The latest type of iPhone looks like it would skim across a pond really nicely. At its big annual product keynote yesterday, Apple introduced the iPhone Air, its slimmest iPhone ever, which it’s set to release later this year alongside the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, AirPods Pro 3, and Series 11 Watches. Hello to the MacBook Air of iPhones. This is Apple’s first major iPhone redesign in years: - At 5.6 millimeters thick (not counting its raised rear camera), the new iPhone Air is about a third thinner than last year’s iPhone 16 Pro.
- But that also means its battery life, which Apple claims will last all day, is also likely to take a hit. The Air’s juice capacity will allegedly be lower than last year’s iPhones, according to reports based on leaked Chinese regulatory filings.
- Its processing power tops the iPhone 17, but comes up a bit short against the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, and its camera system lacks a true telephoto lens.
The Air will start at $999, which is $200 more than the standard iPhone 17 and just $100 less than the 17 Pro. This pricing aligns with recent years, despite fears of tariff-related hikes. Expectations aren’t high. Experts have noted that Apple users tend to care most about battery and camera quality, and the iPhone Air is relatively costly without being the hero of either feature. Still, this could just be a first step—Apple’s original MacBook Air underwhelmed because it was priced between the better-performing MacBook and MacBook Pro, but with tweaks, it later became Apple’s best-selling computer. Missing: artificial intelligence. Aside from new AirPods that can translate other languages in real time, Apple barely highlighted AI during the keynote. So far, the company has failed to deliver an AI-ified Siri, which was delayed until next year after being extolled as a key part of the previous iPhone 16 lineup.—ML |