Apple Unveils iPhone Air, Its Thinnest iPhone Yet

Apple has unveiled its slimmest iPhone to date: the iPhone Air. Measuring just 5.6mm thick, it's over a full millimeter thinner than the 6.9mm iPhone 6 and only slightly thicker than the 5.4mm M4 iPad Pro. Preorders for the iPhone Air begin on September 12th at a starting price of $999, with official availability starting September 19th.

The new model is offered in four color options: Sky Blue, Light Gold, Cloud White, and Space Black. It features a 6.5-inch ProMotion OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which dynamically adjusts from 1Hz for the always-on display mode up to 120Hz, consistent with the rest of this year’s iPhone lineup. The screen can achieve a peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits, with a typical maximum of 1,000 nits and an HDR peak of 1,600 nits. The frame is crafted from polished, glossy titanium, while the front and back are protected by Ceramic Shield 2 glass, which Apple claims offers four times the scratch resistance of previous iPhone back glass. The rear also houses a single camera housed within a raised bar that spans the top of the device.

Battery life is a major consideration for such a thin device, yet surprisingly, Apple states that its performance will be on par with the iPhone 16 Pro based on official specifications. The company promises up to 27 hours of video playback and 22 hours of video streaming—identical figures to those cited for the iPhone 16 Pro. Alongside the phone, Apple introduced a new, slimmer MagSafe battery pack, which when paired with the iPhone Air extends usage to up to 40 hours of video playback or 35 hours of streaming. Using a 20W adapter via the USB-C port, the device can reach a 50% charge in just 30 minutes.

The rear features a single 48MP Fusion camera system, which Apple says functions like four lenses in one. It captures 24MP and 48MP photos using the main sensor, and when switched to 2x telephoto mode, it takes 12MP optically stabilized shots. The system also supports up to 10x digital zoom. For video, the iPhone Air records in 4K Dolby Vision at 24–60fps, 1080p at 25–60fps, and 720p at 30fps. It includes an iOS Action mode for capturing fast-moving scenes like sports in up to 2.8K Dolby Vision at 30fps. In video mode, digital zoom reaches up to 6x.

On the front, an 18MP selfie camera supports Center Stage, Apple’s digital panning feature that keeps you centered in the frame and automatically zooms out as more people join the shot—ideal for group photos and video calls.

The iPhone Air comes with 256GB of storage and is powered by the A19 Pro chip—the same processor found in the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max—along with a 5-core GPU that includes AI accelerators in each core. Apple claims the device delivers computing performance comparable to a MacBook Pro. It also uses Apple’s proprietary cellular modem, the C1x, said to be twice as fast as the C1 modem introduced in the iPhone 16e earlier this year. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and a Thread radio for smart home integration with the Matter standard.

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