iPhone Air: The name is more than enough to make one fall in love with the slimmest iPhone. The word ‘Air’ was enough in 2008, and nothing seems to have changed. Steve Jobs pulled off one of the glorious tricks in tech history at Macworld 2008. He pulled out the first MacBook Air from a manila envelope. It was enough to make it the first laptop for many viewers of the video.
People in the Windows world thought it would never be successful. In 2025, many expensive Windows laptops are miles behind the Apple silicon-powered MacBook Air. Back then, some pointed out that the MacBook Air didn’t have enough ports. Today, most of us don’t need anything beyond USB-C connectivity. Was a thin form factor enough to make someone fall in love with a device? Yes.
The base model iPhone 17 is versatile, and iPhone 17 Pro (or Pro Max) has a bigger battery, besides an out-of-this-world camera system. What iPhone Air has is panache.
The rear camera on the iPhone Air consistently delivers. Shadows and highlights are well balanced, colours are true to life, and there's an overall sharpness and clarity
It is not an iPhone that has simply been shrunk. All the parts had to be reengineered to fit the camera. Apple has squeezed a lot of the memory and logic board, resulting in a camera plateau that makes room for a larger battery. The edges are softly rounded while the phone is extremely durable.
Peacock in the pantry
The question everyone is asking concerns the battery. Having used the phone for 10 days, I have a fair idea about the battery.
Everyone has different usage patterns, but face it, when it comes to Durga Puja or any festivity, we will use a phone throughout the day — take photographs, navigate from Point A to B to C…, shoot videos, doomscroll, and whatnot. And if you are traveling, you will use a phone for streaming movies, listening to music, and getting work done. I faced both scenarios.
Even after a day of extensive walking around during Durga Puja, I managed to end the day with at least 20 per cent charge left. It included heavy messaging, uploading to social media, shooting videos, and the brightness was turned up. And I am talking about a day that didn’t require a MagSafe battery.
So why not abuse the phone by playing games, like Metalstorm? And make iPhone Air work as a hotspot for the MacBook Air? The A19 Pro chip didn’t buckle and the phone ended the day with 11 per cent charge left. Unlike any slim phone we have used, iPhone Air has the best battery life, made possible by Apple’s control over hardware and software verticals.
On the iPhone Air, 2x portrait images add a dramatic effect
I would still buy a MagSafe battery for the iPhone Air but that’s needed for a weekend trip. Unless you try to kill the phone before sundown, it will definitely surprise you.
Solid as dad’s advice
Another concern you may have is durability because of its 5.6mm depth. While the other iPhones in the new series have switched back to aluminum, iPhone Air has a titanium design.
I have experienced the bend test firsthand. I was told to bend the phone as hard as I could while a machine with sensors recorded the pressure that was exerted. It’s seriously impressive. Unless the agenda involves bringing specialised tools to the table to bend the phone, it’s impossible to make it get out of shape.
The 26mm-equivalent camera includes sensor-shift stabilisation to help keep shutter speeds and ISOs lower in dim light
Large screen, small footprint
When you combine the thin build with low mass and a fairly large display size (6.5 inch OLED), you feel the phone has a large screen and a smaller footprint. To get the design right, one sacrifice had to be made. There is just one speaker on the phone. But the single speaker is not tinny or hollow. I am still recording interviews on the iPhone Air and listening back to these files while checking transcriptions. I assume most buyers will purchase AirPods to listen to music or watch videos, but one needs to mention the presence of a single speaker.
Snap happy
There is the 48MP Fusion Main (26 mm, f/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, support for super-high-resolution photos: 24MP and 48MP) camera and it also enables 12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto (52 mm, f/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilisation).
The iPhone Air has a 48MP wide-angle camera
Most users don’t need an ultra-wide camera. During Durga Puja, one pandal was photographed after another without missing a shot. There are hundreds of photographs saved on the phone, and each one can compete with iPhone 17 Pro. For those moments when a larger frame was needed, I backed up slightly or cropped out from a panoramic frame.
The camera does well, night or day. Non-Pro iPhones are about quick focus and capture... yes, the point-and-shoot crowd. And they will be happy. Slices of life are well preserved with the 48MP main camera.
In fact, if you are impressed by what the camera can do on this phone, you may want to jump to the Pro model… perhaps next year. If you are a shutterbug, you would like versatility, and for that, there is iPhone 17 Pro.
Even with the slim hardware, there is Camera Control and the Action Button. Camera Control is a hardware feature that I feel is best served on iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max because having a thicker phone helps get a better grip.
Start taking selfies
One of the biggest camera upgrades this year is the selfie camera, which can shoot 4K at 60fps. All the new models, from the base version to the top-tier Pro Max, share the same fantastic selfie camera. It uses a unique square sensor, an innovation no one else has implemented. The main advantage? You can snap vertical or horizontal photos and videos without having to hold the phone in landscape mode.
The front-facing camera is no slouch when it comes to video, offering a brilliant dynamic range, high sharpness, and almost zero noise. This means you’ll be shooting more photos and videos with the selfie lens than ever before. You can get a horizontal video while holding your phone vertically!
Apple’s Center Stage feature is a bit of digital magic. For example, during a FaceTime call, it tracks your face and uses its ultra-wide lens to automatically zoom out and welcome any new friends who join the frame.
The 18MP front snapper helps close the quality gap with the large cameras on the back, making your selfies more consistent with the rest of your photography. For those who care about their selfies — and let’s be honest, who doesn’t? — this is a much larger sensor that delivers impressive, noise-free shots. No matter what phone you’re upgrading from, this is a benefit you’ll appreciate from day one.
You’ll get the same resolution for photos and videos whether you crop them vertically or horizontally. Even when you crop in, the improvement is crystal clear.
Pro performance
Apple had to strike a balance between form and function. Even while leaning towards form, the company hasn’t sacrificed too many functions.
This, of course, is the slimmest iPhone. Yet, it has the super-powerful A19 Pro chip with 6-core CPU (2 performance and 4 efficiency cores), 5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, 16-core Neural Engine and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Given the limited space inside the phone, the A19 Pro processor works smoothly. It’s meant to get all your daily work done.
Also, the phone comes with the C1X modem and N1 chip, both of which help conserve battery life. Yes, you still get all-day use and 27 hours of video playback. During Durga Puja, I travelled to a few remote places near Calcutta, during which connectivity appeared better than on previous-generation iPhones.
With the in-house designed N1 chip, which does all the networking (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread), the phone performs flawlessly. The phone doesn’t have weaknesses in speed or coverage.
The iPhone 17 Pro phones come with a new vapour chamber to draw heat away from the A19 Pro chip and dissipate it through the body. iPhone Air doesn’t have a vapour chamber, yet the phone offers sustained performance. Care for a few games from Apple Arcade? Sure, it can handle it. The phone doesn’t overheat to the point of showing a warning message.
eSIM is the Future
iPhone Air only supports eSIM and this has been done globally. In case you still have a physical SIM card, update because eSIMs are safer.
Bollywood films have shown us thugs using a pin to eject the SIM tray and tossing away the card. Of course, all iPhones have multiple safeguards to stop thieves from taking over your phone.
But even with Find My and remote disable features, having a physical SIM can put you in a spot if your phone is stolen. With eSIM, it’s non-removable, making it easier for you to track your device. For a tech reviewer who needs to swap phones a lot, perhaps physical SIM cards are a better option but for everyone else, eSIMs are safer.
eSIM is particularly handy for frequent travellers or those needing multiple lines. Since the chip is embedded and the plans are digital, you can store several profiles and switch depending on location. Heading to Europe for two weeks? No need to hunt down a SIM kiosk at the airport — you can activate a local plan straight from your phone before you land.
How about support for mmWave 5G? Most users have no idea about what that is. mmWave 5G uses higher-frequency spectrum bands to deliver ultra-fast, high-capacity wireless connectivity but it’s not common to find this.
Make the Call
I am most excited about the iPhone Air for a reason that I hope comes true in the future. Consider the camera bar on the back and the slim form factor. Next, place two iPhone Air devices next to each other. Could this be an “iPhone fold”?
Apple has managed to successfully navigate two of the biggest concerns. First, durability. Even JerryRigEverything’s Bend Test is impressed. It’s one of the most durable phones of all time. The titanium frame can withstand any pressure from human hands. You can even sit on the phone for an extended period of time. It will survive.
The second concern you may have is battery life. Ending the day with 15-20 per cent battery is quite good. The question is how far the battery would hold up after two years.
You get all the new features that come with iOS 26, including customisation. The phone will continue to support new OS features for many years to come… in true Apple style. iPhone Air is a smartphone that speaks to the fashion-conscious. It’s tres stylish!
Looking at the phone in isolation, iPhone Air doesn’t make compromises — not as many as I thought it would — and offers something to celebrate. When MacBook Air arrived, there was excitement. And there is excitement today with iPhone Air. It’s for those who want something special. When I look at the phone from the back or the front, I feel like I am looking at the future.