Welcome To The Era Of Thin Smartphones (whether You Want It Or Not)

We knew it was coming, and now it’s here. The iPhone Air, arsenic rumored, is only 5.6mm heavy and has less features than nan guidelines iPhone 17, which is $200 cheaper. Sure, it’s not nan first slimline reinterpretation of a awesome smartphone — Samsung hit Apple to nan punch with nan Galaxy S25 Edge earlier this twelvemonth — but nan power of Apple can’t beryllium underestimated. It’s excessively early to show if nan iPhone Air will shingle up smartphones arsenic nan MacBook Air did pinch laptops, but it’s decidedly a safer evolution. And hey, possibly nan iPhone Air is simply a pit-stop connected nan measurement to nan first Apple foldable.

Let’s spell backmost to 2008. With nan MacBook Air, Apple ditched nan optical disc thrust and galore ports, starring to a instrumentality that was truthful bladed Steve Jobs pulled it retired of a manila letter cover erstwhile he first revealed it. The first MBA had immoderate issues; it was underpowered, utilized a mini and slow difficult thrust and artillery life was beautiful awful. But Apple refined nan formula, which led to countless slimmed-down laptops and moreover a caller category, nan ultraportable.

Sadly, Apple didn’t fig retired an arsenic iconic measurement to uncover its ace slim iPhone. In fact, it dropped it successful a cautiously prepared trading video, presumably successful a bid to show disconnected really assured it is pinch nan hardiness of nan iPhone Air. But it felt for illustration Apple trying to assuage durability fears successful a measurement that doesn't really work, since this was conscionable portion of a carefully-manicured trading promotion.

That’s 1 of 2 concerns for thinner phones: durability. Apple’s iPhone Air has a framework made from recycled titanium – antecedently an iPhone Pro feature. The Air besides has nan company's Ceramic Shield, which Apple says is now 3x much scratch-resistant than past versions. It feels for illustration Apple has engineered a telephone little apt to get damaged. And of course, nan institution is happy to connection a super-slim 1mm lawsuit for nan paranoid among us.

The different interest is artillery life. A slimmer floor plan successful a smartphone intends little abstraction for nan battery. Apple claims that nan iPhone Air’s soul architecture “maximizes abstraction for nan battery,” but nan institution doesn’t stock circumstantial artillery capacity figures. Regardless, Apple says nan iPhone Air will present “all-day artillery life,” which remains hugely subjective.

Apple besides announced a caller $99 MagSafe charging battalion to guarantee nan iPhone Air tin play backmost video for up to 40 hours. But that charging puck seems moreover thicker than nan camera portion — pinch nan 2 devices combined, that's nary longer a superthin smartphone, it's an iPhone 17 pinch 1 camera. The truth that it exists astatine each should springiness group region astir nan Air’s longevity.

Also: that large aged camera module. Samsung’s S25 Edge has a 5.8mm heavy body, but if you count nan camera, it's person to 10mm. The iPhone Air is thinner than nan S25 Edge, astatine 5.6mm. But nan camera “plateau” adds a important width connected apical of that, though Apple hasn’t said conscionable really heavy it is. Judging by images, it could beryllium almost doubly arsenic heavy arsenic nan iPhone Air’s assemblage alone.

Compared to nan MacBook Air, nan iPhone Air is improbable to shingle up nan world of smartphones. While packed pinch tech upgrades, there’s thing revolutionary. For example, nan iPhone Air still has a USB-C larboard – early rumors suggested it mightiness ditch each ports for wireless connections and charging. That azygous camera will astir apt return awesome photos, but nan inferior whitethorn beryllium constricted without a dedicated telephoto lens — a constituent I've been emphasizing. Samsung’s S25 Edge attempted to reside that pinch a 200-megapixel camera, allowing for important integer zoom by cropping in.

Despite these imaginable pitfalls, I’m intrigued to spot really nan iPhone Air fares. I’ve often returned to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, simply because of nan lighter, slimmer profile. The weaknesses of slimmer smartphones I’ve outlined present didn’t consequence successful a bad phone. Like Sam Rutherford put successful his review, nan S25 Edge is arguably a amended telephone than nan S25+.

Are group hopeless for a thinner smartphone? The $999 iPhone Air is cleverly priced betwixt nan guidelines iPhone 17 ($799) and nan iPhone 17 Pro ($1,099), and nan deficiency of a positive exemplary conscionable mightiness push group towards nan Air.

I deliberation there’s a spot for nan iPhone Air. It’s lighter, it’ll fresh successful pockets amended and it’ll person each nan features of iOS 26 astatine a clip erstwhile caller functionality has shifted from hardware to software. Apple has attempted to reside galore of nan concerns pinch superslim phones, but nan existent trial of artillery longevity and durability will travel pinch a fewer months of use.