The iPhone Air is a smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc., announced on September 9, 2025, alongside the iPhone 17 family. Its defining feature is a thin titanium body, specified at 5.64 millimetres deep and weighing 165 grams. It combines a large display and A19 Pro processor with a single rear camera and an eSIM-only cellular configuration. Initial retail availability began on September 19, 2025. (apple.com)
Introduction and positioning
Apple introduced the Air as a distinct member of the iPhone range, emphasizing reduced thickness and weight rather than the multiple rear cameras associated with its Pro models. At introduction, Apple described it as the thinnest iPhone it had produced. The official product name is iPhone Air, without a generation number. (apple.com)
The launch configurations offered 256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB of storage, with a United States starting price of US$999. Four finishes were announced: Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, and Sky Blue. Pre-orders opened on September 12, 2025, before the first retail release a week later. (apple.com)
Physical design and display
The enclosure uses a grade 5 titanium frame, Ceramic Shield 2 front cover, and Ceramic Shield back. A raised plateau across the upper rear houses the cameras, speaker, and processing components, concentrating hardware in that area to leave more internal space for the battery. The quoted body thickness therefore does not describe the full depth of the raised rear assembly. (apple.com)
The phone measures 156.2 by 74.7 millimetres. Its nominally 6.5-inch OLED display has a resolution of 2736 by 1260 pixels, an always-on mode, and Apple’s ProMotion adaptive refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. Apple specifies peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits. The screen incorporates the Dynamic Island interface around its front sensor area. (apple.com)
The device carries an IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating, tested under laboratory conditions to a maximum depth of six metres for up to 30 minutes. This is a resistance rating rather than a statement that the phone is waterproof under all conditions. (support.apple.com)
Processing and connectivity
The A19 Pro contains a six-core CPU, five-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine. Its graphics hardware supports accelerated ray tracing. Cellular communication is handled by Apple’s C1X modem, while the N1 networking chip supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. (apple.com)
The iPhone Air uses eSIM rather than a removable physical SIM card. It supports two active eSIMs and storage of eight or more profiles. Cellular service consequently depends on compatible carrier support. Its 5G specification covers sub-6 GHz networks rather than millimetre-wave 5G. (support.apple.com)
A USB-C connector provides charging and wired data transfer, but data speeds are limited to USB 2, with a specified maximum of 480 Mbit/s. The connector’s physical format therefore does not imply the faster transfer capabilities available through some other USB-C implementations. (support.apple.com)
Cameras
The rear camera system consists of one 48-megapixel main camera with a 26 mm-equivalent lens, an aperture, and sensor-shift optical image stabilization. A 12-megapixel, 2× framing option uses the same sensor; it is not a separate telephoto camera. There is no dedicated rear ultrawide camera. Video recording supports 4K Dolby Vision at up to 60 frames per second. (support.apple.com)
The front-facing camera is an 18-megapixel Center Stage unit. Its square sensor allows portrait or landscape framing without physically rotating the phone, while automatic framing can accommodate additional people. Dual Capture records with the front and rear cameras simultaneously. (apple.com)
Battery, charging, and software
The phone contains a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Apple rates it for up to 27 hours of local video playback or 22 hours of streamed video playback. These are manufacturer test figures, not guaranteed mixed-use endurance. MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging support power levels up to 20 W. A separately sold iPhone Air MagSafe Battery extends the manufacturer’s local-video playback rating to 40 hours while adding an external attachment. (support.apple.com)
At launch, the device shipped with iOS 26 and supported Apple Intelligence features. Availability of individual software functions depended on language and region. Hardware controls include an Action button and Camera Control, while Face ID provides facial authentication through the front TrueDepth system. (apple.com)
Materials and environmental reporting
Apple’s launch environmental report states that recycled materials account for 35% of the device by mass. Reported recycled inputs include 80% of its titanium, all cobalt in its battery, and 95% of its battery lithium. Packaging is fibre-based. (apple.com)
The same report estimates a lifecycle footprint of 55 kg of carbon-dioxide equivalent for the 256 GB United States configuration, including packaging and in-box accessories. This is a modeled life-cycle assessment, covering production, transport, use, and end-of-life processing, rather than a measurement of an individual handset’s operating emissions alone. (apple.com)
References
- Introducing iPhone Air, a powerful new iPhone with a breakthrough design - Appleapple.com
- iPhone Air - Technical Specifications - Appleapple.com
- iPhone Air - Tech Specs - Apple Support (IE)support.apple.com
- iPhone Airdeveloper.apple.com
- iPhone Air Product Environmental Reportapple.com