the wild. I think if it was a little more moderately priced, it would definitely fit in with my life.

 

[svish]

Interesting. With an additional camera lens it will sell much better. A $100 reduction in price will also help to improve the sales. Will be good if these changes are implemented in the next version.

 

[Zaft]

I definitely enjoy mine. But most people don’t care I think about how thin a phone is at this point.

 

[Ct applefan]

Have yet to see an Air in the wild.

 

[MayaUser]

I would have stuck with an Air over the Pro if the Air had stereo speakers. Can definitely see it eating into Pro sales.

March 2027 will be the air 2

 

[19callum93]

I’ve had every Pro iPhone since the 11 Pro, and I sold my 17 Pro Max for the Air. It was the best decision I’ve made! The Air is literally refreshing. I love it!

 

[zman4634]

I absolutely LOVE my iPhone Air. One of my favorite iPhones ever at launch, up there with the iPhone X. Been using a Pro Max since the iPhone 13 series and fell in love with a giant screen and strong battery life. Contrary to what the naysayers say, this has battery life on par with my iPhone 15 Pro Max on iOS 26.

Yes, there are tradeoffs. Would love an additional camera and the speaker isn’t nearly as loud as other iPhones. But to me, PERSONALLY, the way it feels in the hand I don’t think I could ever go back. Held my wife’s iPhone 16 Pro the other day and it felt like a brick.

Again, this phone isn’t for everyone - but it’s absolutely perfect for ME.

 

[dypeterc]

I would have stuck with an Air over the Pro if the Air had stereo speakers. Can definitely see it eating into Pro sales.

Don't be one of those people listening to their device out in public. Who needs stereo speakers when you can get better audio via headphones?

 

[switz]

If the "iPhone Air" had a SIM card slot, I would spend the money for one as my international travel iPhone. So, I continue to use my iPhone 12 mini 512GB with SIM card slot for international travel.

 

[erasr]

I doubt. It hasn’t been selling well.

It’s a novel poshy thing to care about how thin a phone is. Most people want a phone that works and has longer battery life, better camera, etc. They will choose that over “THINNEST MODEL EVAR!!!!!” For most, people don’t want a phone with the thickness of paper.

Where is your data confirm from on that market research?

Apple should be hiring you as lead product designer!