Apple iPhone Air Review: The Least Sensible iPhone Ever

Worth When Reviewed

$999 (256GB) | $1,199 (512GB) | $1,399 (1TB)

Finest Costs In the present day: Apple iPhone Air (2025)

The iPhone Air is the most important factor to occur to Apple’s smartphones because the iPhone X made its debut eight years in the past. 

It’s a reimagining of what an iPhone can appear to be, ditching the tried-and-tested design for one thing much more daring. 

The ultra-slim chassis is a powerful feat of engineering, but it surely has some very actual penalties elsewhere. Regardless of the £999/$999 price ticket, the iPhone Air has important downgrades in comparison with even the bottom iPhone 17. 

Is it price it in alternate for a possible slice of the longer term? I spent every week utilizing the iPhone Air as my foremost cellphone to seek out out. 

Design & Construct

• Extremely-slim 5.6mm design
• Sturdy, titanium construct
• IP68 water and dirt resistance

The iPhone Air is a cellphone I by no means anticipated Apple to make.  

Certain, there are slimline Air-branded variations of its iPad and MacBook, however a smartphone is a distinct kettle of fish. Not solely is it restricted by the peak of a USB-C port, but it surely additionally requires a lot of completely different parts to be housed inside a really small house. 

However I’m grateful for Apple’s ambition, and from a design perspective, the iPhone Air has undoubtedly paid off. 

The iPhone Air is a beautiful system to carry, with a thickness of simply 5.6mm (0.2mm thinner than Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge) and a weight of 165g giving it a barely-there really feel in your hand. Alongside a tiny bezel across the fringe of the display screen, the immersive really feel of utilizing it’s unmatched by any cellphone I’ve ever tried. 

There are rumours that the iPhone Air’s design may very well be the blueprint for the upcoming foldable iPhone, which is slated to launch in 2026. If Apple caught two of those collectively and received the hinge proper, I’d be very completely satisfied certainly. 

Even and not using a folding mechanism, one in all my huge considerations was sturdiness. Judging by the pictures, it nearly appears like you could possibly snap the iPhone Air in half in the event you tried onerous sufficient. 

Apparently, Apple has shifted again to aluminium frames on the iPhone 17 vary, however retained titanium right here. I’m very glad it did – titanium is each lighter and stronger than aluminium, which makes it good for the Air. 

And I needn’t have nervous about sturdiness. Apple’s engineers have clearly made this a high precedence, as a result of it doesn’t really feel flimsy in any respect. I briefly tried bending it, and there was no flex, not to mention any indicators of injury. YouTuber JerryRigEverything’s testing was far more excessive, and it fared very effectively there, too. 

From a design perspective, the iPhone Air has undoubtedly paid off

If it had been every other cellphone, I’d recommend utilizing a case. Apple’s official one, which it despatched to me alongside the system, is about as slimline because it will get, but it surely undoubtedly detracts from the gorgeous design. I’d be tempted to threat it and go case-free. 

Luckily, grip isn’t a problem. I used to be in a position to make use of the iPhone Air with out worrying about it falling out of my pocket or off a desk, which is a standard concern for glass-backed telephones.  

The matt coating on the rear additionally does a very good job of resisting fingerprint smudges on the Area Black mannequin I examined, though it’s additionally obtainable in far more fascinating Cloud White, Mild Gold and Sky Blue variants, in the event you’d choose. 

Like all of the 2025 iPhones, the Air boasts an IP68 score. Apple’s claims transcend the same old for water resistance, stating that it may well survive submersion in as much as six metres of water for as much as half-hour. It’s additionally totally dust-proof. 

Elsewhere, the iPhone Air’s haptic suggestions is among the greatest within the enterprise. I’m not normally a fan of vibrations whereas typing, charging and utilizing bodily buttons, but it surely actually impressed me. The refined jolt when enabling Silent mode through the Motion Button is a private favorite. 

The latter is one in all 5 bodily buttons across the facet of the system. Alongside energy and quantity controls, it’s additionally joined by the Digital camera Management button. I discover it to be a helpful shortcut to the digital camera app and a pleasant bodily shutter button, but it surely’s barely awkwardly positioned and too fiddly to supply intuitive controls. 

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.5-inch OLED panel
• Adaptive 1-120Hz refresh price
• Mono earpiece speaker

The iPhone Air’s show is my favorite factor about it. The mixture of excellent high quality and that immersive design I discussed earlier delivers a viewing expertise that few handsets can match. 

It’s a 6.5-inch panel that stretches nearly all the way in which to the perimeters of the cellphone, with its 1260 x 2736 decision which means it matches all of the iPhone 17 fashions for pixel density (460ppi). 

Apple has totally embraced OLED on its iPhone flagships lately, and I’m glad it has. The wealthy, vibrant colors and deep blacks are notably obvious right here, making it an excellent system for watching YouTube or TV exhibits. I wouldn’t normally advocate watching films on a cellphone, however the high quality of the visuals right here received’t allow you to down. 

In the meantime, the 120Hz refresh price works in tandem with LTPO expertise, guaranteeing it may well routinely drop as little as 1Hz to avoid wasting battery life when not required. The latter is ideal for the All the time-On show, which lets you see important info whereas the display screen is off, although it’s one thing I choose to maintain switched off. 

The iPhone Air can also be wonderful in relation to visibility. A powerful peak brightness of 3000 nits makes it straightforward to make use of in principally any outside surroundings, with the Ceramic Defend 2 entrance cowl together with an efficient anti-reflective coating. Indoors, the …. nits determine I recorded is among the many highest on any cellphone. 

I genuinely can’t consider something the iPhone Air’s display screen isn’t good at, which is uncommon for a cellphone show. 

I genuinely can’t consider something the iPhone Air’s display screen isn’t good at, which is uncommon for a cellphone show

This can come as no shock in the event you’re aware of the iPhone, however there’s no fingerprint sensor of any description. As an alternative, the iPhone Air depends on the pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout on the high of the display screen, which homes the Face ID sensors. 

Some Android telephones, together with the Pixel 10 sequence, supply a 3D face unlock that’s safe sufficient for use to authenticate funds and log into banking apps. However for a seamless expertise in virtually any scenario, I nonetheless choose Face ID. 

Sadly, house constraints imply the iPhone Air’s audio system have been compromised. With no speaker on the backside, it’s completely reliant on the earpiece for audio, and high quality suffers in consequence.  

In comparison with most cellphone audio system, music sounds a bit washed out, with the sound missing any bass or important depth. Whereas completely clear at decrease volumes, making it well-suited to cellphone calls and podcasts, it may well get distorted as you make it louder. 

Specs & Efficiency

• Apple A19 Professional chipset
• Robust efficiency, together with whereas gaming
• eSIM-only

The iPhone Air may be compromised in some areas, however efficiency isn’t one in all them. 

It’s geared up with the identical A19 Professional chipset that’s discovered within the iPhone 17 Professional fashions. This 3nm chip is probably the most highly effective that Apple has ever made, and similar to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 on the Android facet. 

Alongside 12GB of RAM throughout all fashions, efficiency is totally excellent. The iPhone Air is constantly quick and ultra-responsive, dealing with common on a regular basis use with out breaking a sweat. 

My typical day whereas testing included a lot of net looking, messaging and emails, plus some social media, map navigation and images. None of this was a match for the iPhone Air’s energy, even when utilizing a number of apps concurrently and rapidly switching between them. It’s additionally one of many few telephones I’ve examined the place I’ve by no means skilled a single app crash or freeze of any description. 

The iPhone Air is pretty much as good for gaming as principally every other iPhone or Android flagship, which is spectacular

I used to be involved that the cellphone’s slim design may have an effect on extra demanding workloads, however I needn’t have nervous. 

In contrast to the Galaxy S25 Edge, which I examined earlier this 12 months, the iPhone Air avoids any important build-up of warmth whereas taking part in demanding video games akin to Asphalt Legends, Genshin Influence and EA Sports activities FC. The again of the cellphone will get a bit of heat throughout longer periods, however that’s about it. 

And crucially, there’s no noticeable slowdown or dropped frames. The iPhone Air is pretty much as good for gaming as principally every other iPhone or Android flagship, which is spectacular. 

By way of connectivity, it’s essential to notice that the iPhone has no bodily SIM card slot, so that you’ll have to make use of eSIM. Whereas the iPhone has been eSIM-only within the US since 2022, that is the primary time Apple has launched a mannequin like this internationally. 

That makes the method of switching to the iPhone Air and preserving your quantity far more difficult than simply popping your SIM card in, though it’s nonetheless very a lot attainable. If it’s a problem you’d actually slightly do with out, all different iPhone 17 fashions assist bodily SIM playing cards exterior the US. 

The iPhone has by no means supported expandable storage, so the removing of a SIM tray doesn’t have an effect on that. If you happen to assume the entry-level 256GB received’t be sufficient, there are additionally choices for 512GB and 1TB. 

Apple iPhone Air benchmarks

Cameras

• Single 48Mp rear digital camera
• 18Mp selfie digital camera
• Centre Stage and Twin Seize options

The iPhone Air’s digital camera system is an actual blended bag, and it’s prone to be a dealbreaker for many individuals – myself included. 

On one hand, the cellphone has the identical 48Mp, f/1.6 foremost sensor because the common iPhone 17, which itself is just a small downgrade from the 17 Professional and 17 Professional Max.  

It’s an excellent lens, delivering excellent element and impressively correct colors. I actually get pleasure from how true-to-life photographs from the iPhone Air are, even when they may require some enhancing later. 

In good lighting situations, dynamic vary is great, whereas it handles shadows higher than any cellphone I’ve tried. Nonetheless, publicity may be a problem at occasions, with the cellphone generally compensating for a darker scene by blowing out the skies. 

The iPhone Air additionally takes beautiful portrait pictures, combining crystal-clear topics with a refined bokeh impact that does a very good job of edge detection. The result’s an impressively professional-looking picture, and you’ll simply regulate the extent of background blur after the picture has been taken.

The primary lens additionally performs effectively in low-light situations. Night time mode, which is routinely enabled by default, boosts brightness and removes noise, turning a mean picture into an excellent one. 

I’ve discovered the rear digital camera to be equally adept at taking pictures of individuals, structure and landscapes. I solely want it had assist from different lenses on the again. 

I don’t care how slim it’s – to have just one lens on the again of a £999/$999 cellphone in 2025 is inexcusable. Inevitably, the digital camera system is way much less versatile in consequence. 

Wish to seize extra within the body? Slightly than simply tapping the 0.5x button to modify to the ultrawide, you’ll should hope you’ll be able to stand additional again, which regularly isn’t attainable. 

And don’t let Apple’s claims of a 2x ‘optical zoom’ idiot you. It merely crops in on the picture from the primary lens, sacrificing some key particulars within the course of. High quality is on a speedy downward spiral past that, and it speaks volumes that you could’t transcend 10x. 

If you happen to care about zoom images, my message is obvious: don’t purchase the iPhone Air. 

Nonetheless, the front-facing lens is one other success story. The 18Mp, f/1.9 sensor is similar on the iPhone 17 fashions, and it may be the most effective selfie digital camera on any cellphone. 

If you happen to care about zoom images, my message is obvious: don’t purchase the iPhone Air

Why? It’s not simply the truth that it takes nice selfies in nearly any surroundings, though the correct pores and skin tones and excellent degree of element are essential.  

The iPhone Air additionally options Apple’s Centre Stage tech, which takes plenty of the effort out of getting a very good selfie. It makes use of the mix of a sq. sensor and AI to routinely regulate the zoom and orientation to get everybody in body. It’s not fairly instantaneous, but it surely’s a straightforward method to considerably enhance the standard of your selfies. 

See extra digital camera samples within the gallery beneath:

Elsewhere, iPhone Air follows within the footsteps of latest iPhones by delivering wonderful video high quality. Footage from each the entrance and rear lenses exhibits no noticeable decline in color accuracy or element, whereas OIS (optical picture stabilisation) ensures every part stays impressively easy. 

You’ll be able to seize from each lenses concurrently through the Twin Seize function, although this feels greatest suited to content material creators or anybody who repeatedly uploads to social media. 

Software program & AI

• iOS 26 out of the field
• Lengthy and immediate software program updates

The iPhone Air runs iOS 26 out of the field, which means you get entry to the brand new Liquid Glass aesthetic.  

It’s a transparent shift in the way in which Apple desires its UI to feel and appear, with numerous parts that fade into the background however then reply expressively while you work together with them. The corporate claims it even behaves as glass would in the actual world, however that appears like a little bit of a stretch.  

Total, I’ve loved my interactions with Liquid Glass. It’s a refined shift, however one which helps the iPhone Air really feel much less like an inanimate piece of expertise and extra a part of the pure world (regardless that it isn’t, in fact). 

The impact is magnified while you discover a third-party app that’s embraced Liquid Glass, although this could border on annoying when once-familiar menus look nearly unrecognisable. I like Liquid Glass on inventory apps, however that’s sufficient. 

Elsewhere, iOS 26 continues to embrace customisation, permitting you to manage every part from the app icons and widgets to system-wide themes and even lock display screen pictures that come to life.

If you happen to don’t actually care about AI, iOS 26 is an achieved and intuitive working system

The model of iOS you see in the present day is sort of unrecognisable in comparison with a decade in the past, and all the higher for it. As somebody who makes use of Android more often than not, I believed I’d wrestle much more than I’ve, although there’s a clear adjustment interval. 

One space wherein the iPhone nonetheless struggles is AI. The Apple Intelligence suite merely isn’t as efficient or as in depth as Google and Samsung’s choices, regardless of having lots in widespread. 

It’s additionally badly hamstrung by Siri’s continued shortcomings, which solely emphasised to me simply how good Gemini is. 

If you happen to don’t actually care about AI, iOS 26 is an achieved and intuitive working system that gives extra methods to make it your personal than ever earlier than.  

It’s additionally effectively served by software program updates. Apple releases a significant new model of iOS to all suitable units on the identical time, with assist sometimes lasting for round 5 or 6 years. That’s barely lower than the most effective of Android, however you’ll in all probability be switching your cellphone sooner anyway. 

Battery Life & Charging

• 3149mAh battery (unconfirmed)
• 20W wired charging
• 20W wi-fi MagSafe (Qi2) charging

Alongside the cameras, the iPhone Air’s battery represented my greatest concern. 

Apple doesn’t reveal particular battery capacities, merely providing claims of as much as 27 hours of video playback. That’s not an enormous downgrade in comparison with the 30 hours it suggests you may get from the common iPhone 17, although my expertise with the Galaxy S25 Edge had made me cautious. 

Nonetheless, it’s been a nice shock. Battery life isn’t a key power of the iPhone Air, but it surely isn’t a weak point both. With reasonable use – round three hours of screen-on time – a single cost will comfortably get you to the tip of the day. If you happen to make money working from home, as I do, you’re nearer to 2 days. 

The standard PCMark battery check that we run on Android telephones isn’t obtainable on the iPhone, which means that I can’t supply direct comparisons. However until you propose on taking part in demanding video games or continually utilizing location companies, cellular information and excessive brightness, you don’t have to fret about battery life on the iPhone Air. I by no means imagined I’d be saying that, so Apple deserves credit score right here. 

An space I received’t be giving it reward is charging speeds. The iPhone Air can solely hit paltry 20W wired speeds, and also you’ll want a suitable charger to make the most of even that – the next wattage doesn’t assure it. 

Battery life isn’t a key power of the iPhone Air, but it surely isn’t a weak point both

Apple says you’ll be able to rise up to 50% cost in half-hour, which is sort of similar to my testing. Utilizing a 67W charger, the cellphone went from empty to 27% in quarter-hour, hitting 51% by the half-hour mark. 

You may as effectively use Qi2 MagSafe charging as an alternative, as it may well attain the identical 20W speeds. Alongside conventional charging infrastructure, there’s a variety of various first- and third-party equipment that make the most of the built-in magnets on the again of the cellphone. They’re effectively price exploring. 

Worth & Availability

At launch, the iPhone Air begins at £999/$999. That will get you 256GB of storage, however you’ll be able to step as much as 512GB or 1TB fashions for £1,199/$1,199 and £1,399/$1,399 respectively.

Within the UK, it’s obtainable instantly from Apple or through retailers together with Amazon. Within the US, you’ll be able to head to Apple or Finest Purchase, whereas loads of networks are promoting the cellphone on contract in each nations.

The outright value makes it £100/$100 cheaper than its ultra-slim rival within the Galaxy S25 Edge. If you happen to don’t thoughts a thicker cellphone, the Pixel 10 Professional can also be £999/$999, whereas the common iPhone 17 is a tempting different that prices £200/$200 much less.

See extra nice choices in our information to the most effective telephones you should buy.

Do you have to purchase the iPhone Air?

Most likely not. I actually loved utilizing it, however the iPhone Air isn’t a sensible cellphone for most individuals to purchase and use as their major handset.

As beautiful because the iPhone Air’s ultra-slim design is, an excessive amount of has been sacrificed to attain it. 

The digital camera system is restricted, the audio system are underwhelming, and battery life is worse than any of the iPhone 17 fashions, regardless of being higher than anticipated. 

When you’ll be able to pay £200/$200 much less and get important enhancements in all three of these areas, the iPhone Air turns into onerous to justify. It provides a stunning show and good efficiency, however that’s simply not sufficient to make it a helpful each day driver for most individuals. 

Specs

• Colors: Area Black, Cloud White, Mild Gold, Sky Blue
• Working system: iOS 26
• Show: 6.5-inch Tremendous Retina XDR 1-120Hz OLED
• Chipset: A19 Professional
• Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB
• Rear digital camera: 48Mp f/1.6 foremost digital camera
• Entrance digital camera: 18Mp f/1.9 Centre Stage digital camera
• Charging: USB-C quick PD 2.0 20Wcharging, 20W wi-fi MagSafe charging, 20W wi-fi Qi 2 charging, 4.5W reverse wired
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, 5G NFC, eSIM-only
• Water and dirt resistance: IP68
• Dimensions: 156.2 x 74.7 x 5.6 mm
• Weight: 165g