Apple Introduces iPhone Air

The iPhone Air looks great with its sleek, thin new shape, but you may not want to choose this phone as your daily driver just yet. The new device announced at Apple’s hardware event on Tuesday is thinner and lighter than other models, at 5.6 mm with a 6.5-inch display. But for the time being, it’s also less capable in some areas than the base model iPhone 17, which could deter potential buyers. For instance, the Air’s battery lasts up to 27 hours, while the iPhone 17 lasts up to 30. It also lacks the iPhone 17’s ultrawide camera and doesn’t support macro photography. Its A19 Pro chip (a 6-core CPU) has a 5-core GPU, compared with the Pro’s 6-core GPU. It has a single speaker and no SIM slot, as it’s eSIM-only. Meanwhile, the Air’s price point of $999 is 22% more expensive than the 17 base model, which starts at $799. And for just $100 more, you could upgrade to the iPhone 17 Pro ($1,099). Despite these disadvantages, there’s something compelling about the Air: It hints at where iPhone hardware design is going, including new form factors, like foldables. After all these years, Apple is still chasing a thinner iPhone — and not just because it makes for a better-looking device. Apple needs to experiment on a platform that uses its own technology to improve the hardware design and the phone’s performance.