Apple's iPhone Air Redefines Slim Design

Apple has unveiled its slimmest iPhone to date: the iPhone Air. Measuring a mere 5.6mm thick, it's over a millimeter thinner than the 6.9mm iPhone 6 and only slightly thicker than the 5.4mm M4 iPad Pro. Preorders for the iPhone Air begin on September 12th at $999, with availability starting September 19th.

The new device is offered in four finishes: Sky Blue, Light Gold, Cloud White, and Space Black. It features a 6.5-inch, 120Hz ProMotion OLED display with a variable refresh rate from 1Hz for the always-on display to 120Hz, matching the rest of this year's iPhone models. The screen boasts up to 3,000 nits of peak outdoor brightness, with a typical maximum of 1,000 nits and a peak HDR brightness of 1,600 nits. The frame is crafted from polished, glossy titanium, while the front and back are protected by Ceramic Shield 2 glass, which Apple states offers four times the scratch resistance of previous iPhone back glass. The rear also houses a single camera embedded within a raised bar that spans the top of the device.

Battery life is a significant consideration for such a thin device, yet remarkably, it delivers performance comparable to the iPhone 16 Pro based on Apple's specifications. The company claims up to 27 hours of video playback and 22 hours of streaming video, identical to the figures for the 16 Pro. Apple also introduced a new, slimmer MagSafe battery pack—the phone supports MagSafe—to accompany the launch. With this accessory, battery life extends to up to 40 hours for video playback and 35 hours for streaming. Using a 20W adapter via the USB-C port, the phone can reach a 50 percent charge in just 30 minutes.

The rear camera system consists of a single 48MP "Fusion" camera, which Apple says effectively operates as four lenses. It captures 24MP and 48MP photos with the main camera, and switches to a 12MP "optical-quality" 2x telephoto mode with optical image stabilization. The phone also supports up to 10x digital zoom. For video, the iPhone Air records Dolby Vision at 4K resolution from 24fps to 60fps, 1080p from 25fps to 60fps, and 720p at 30fps. It includes an iOS Action mode for recording fast-moving action, like sports, at up to 2.8K Dolby Vision and 30fps. In video mode, digital zoom reaches up to 6x.

On the front, an 18MP selfie camera supports Center Stage, Apple's digital panning feature also found on Macs and iPads, which keeps you centered in the frame. It automatically zooms out when additional people enter the shot, making group photos easier to capture.

The iPhone Air comes with 256GB of storage and is powered by the A19 Pro chip—the same processor found in the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max—featuring a 5-core GPU with AI accelerators in each core. Apple claims the device delivers computing power on par with a MacBook Pro. It also uses Apple's in-house C1x cellular modem, stated to be twice as fast as the C1 modem introduced in the iPhone 16e earlier this year. The phone supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and includes a Thread radio for the Matter smart home standard.

Developing...