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Apple has finally delivered on the promise of a thinner iPhone with the announcement of the iPhone Air. Packing the new A19 Pro chip into a 5.6mm phone, the Air looks to be a suitable mid-point between the upgraded iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro, while still retaining an identity of its own.
Is it the thinnest phone on the planet, though? No, it’s not. As far as I know, that crown goes to Huawei’s Mate XT Ultimate tri-foldable, which measures in a 3.6mm thin when unfolded, but has the benefit of being able to spread its components out across a much larger surface area.
For the Air, Apple had to get a bit creative in how it built the phone to keep it thin and light, while still presumably performing up to standard.
In saying that, public response has been predictably mixed, with some calling it the ‘future of smartphone design’, and others stating how glad they are they bought into Samsung phones this upgrade cycle. Polarised opinions? On the internet? Who knew?
With that said, we’re interested in how Apple actually designed the iPhone Air to be so thin: so here’s what we know so far.
RELATED: Everything Announced at Apple’s iPhone 17 Showcase
(Almost) Everything’s Been Redesigned
I’m not a fan of camera bumps—even when Apple prefers them to be called camera plateaus. Ever since phones started bulging camera components out of their shells, I’ve felt like they’re a concession to engineering, rather than a design feature. I can understand a camera bump on something like the Pro line-up, or on something like the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro (which has a camera arguably better than the flagship Nothing Phone (3)), but on something designed for more everyday use? Not so much.
On the Air, though, I actually think the bump works largely because it serves a purpose. It’s where the actual brains of the phone live.
Unlike most phones, where various components are typically spread pretty evenly across the entirety of the phone (usually with the bottom-half-or-so taken up by built-in battery, which allows for a fairly uniform thickness. What Apple wanted, though, was to cut back on how much room they needed for all of the various components that would make up the iPhone Air, while also maximising battery space.
Very similarly to how the found a way to miniaturise the components of the MacBook to create the MacBook Air back in 2008, Apple’s engineers managed to squeeze much of the ‘brains’ of the iPhone Air into the camera bump.
This is also most likely why the Air, in its initial iteration, only has a single camera—there just isn’t room for another lens without finding a way to reduce the internals of the device further. Maybe they’ll get there eventually.
For now, though, the Air also happens to deliver a number of new, Apple made chips, including the A19 Pro chip (though one slightly less powerful than is present in the 17 Pro line-up), as well as an improved modem in the C1X, and the new N1 networking chip.
The C1X is effectively a redesigned and improved-upon C1 modem, which was debuted in 2024’s iPhone 16e. It was the first modem Apple had ever made, and, in my experience, works great. Apple says the new C1X modem is the most power-efficient modem ever in an iPhone, and is two times faster than the original—though we have no idea what they’re referring to with that metric.
The bigger upgrade is the N1; a new chip which delivers Bluetooth 6 compatibility, as well as support for Wi-Fi 7 and Threads—a smart-home communication standard. All of this makes the phone more efficient, which helps squeeze out a bit more power without sacrificing battery life.
I am a bit worried about the iPhone Air’s thermal performance, but we’re just going to have to wait and see on that.
Battery is Small, Efficiency Gains Aren’t
The iPhone Air has a pretty small 3,149mAh battery inside. For reference, 2024’s 6.1” iPhone 16e came packing a 4,005mAh battery, and the iPhone 17 will drop with a 3,692mAh battery.
Battery size isn’t the only thing that matters, of course, but a battery that is 75 per cent the capacity of your budget-level phone isn’t a good look. Except that, with all the energy efficiencies built in to the Air, through the A19 Pro, N1, and C1X chips, the Air will hit 27 hours of video playback—one hour more than the 16e’s battery can muster.
Add on Apple’s magnetic battery pack (yes, they’re selling extra battery life) and that number hits 40 hours of video playback, which is more than the 37 watch hours the iPhone Pro Max can deliver with its far larger 5,088mAh battery. In order to get that you’ll have to spend an extra AU$159, but the option is there.
When looking at a new phone, most people cry out for improved battery life. Here, Apple seems to have delivered it—and I’m hopeful that the C1X and N1 perform well and we’ll see the same efficiencies end up across the board in the iPhone 18 line-up: adding far more battery life to the brand’s bigger, bulkier, and more performant devices.
eSIM Only Could be an Issue
Now, one sacrifice that Apple insists it had to make at the alter of thinness is the total removal of the SIM card tray: the iPhone Air will be the first iPhone that relies solely on eSIM.
If you’re upgrading to the Air from an older phone, and use a SIM card, that is going to be a barrier. Not every carrier supports eSIM, and while we’re moving further into an all-digital world there are ways having a physical card is simply more convenient.
For example, as someone that tests different phones out often, being able to simply swap my SIM card into a new phone is an easy way to get a new device up and running (I know this is a first-world problem, don’t worry). As long as your new phone is compatible with your carrier, you can get it up and running as quickly as you can make the transfer.
With eSIM, though, not every device is eSIM ready, and moving between devices is a bit more complicated: you’ll need an internet connection set an eSIM up, or transfer it to a new device.
It’s entirely possible that Apple is setting a new standard with the Air, and in three years’ time no one will use physical SIMs anymore, but for now it feels a bit like when it stopped adding 3.5mm audio jacks to the iPhone. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.
Tell us—what do you think about the iPhone Air? Are you tempted by Apple’s new device? Are you looking at changing to a different brand this year? Or are you holding on for another year to see what could happen in 2026?
Let us know in the comments below.
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