The MacRumors Show: iPhone Air Is in Trouble

[KilikFr]

whoever buys it over the iphone 17....i don't know what to tell them lol. It's just a bad purchase, no other way around it.

I carry two phones and love the air. If I only had to pick one phone the single camera and lack of second speaker would be a deal breaker. Battery life has been much better than I expected.

Still I absolutely love it and using it is a joy. As some other poster mentioned it's like the sports car of phones. It's not the most practical and it's hard to live with it as your only phone, but when you use it it puts a smile in your face.

 

[darthbane2k]

Ok, fine. The Airs a flop. So can Apple now focus on fixing the ergonomics of the Pro Max model? Because right now it’s borderline unusable as a phone but just fine as a two handed mini tablet. The weight is also unacceptable.

 

[Ostagazuzulum]

Add another camera and speaker, drop the price, and Apple is likely to make more sales.

 

[maximit]

For everyone talking about the battery life take at look at this video. Basically what Im seeing in real life, no problems at all with a battery that lasts all day easily, and longer lasting than iPhone 17 model!

 

[Gotword]

The price is the problem.
If the Air becomes the new budget iPhone. It will sell insanely amazing.

Battery life is the main thing everyone wants across all brands hence why the edge is also down, but the form factor of these to thin phones in your hand is not great they are awkward to hold. Apple didn't learn from mini where price point killed it also being same price as reg iphone

 

[danny842003]

As for the extra cost, having a powerful iPhone that is light and easy to handle, especially in contrast to those brick-like iPhone Pros, to me it's worth it. I do miss that array of cameras that I rarely used, but so far this single camera has been working very well for me. And don't forget, with the higher density sensor, going from the 2x optical zoom to 4X or even 6X Digital zoom still yields a good picture for most of us non professionals. At least that's my experience.

By the way, there is some belief that once word gets out from iPhone Air users, sales will improve. I'll be surprised if that doesn't happen.

Isn’t it larger than a pro?

 

[cgs1xx]

I think people wanted a thinner iPhone but not with a smaller screen. That’s what Apple got wrong in my opinion.

I did buy the Air because I wanted a new design but I regret it, the Air is noticeably smaller but not thin enough to make up for the loss of screen.

 

[Bonte]

I expected the air to be a huge bestseller, but I didn't expect it to be that expensive. It should have replaced the regular 17.

 

[Piggie]

Its funny isn't it.

Apple simply will NEVER do the opposite and offer a thicker phone with a much larger battery.
Despite all the moans, even on these forums to stop thinning down the phone, and just put in a larger battery.
Despite making phones so thin the camera's need to stick out the back.

Even if they just tried it just the once on one phone to see if customers wanted it.

Would eb so interesting to go into a store and having the most popular selling iphone with 2 options.
Standard, and double life batter versions.

Is is a few mm thicker yes. Is it a little heavier yes, but it lasts twice as long between charges.
You can't tell me no-one would go for the double battery life version.

but Apple won't even try it. Not even once.

 

[1037]

The Air needed a smaller screen.

 

[tomtad]

Hardly surprising the sales are rubbish, if the rumours are to be believed. The normal iPhone is great this time around, costs less and NO ONE goes out with a buying priority for a thinner phone than the iPhone is currently.

Add on top it's crippled with less cameras (partially their fault also for making their humps huge and the cameras the obvious differentiator) no stereo speaker and less battery. It's a phone many generations old selling for prices now. It's just a bad product all around.

I’ve got the regular 17. It’s thin and light.

 

[manhattanboy]

I had a 17 Pro Max delivered on launch day, but it’s 2 weeks later and I had to return it[…] While I still think the Pro/Pro Max is the “best” iPhone you can buy, the Air feels so much better to use.

This is precisely the point of the Air.

The Air is simply a little joy to use for this average use case. I don’t understand why so many people are trying to hate on this phone and point out every single one of its flaws over and over.

Folks are hating on the Air because they were not capable of the self-reflection that you did. You realized that everything you thought you must have in the ProMax was not essential, and ended up with a phone that serves your daily needs and is a joy to use and carry. You and Apple are aware of this; unfortunately, most people are not.

But if you're carrying the phone and the battery pack, then you're carrying 279 grams, which is 46 grams more than the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

I have not needed the battery pack and never carry it. What I do enjoy is a phone that's almost half as heavy as the 17 ProMax, and won't cause a concussion when I drop it on my face in bed.

Its funny isn't it.

Apple simply will NEVER do the opposite and offer a thicker phone with a much larger battery.

Ms. Piggie, I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic, but that is precisely what they did with the 17 ProMax this year. It is the heaviest and fattest it has ever been to achieve the best battery life it has ever had.

 

[El Cabong]

It all depends on your use case, for me the Airs battery is more than enough for the whole day. I dont watch videos or scroll social media or anything like that. I just use it as a phone (shocker) and some light web browsing, emails and various apps. I also do some light gaming at the end of the day and usually still have 30-50% when its time to recharge again. Its also noticeably cooler when running CODM when compared to my old 16PM.

That's awesome that it works for your use case. I was just pointing out to the other person, who says that weight is everything, the tradeoff that many people see in using the Air re: battery vs. weight.

 

[maxoakland]

The price is the problem.
If the Air becomes the new budget iPhone. It will sell insanely amazing.

But isn’t it kind of advanced technology? Usually they make the budget phones old tech and the main feature is the price. The air has some new technology and the main feature is the thinness

 

[JPack]

But isn’t it kind of advanced technology? Usually they make the budget phones old tech and the main feature is the price. The air has some new technology and the main feature is the thinness

There's no real advanced tech. Apple basically deleted components to make it thin.

They put A19 into the plateau because there's no second camera. They deleted the second speaker. This made more room for battery. The remaining earpiece speaker is small, but also relatively tinny. Apple made the Taptic Engine smaller, but at the same time, the haptics feel weaker compared to Pro/Max.

 

[Manuelrodrigues]

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the latest rumors about the iPhone Air not selling as well as Apple hoped.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos​

There have been many recent reports suggesting the iPhone Air has failed to catch on with consumers, with Apple moving to cut production due to lower-than-expected sales. The first warning sign was the ready availability of the iPhone Air at launch, suggesting lower than expected demand.

Last week, Japan's Mizuho Securities said that Apple would reduce iPhone Air production by at least one million units because of underwhelming sales performance. Nikkei then reported that Apple planned to cut production significantly almost to "end-of-production levels."

KeyBanc Capital Markets said that there is "virtually no demand" for the iPhone Air and that Apple would "drastically" cut production as a result. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo then clarified that suppliers have been asked to reduce capacity by more than 80% between now and the first quarter of 2026, and some components with longer lead times will be discontinued by the end of 2025.

Samsung is apparently seeing a similar response to its super thin iPhone Air rival, the Galaxy S25 Edge. Reports indicate that Samsung canceled a next-generation model after disappointing sales.

According to Kuo, the iPhone Air's poor performance suggests that the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro models already "cover the majority of high-end user demand," so there is little room for new market segments. All of the other new iPhones are all believed to be selling better than expected, with Apple increasing production of these models.

Apple apparently planned three more iPhone Air generations, but that could now change in light of real-world sales data. We could get yet another new iPhone form factor as soon as 2026, with rumors suggesting that Apple will debut a foldable model alongside the iPhone 18 lineup. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.

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If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about Apple's all-new M5 chip and the three updated devices it announced containing it last week.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kayci Lacob, Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McS... Click here to read rest of article

Article Link: The MacRumors Show: iPhone Air Is in Trouble

This iPhone is a live betatest for the formfactor for the foldable iPhone…

 

[zenmacx]

Now you wonder the "what if" of Apple releasing an iPhone 17 Plus with the 6.9" LTPO would have made a difference. I think the iPhone 17 Plus in this configuration would have actually sold well, since many users don't need the fancy camera features of the iPhone 17 Pro.

I concur, of all the Pro Models I’ve owned when they released the 14 Plus I bought one out of curiosity and to see what the experience was like.

That was one of my favorites, setting aside the obvious differences regarding photos. Turns out I too believe an iPhone 17 Plus configured as you outlined would sell very well.

 

[super chimp]

Has this happened on the US Amazon site as well, but on the UK site the base model of the Air has been reduced by 10% in price? Weirdly the cloud white model is still at the older price, whereas the other colours have been reduced.

That means its price is now closer to the base 17 and further from the Pro models. And to my view it’s now at the correct price.

 

[urnotl33t]

Its funny isn't it.

Apple simply will NEVER do the opposite and offer a thicker phone with a much larger battery.
Despite all the moans, even on these forums to stop thinning down the phone, and just put in a larger battery.
Despite making phones so thin the camera's need to stick out the back.

Even if they just tried it just the once on one phone to see if customers wanted it.

Would eb so interesting to go into a store and having the most popular selling iphone with 2 options.
Standard, and double life batter versions.

Is is a few mm thicker yes. Is it a little heavier yes, but it lasts twice as long between charges.
You can't tell me no-one would go for the double battery life version.

but Apple won't even try it. Not even once.

Yeah freakier tho is that my SE is marginally thinner and the camera doesn’t stick out. Heh. Granted it’s a less capable camera, but it can still do 4K if I wanted (I don’t). So they can do “something” about it, so I don’t know what the deal is. I thought periscope lenses were going to fix the camera warts. It seems to have gone nowhere (in effect) and the warts only got bigger. The wart has a wart (or 2!) now.

 

[victorvictoria]

The battery on the Air is really good to begin with, don't need the magsafe battery. It gets the same battery life (thanks to the Apple modem) as my 16 Pro and people haven't been saying that has bad battery life. Secondly, many people don't buy the Pro/ProMax due to how heavy they are. Not liking a heavy thick phone doesn't make you unintelligent lmao.

Numbers don't lie. You're in the minority here. Dead phone calling…

 

[LevorgPenmancho]

It is people transitioning from the older generation of phones that are disappointed with the size of newer devices. Going from an SE1 to an SE2 to a 13 mini was as large as I ever want to go. Release a lower cost SE1 small replacement and it'll sell. Market it to people who specifically don't want to be addicted to their phones and want a truly pocketable device. There are plenty of us.

Agreed. An iPhone 5-sized phone with a modern edge to edge display would be perfect. And no camera bump!

 

[ab2c4]

Numbers don't lie. You're in the minority here. Dead phone calling…

With the Apple modem it gives the Air really good battery life even with a battery not as big as the Pro’s. The Pro’s need a bigger battery because of the Qualcomm modem.

Yesterday I took my Air off the charger at 6am. At 5pm after 5 hours of SoT I still had 60% battery life. That’s as good as my 16 Pro that had a much bigger battery.

 

[whiteashsaturday]

But if you're carrying the phone and the battery pack, then you're carrying 279 grams, which is 46 grams more than the iphone 17 Pro Max.

Even without the battery, the iPhone 17 is only 177 grams compared to the Air at 165g. That 12 grams of difference is basically two US quarters.

I think most people would rather just get the heavier phones - specifically the Pro at 206g, which has 3 cameras, stereo speakers and better battery life, without the extra weight of a battery pack, for the same price as the Air + Battery.

There will always be people that like a specific product and can make it work for them - like the Air, the trashcan Mac Pro, the Vision Pro, etc. But Apple measures success in tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of units sold. Over-priced but technologically limited/reduced products might have niche supporters but they will ultimately be mass market failures. It doesn't make the people that like them wrong, it just means that Apple didn't read the room well enough to know what the majority of people actually want.

Samsung's attempt at a thin phone has also failed to make significant sales, so this is definitely a category problem not just a specific apple model problem.

It's the battery, stupid! If you need a bulky magsafe battery to keep it running, you lose the benefit of its thin, light design. And for the same price (the magsafe battery is $99), you can get an iPhone 17 Pro. Apple underestimated the intelligence of their customers!

No way, the Air is so lightweight and with a 13 gram metal number, it is truly an Air.

Who wants to carry all dead battery in their hand. I top up my Air with the Air MagSafe and then set the MagSafe aside, or use it as a charger for my AirPods.

I’m even considering getting a second air MagSafe battery just to go 36 hrs without touching a charger with my physical Air.

I think most are misunderstanding the users.