iPhone Air

The iPhone Air is Apple's thinnest, lightest iPhone to date. Apple debuted the iPhone Air in September 2025, and now is the best time to buy the iPhone Air. The iPhone Air is 5.6mm thick and it has a 6.5-inch display, which means it is in between the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro Max in size.

Starting at $999, the iPhone Air is Apple's mid-priced device. It is $200 more expensive than the iPhone 17, but $100 less than the starting price of the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro. Compared to the iPhone 17, the iPhone Air is thinner, larger, and lighter. It has a titanium frame, 12GB total memory, and an A19 Pro chip, while the iPhone 17 uses aluminum, has 8GB RAM, and has an A19 chip.

The iPhone Air is something of a compromise because it has only a single 48-megapixel rear camera. The iPhone 17 has a dual-lens rear camera, and the iPhone 17 Pro has a triple-lens rear camera. Along with the one camera, the iPhone Air also has a mono speaker and lower battery life than the other iPhone 17 models.

Choosing the iPhone Air means getting Apple's thinnest and lightest design, but sacrificing camera capabilities and battery life.

• iPhone 17 vs. iPhone Air Buyer's Guide: 25+ Differences Compared

The $999 iPhone Air is Apple's newest iPhone, featuring a thin and light design. While it doesn't include a "17" in the name, it is being sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. The iPhone Air replaces the "Plus" iPhone in the lineup, and it offers pro-level performance in a compact design, albeit with a few compromises.

At 5.6mm thick, the iPhone Air is Apple's thinnest iPhone to date. It is over 3mm thinner than the iPhone 17 Pro, and it's also thinner than Samsung's 5.8mm Galaxy S25 Edge. The iPhone Air features a polished titanium frame with a 6.5-inch display, so in terms of size, it is bigger than the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro but smaller than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Titanium is stronger than aluminum, and the iPhone Air was designed not to bend. Apple says the iPhone Air is more durable than any previous iPhone.

Apple designed a camera "plateau" at the back of the iPhone Air that houses not only the single-lens 48-megapixel rear camera but also the 18-megapixel front-facing camera, the TrueDepth camera system for Face ID authentication, an Apple silicon chip, and a speaker. The plateau was a key addition that allowed Apple to make the iPhone Air so thin, and 3D printed components like the USB-C port also kept the size down. Apple says that the 3D printed components are stronger and use less material.

The grade 5 titanium frame features a glossy, mirrored finish, and it surrounds a Ceramic Shield 2 front display that features 3× better scratch resistance. Apple also used Ceramic Shield for the back instead of glass, providing 4× better crack resistance. Four colors are available, including Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, and Sky Blue.

The display is the same as the display in the other iPhone 17 models, featuring 1,000 nits max brightness, 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness, and 3,000 nits peak brightness when outdoors, a feature that is new this year. ProMotion 120Hz refresh rates are supported, and Always-On display technology is available. Apple also added an improved anti-reflective coating to cut down on glare.

The iPhone Air has all of the same buttons and features as the iPhone 17 models, including the Action button and Camera Control. The Action button can be set to a custom function, while the Camera Control launches the camera and provides access to Visual Intelligence. It offers IP68 water resistance and can be submerged for up to 30 minutes.

Apple included an A19 Pro chip, which is the same chip that's in the iPhone 17 Pro, but the iPhone Air version has one fewer GPU core. The chip has a 6-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, along with a 5-core GPU. Each GPU core has a Neural Accelerator that Apple says improves tasks like on-device AI thanks to 3x more peak GPU compute. There's an updated 16-core Neural Engine, second-generation dynamic caching, a larger cache, and 12GB RAM.

The single-lens rear camera uses the same 48-megapixel Fusion lens as the iPhone 17, so it does support 1× and 2× zoom, along with 28mm and 35mm focal lengths. There are no Ultra Wide or Telephoto features because those cameras are not included due to space constraints. Apple added a new Dual Capture feature that lets you record with the front and back cameras at the same time, and there is an 18-megapixel Center Stage front camera with improved stabilization and new features.

The front-facing camera lets you take a selfie photo in portrait or landscape mode without rotating your phone, and it supports Center Stage for video calls. For images with multiple people, it uses AI to automatically expand the field of view.

An updated Photonic Engine captures more detail in low-light images and improves color accuracy, and the iPhone Air supports next-generation portraits with Focus Control even though it doesn't have multiple cameras to work with. The camera automatically captures depth information so images can be turned into portraits in the Photos app.

Apple designed a new C1X modem chip for the iPhone Air, which is 2× faster than the C1 modem. It is still limited to sub-6GHz 5G and mmWave 5G connectivity is not supported. Apple also developed an N1 networking chip with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. The N1 chip is more efficient than prior third-party networking chips, allowing Apple to optimize battery life.

The iPhone Air's battery lasts for up to 27 hours when watching video or 22 hours when streaming video. Apple designed a $99 MagSafe battery pack for the iPhone Air that extends battery life to up to 40 hours. Adaptive Power mode in iOS 26 further extends battery life by intelligently conserving power when needed.

While the other iPhone 17 models support 25W charging with Qi2 and MagSafe, the iPhone Air is limited to 20W wireless charging speeds. It is able to fast charge, reaching 50% charge in 30 minutes with a 20W or higher power adapter.

Standard iPhone features like Emergency SOS via satellite, Crash Detection, Messages via satellite, and dual-frequency GPS are supported. The iPhone Air is too thin to support a physical SIM tray, so it is eSIM only worldwide.

Pricing on the iPhone Air starts at $999 for 256GB of storage, but 512GB and 1TB storage options are also available at higher price points. The iPhone Air launched on Friday, September 19.

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The iPhone Air can be purchased from the online Apple Store, Apple retail stores, carrier locations, and other major retailers. It is priced starting at $999 for 256GB of storage.

The iPhone Air features Apple's most dramatic iPhone design update in years. At 5.6mm thick (0.22 inches) and 165 grams (5.82 ounces), it is 30 percent thinner and 25 percent lighter than the standard iPhone 17. The thin and light design is immediately noticeable when holding the new iPhone.

Compared to the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the iPhone Air is in the middle of the two in terms of size. It has a 6.5-inch display, while the iPhone 17 has a 6.3-inch display and the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display. The iPhone Air measures in at 6.15 inches tall (156.2mm), 2.94 inches wide (74.7mm).

Apple used a Grade 5 titanium frame for the iPhone Air, which ensures that it is strong enough to hold up against bending. Multiple bend tests have proved that it is not going to bend in a pocket, because it can flex and also takes a significant amount of force to cause damage when bending it.

The titanium frame features a polished, mirror finish, and it comes in four colors, including Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, and Sky Blue. The iPhone Air uses Ceramic Shield 2 material for the front and back, which Apple says is more durable than standard glass. The front display offers 3x better scratch resistance compared to the iPhone 16 display, and it is the first time that Apple has used Ceramic Shield for the back of an iPhone.

There is a horizontal camera plateau at the back of the iPhone Air that houses a single-lens rear camera. The camera plateau played a key part in the iPhone Air's design, because Apple was able to include the front-facing camera, rear camera, speaker, and Apple silicon chip in the protrusion to provide more space for the battery.

The front of the iPhone Air features the Dynamic Island with a 18-megapixel Center Stage selfie camera and support for Face ID. At the bottom of the device, there's a USB-C port and a speaker. The left side includes the Action Button and volume buttons, while the right side has the Camera Control button and the power button.

USB-C Port

The iPhone Air charges using USB-C, and it was a challenge for Apple to get the USB-C port in a frame so thin. The USB-C port is 3D printed from titanium to minimize its thickness while ensuring that it's still durable. Apple said that the process used 33 less material than conventional forging.

eSIM Only

There is no SIM tray in any iPhone Air model because the iPhone Air is eSIM only worldwide. Eliminating a physical SIM was another way that Apple was able to fit all of the iPhone components into a thinner frame.

Water and Dust Resistance

The iPhone 17 has an IP68 rating for resistance to water and dust intrusion. The smartphones are able to withstand a depth of up to six meters (19.7 feet) for up to 30 minutes.

In the IP68 number, the 6 refers to dust resistance (and means the iPhone 17 can hold up to dirt, dust, and other particulates), while the 8 pertains to water resistance. IP6X is the highest dust resistance rating that exists. With the IP68 rating, the iPhone 17 can withstand splashes, rain, and accidental water exposure, but intentional water exposure should be avoided.

Water and dust resistance are not permanent conditions, according to Apple, and can deteriorate over time as a result of normal wear. Apple's standard warranty does not cover liquid damage, which means it's best to use caution when it comes to liquid exposure.

Action Button

Despite the iPhone Air's thin size, it includes the same button arrangement as Apple's thicker iPhones. There is an Action Button on the left side of the iPhone that can be customized using the Settings app.

• Focus: Activate or deactivate a Focus mode (Do Not Disturb is the default).
• Camera: Take a photo (the default), a selfie, video, portrait, or portrait selfie.
• Flashlight: Turn the flashlight on or off.
• Voice Memos: Start or stop recording a voice memo with the Voice Memos app.
• Magnifier: Activate the Magnifier app to use the iPhone's camera as a magnifying glass to zoom in on small text or objects.
• Shortcuts: Open your favorite app, or run a shortcut created in or downloaded from the Shortcuts app, such as sending a message, playing a playlist, or controlling smart home devices.
• Control Center: Several Control Center controls can be assigned to the Action button.
• Accessibility: Access to various Vision settings (Classic Invert, Color Filters, Detection Mode, Increase Contrast, Reduce Motion, Reduce Transparency, Reduce White Point, Smart Invert, VoiceOver, Zoom) Motor settings (Switch Control, Voice Control, Full Keyboard Access, AssistiveTouch, Apple Watch Mirroring, Control Nearby Devices) Hearing settings (Background Sounds, Left/Right Balance, Live Captions) and General settings (Guided Access, Live Speech).
• Silent Mode: Like the Ring/Silent switch on existing iPhone models, toggle silent mode on or off, which mutes or unmutes the ringer and alerts.
• Visual Intelligence: Activates the Visual Intelligence feature.
• Translate: The Translate action launches the Translate app and start a text or conversation translation.
• No Action.

Activating the Action button is done with a long press, which limits it from being hit accidentally.

Camera Control

On the lower right side of the iPhone Air, there's a Camera Control button that opens the camera app when it's pressed. The multi-function button has a force sensor and a touch sensor, so it can be used to open the camera, snap a photo, and adjust photo settings.

A sapphire crystal covering protects the Camera Control button, and it is slightly inset into the iPhone's frame to prevent it from being pressed accidentally. It includes haptic feedback to make it feel like a DSLR camera shutter when it is pressed.

Camera Control can be used to take a photo with two quick clicks, but there are many more capabilities.

• Single click - Open up the Camera app (or a third-party app).
• Single click, Camera open - Take a photo.
• Click and hold - Launch Visual Intelligence.
• Light press - Open up controls like zoom or lock focus and exposure for reframing shots without losing focus.
• Double light press - Bring up the camera preview menu to choose different controls like exposure or depth of field.
• Swipe - Swap through available adjustment options, and also change parameters like zoom, exposure, or depth of field when a control is selected.

The button has software support, so you can also swap between Camera Control functions without having to adjust settings in the Camera app.

• Adjust zoom
• Adjust exposure
• Adjust depth of field
• Swipe through different stylistic options

Third-party developers can take advantage of the Camera Control for their apps for adjusting settings, and it works in social media apps like Snapchat.

Apple is already planning for the next few iPhone Air models, and the company reportedly plans to introduce an iPhone Air with a larger display in the second half of 2027. The iPhone Air coming in 2026 will be the same size as the 2025 iPhone Air.