The iPhone Air launched last year as Apple's thinnest phone to date, but its single rear camera quickly became the most common complaint about an otherwise well-received device. Next year, Apple is set to address that.
A report from Bloomberg says the second-generation iPhone Air, expected in spring 2027, will gain a second rear camera. An Ultra Wide lens will join the existing Wide lens, putting the Air's photography on par with the cheaper iPhone 17.
That's the headline change, but it's not the only one. Apple also wants to improve battery life, and despite the challenges of fitting a bigger battery in the same chassis, there are signs that the company has found a way to do so.
Prolific Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station recently claimed that the iPhone Air 2 will feature a 3,500mAh battery. That's up from the 3,149mAh battery in the current iPhone Air, indicating around a 11% increase in raw capacity.
The device is also expected use an A20 chip built on Apple's new 2nm process, so it could feature better efficiency, which should help battery life regardless of any change in battery capacity.
Lastly, Apple is said to be adopting a Samsung-made OLED technology called CoE (Color Filter on Encapsulation), which could make the iPhone Air 2's display thinner. That could allow Apple to slide in a slightly larger battery while retaining the same device dimensions.
Combining a second camera, longer battery life, a slimmer display, and a next-generation chip should be a meaningful update for a device defined mainly by its thinness. Even more so if Apple can achieve it within the same physical constraints.
