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 3× 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 Qi2.2 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.

Reviewers were impressed with the thin and light design of the iPhone Air, praising the redesign and the strength of the device thanks to its titanium frame.

Battery life was not impressive, with reviewers saying it was "just okay." Light users might not have problems with battery, but others may need supplemental charging. At the same time, reviewers said that battery life was better than expected given the iPhone Air's size.

The A19 Pro chip performed on par with the iPhone 17 Pro's version of chip in testing, with the device remaining cooler even during heavy use.

Reviewers also pointed out the downside of only having a single camera, because there are no options for wider shots, macro images, or zoomed-in telephoto shots. The 48-megapixel Fusion lens did take sharp, vibrant photos even in low-light conditions, and it did well with portraits despite not having a second lens.

All in all, reviewers were happy with the updated design of the iPhone Air, but found that it might not work for users who are looking for long battery life and a flexible camera setup.

We have more reviews in our iPhone Air review roundup.

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 lineup, the iPhone Air is in the middle of the two sizes. It has a 6.5-inch display, while the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro have 6.3-inch displays and the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display. The iPhone Air measures in at 6.15 inches tall (156.2mm) and 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 proven that it is not likely 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 3× 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 an 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 and the power button.

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.

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.

Water and Dust Resistance

The iPhone Air has an IP68 rating for resistance to water and dust intrusion. The smartphone is 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 Air 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 Air 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 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, 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.

Display

The iPhone Air has a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED Display with a 2736 × 1260 resolution at 460 pixels per inch. Like the iPhone 17 Pro models, it features 3,000 nits peak brightness when outdoors, 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness, and 1,000 nits typical max brightness. The display goes down to 1-nit minimum brightness for Always-On display functionality. There's a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio along with support for HDR and P3 Wide color for vivid, true-to-life colors. HDR10 and Dolby Vision are supported.

ProMotion is supported, and the iPhone Air has an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz. ProMotion offers smoother scrolling speeds and improvements to videos and games. It has typically been a feature reserved for the Pro iPhone models, but this year, the iPhone Air and all iPhone 17 models support ProMotion.

True Tone support matches the white balance of the iPhone to the ambient lighting in the room for a viewing experience that is easier on the eyes. Apple included the standard fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, and also added a seven-layer anti-reflective coating that reduces glare.

Ceramic Shield 2

The iPhone Air's display is protected by Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple uses instead of glass. Ceramic Shield 2 provides 3× better scratch resistance than the prior version of the Ceramic Shield.

Dynamic Island

Like the rest of the iPhone lineup, the iPhone Air has a Dynamic Island. The Dynamic Island houses the TrueDepth sensor for Face ID and the new 18-megapixel Center Stage front-facing camera.

The Dynamic Island includes a pill-shaped cutout on the left side for the TrueDepth system, and a small circular cutout on the right side for the camera. Apple uses software to combine the two cutouts into one pill-shaped feature on the iPhone's display. It is typically displayed as a single pill shape, but in some instances, it can split into two circles.

The Dynamic Island has been fully integrated into the iPhone's interface, and it is used as a quick access hub to display notifications and important information from apps and services. When you make an Apple Pay payment, for example, Dynamic Island expands into a square shape to show confirmation of your Face ID scan, and when on a phone call, it expands so you have phone controls at your fingertips.

The Dynamic Island can display everything from Maps directions to Apple Music, and it integrates with Live Activities. There are no changes to the Dynamic Island with the iPhone Air.

TrueDepth Camera and Face ID

The iPhone Air incorporates Face ID, Apple's facial recognition system that is part of the Dynamic Island.

Face ID is used across iOS for unlocking the iPhone, allowing access to passcode-protected apps, confirming app purchases, authenticating Apple Pay payments, and more.

Face ID works through a set of sensors and cameras. A Dot Projector projects tens of thousands of invisible infrared dots onto the surface of the skin to create a 3D facial scan that maps the curves and planes of each face, with the scan read by an infrared camera.

The facial depth map is relayed to the A19 Pro chip where it is transformed into a mathematical model that the iPhone uses to authenticate identity. Face ID works in low light and in the dark, and with hats, beards, glasses, sunglasses, scarves, masks, and other accessories that partially obscure the face.

Front-Facing Camera

The Dynamic Island also includes the new 18-megapixel front-facing camera that Apple added to this year's iPhones. Apple is calling the new selfie camera the "Center Stage" front camera.

The Center Stage camera has the first square camera sensor on an iPhone, and it provides a wider field of view that can capture more detail, so you can now take a portrait or landscape selfie while holding your phone vertically. You can simply tap on an icon in the camera app to change the photo orientation.

For group shots with the front-facing camera, Center Stage uses AI to expand the field of view and can rotate from portrait to landscape to fit everyone in the shot.

The camera supports ultra-stabilized video in 4K HDR, and there is an option to record with the front and rear cameras simultaneously using the new Dual Capture feature. During video calls, Center Stage works to keep you stable and in the frame.

The front-facing camera also supports Night mode, Smart HDR 5 integration, Dolby Vision HDR recording, Deep Fusion to bring out fine details, a Photonic Engine that improves low-light performance, and a portrait feature that lets you take images and turn them into portrait shots later.

Other options include QuickTake video for transitioning from snapping a photo to taking a video, slo-mo video, Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting, and the Photographic Styles feature for selectively applying edits.

The iPhone Air uses a mid-tier A19 Pro chip that's better than the A19 chip in the iPhone 17, but not quite as good as the version of the A19 Pro chip in the iPhone 17 Pro models. The A19 Pro chip is built on Apple's next-generation 3-nanometer process, and it offers performance and efficiency improvements.

It has a 6-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, and a 5-core GPU. It has one fewer GPU core than the A19 Pro chip used in the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.

The GPU in the A19 Pro has an upgraded architecture with a larger cache, more memory, and Neural Accelerators that are built into each core. Apple says that this change provides 3× the peak GPU compute over the prior-generation chip. There's also an upgraded 16-core Neural Engine for AI tasks.

RAM

There is 12GB RAM in the iPhone Air, the same amount of RAM as in the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.

Storage

The entry-level iPhone Air comes with 256GB of storage, but there are also 512GB and 1TB upgrade options.

The iPhone Air includes a single-lens camera, adopting Apple's 48-megapixel Fusion lens that can capture images at either 24 megapixels or 48 megapixels.

It has an ƒ/1.6 aperture, supports 28mm and 35mm focal lengths, and offers 52mm 2× telephoto capabilities at 12 megapixels.

There's a 2.0µm quad-pixel sensor with sensor-shift optical image stabilization for impressive image quality even in poor lighting conditions. An updated Photonic Engine captures more detail and provides vivid color.

Because the iPhone Air doesn't have a second camera for Portrait images, Apple designed a new image pipeline. The iPhone Air can take the same portrait shots with Focus Control as the other iPhone models with multi-lens camera systems.

Compared to other iPhone models, the iPhone Air lacks the Ultra Wide lens and the Telephoto lens, plus it cannot capture spatial videos or photos, nor does it have a macro photo function.

Video Capabilities

The iPhone Air supports 4K Dolby Vision recording at up to 60 frames per second. It also captures slo-mo video at 1080p at up to 240 fps, and it supports Action mode for 2.8K Dolby Vision recording at 60 fps.

Other video options include 4K 30 fps Dual Capture for recording with the front and back camera at the same time, cinematic video stabilization, spatial audio, and Audio Mix to improve sound.

Other Camera Features

• Night mode for low-light photography
• Smart HDR 5 for balanced exposures
• Photographic Styles with real-time preview, includes new Bright style
• True Tone flash to match ambient lighting
• Photonic Engine that combines the best pixels from a high-resolution image and an image optimized for light capture
• Deep Fusion for more detail in medium lighting conditions
• Burst mode for taking a series of images to capture high-action scenes
• Panorama shots up to 63 megapixels

The iPhone Air has a 3,149 mAh battery, which is the smallest battery in the 2025 flagship iPhone line. With optimizations enabled through Apple-designed chips, it still has a longer battery life than the iPhone 16.

The iPhone Air can last for up to 27 hours when watching video, or up to 22 hours when streaming video.

Apple designed a $99 iPhone Air MagSafe Battery that can be used with the iPhone Air, and with the add-on battery pack, the iPhone Air lasts for up to 40 hours when watching video or up to 35 hours when streaming video.

The iPhone Air charges over USB-C, and it can reach a 50 percent charge in 30 minutes with a 20W or higher power adapter. It is not able to charge quite as fast as the other iPhone 17 models.

The iPhone Air charges up to 50 percent in 30 minutes with a MagSafe charger and a 30W power adapter. While the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models can charge over MagSafe at up to 25W, the iPhone Air is limited to 20W. It supports Qi2.2, but charging with Qi2.2 is also limited to 20W.

Apple added an Adaptive Power mode in iOS 26, and it is able to preserve battery life by intelligently adjusting power usage when you're using more battery than normal during the day.

Apple designed a new C1X modem chip for the iPhone Air, which Apple says is up to 2× faster than the C1 and even faster than the Qualcomm modem in the iPhone 16 Pro.

The C1X is more energy efficient than Qualcomm's modems, and it is the most power-efficient modem in an iPhone. Apple's C1X modem does not support mmWave 5G, so it is limited to sub-6GHz 5G worldwide.

mmWave 5G is the fastest version of 5G, but it is limited to short range and is thus most suitable for large, dense areas like airports, stadiums, and major urban cores. Sub-6GHz 5G is slower, but it is more widespread and ideal for suburban and rural areas.

eSIM

The iPhone Air is eSIM-only worldwide, and it is the first iPhone that does not have a physical SIM slot at all. Apple was not able to fit a SIM tray into the thin chassis of the device.

eSIMs are more secure because there is no physical SIM to remove, and it also makes switching carriers easier. eSIM is supported in most countries worldwide, though Apple has delayed the launch of the iPhone Air in China as it awaits regulatory approval. Apple will debut the iPhone Air in China when it receives permission to move ahead with the eSIM-only design.

Despite its thin design, the iPhone Air includes full satellite connectivity for emergencies. Emergency SOS via satellite allows the iPhone Air to connect to satellites operated by Apple partner Globalstar when Wi-Fi and cellular connections are unavailable.

Satellite connectivity was originally designed to let users contact emergency services in dire situations when off grid, but Apple has added new functionality.

Messages can be sent over satellite, and Find My location can be updated with a satellite connection. Users can also take advantage of Roadside Assistance via satellite to get help from local service providers if they have car trouble in a location without connectivity.

Emergency SOS via satellite is free for two years, and Apple has not yet announced how much it will charge for the functionality.

The iPhone Air includes the same advanced crash detection as other iPhone 17 models, automatically alerting authorities when a severe car crash is detected. Crash Detection uses a high dynamic range gyroscope and dual-core accelerometer that are able to detect measurements of up to 256Gs.

The gyroscope looks for rotation, while GPS capabilities measure sudden speed changes. A built-in barometer is also able to detect pressure changes caused by deployed airbags, and the iPhone's microphone can detect crash sounds.

The iPhone Air is equipped with an Apple-designed N1 networking chip that supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Apple's chip is more energy efficient and it allows for improved connectivity between the networking chips and the other components in the iPhone.

Wi-Fi 7 supports theoretical speeds of up to 46Gb/s, and performance is better in areas with a lot of congestion. The specification also provides lower latency for gaming.

Bluetooth 6 improves multi-device connectivity, audio quality, and efficiency.

Apple's chip also includes Thread support to interface with smart home devices.

Other Features:

• NFC - For Apple Pay and tag reading.
• Ultra Wideband 2 - Improves AirDrop and allows for Precision Finding in the Find My app.
• GPS: Dual-frequency for better accuracy. Supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, and NavIC.

Apple is selling the iPhone Air alongside the $799 iPhone 17, the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro, and the $1,199 iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Compared to the iPhone 17, the iPhone Air has a larger 6.5-inch display, a titanium frame, and an A19 Pro chip. It is also 30 percent thinner and 25 percent lighter. The iPhone 17 costs $200 less and has the benefit of a dual-camera system with Fusion lens and Ultra Wide lens, along with a larger battery.

The iPhone Air is significantly thinner and lighter than the iPhone 17 Pro models, and it starts at $100 less. The iPhone 17 Pro models are better in almost every way besides design, offering a triple-lens 48-megapixel camera system with up to 8× optical zoom, an A19 Pro chip with a better GPU, vapor chamber cooling to maximize A19 Pro performance, and much longer battery life.