Apple iPhone Air review – GSMArena.com tests

Introduction and specs

The popular Air series finally reached iPhoneland. A momentous occasion that Apple deemed worthy of a one-off naming and omitted the “17.” After two less than successful experiments with the mini and Plus models Apple is still searching for the right formula that will help it properly expand the appeal of its flagship smartphone series. Can a design-focused Air do the trick?

While the iPhone Air inherits the slot of the Plus between the vanilla and Pro models it’s a very different proposition so it’s by no means a successor. On the one hand the Air has far more in common with the Pro models, with its Promotion display and A19 Pro chipset, not to mention the $100/€100 higher price tag compared to the Plus. There’s also the titanium frame and the unique design that actually put it ahead of this year’s Pro duo.

On the other hand the camera setup is closer to the iPhone 16e than the iPhone 17 and the battery size is by far the smallest in the entire range. So it’s clearly targeting a very different audience. Here’s the cheat sheet:

Apple iPhone Air specs at a glance:

• Body: 156.2×74.7×5.6mm, 165g; Glass front (Ceramic Shield 2), titanium frame (grade 5), glass back (Ceramic Shield); IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 6m for 30 min), Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified).
• Display: 6.50″ LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 1600 nits (HBM), 3000 nits (peak), 1260x2736px resolution, 19.54:9 aspect ratio, 460ppi; Anti-reflective coating.
• Chipset: Apple A19 Pro (3 nm): Hexa-core (2×4.26 GHz + 4xX.X GHz); Apple GPU (5-core graphics).
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM; NVMe.
• OS/Software: iOS 26.
• Rear camera: 48 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS.
• Front camera: Wide (main): 18 MP multi-aspect, f/1.9, 20mm, PDAF, OIS; Depth: SL 3D.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), stereo sound rec; Front camera: 4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 3149mAh; Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min, 20 wireless MagSafe/Qi2, 50% in 30 min (15W – China), 4.5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 6.0; NFC.
• Misc: Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer; Ultra Wideband (UWB) support (gen2 chip), Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite.

Another way the iPhone Air tries to broaden the lineup’s appeal is by offering a third screen size option – its 6.5″ panel slots in between the iPhone 17 Pro and the 17 Pro Max.

But as evident from its name, the key selling point of the iPhone Air is its absurdly thin body, measuring 5.6mm in thickness and tipping the scales at just 165 grams. That’s a hair thinner and just two grams heavier than Samsung’s uber-slim competitor, the S25 Edge.

The single camera at the back is a big pain point, but Apple reckons it will be just enough for users who are not photography-demanding. Plus there’s a brand new 18 MP selfie camera with an innovative octagonal sensor, which might even be more important to some of those.

Apple was never one to commit to the specs race game, but the iPhone Air’s 3,149 mAh battery is still somewhat concerning. But perhaps the company will sprinkle its optimization magic and squeeze a decent endurance out of that limited package.

But enough speculations, let’s take a look inside the box and see how good the iPhone Air really is and if Apple is really onto something here.

Unboxing the Apple iPhone Air

The iPhone Air ships in a super-thin paper box – it’s slimmer than the ones of its 17 series siblings to align with its key feature. The image on the cover is also different – while the other three phones have their backs pictured, here you get a side view.

The box contains exactly one useful item – a USB-C cable for charging and data. There’s not even a SIM ejection pin since the Air doesn’t have a physical SIM slot.