Hadrian/Shutterstock
Apple’s iPhone Air is an impressive feat of engineering, but that hasn’t exactly translated into explosive sales. According to a new report from the South Korea-based site The Elec, Apple is planning to cut iPhone Air production amid lower than expected demand. Citing an analyst from Mizuho Securities, the report relays that iPhone Air production may be scaled back by about 1 million units.
This, however, shouldn’t be taken to mean that iPhone demand is on the wane. On the contrary, interest in the entry-level iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro remain incredibly strong, with both models proving to be more popular than the ultra-thin iPhone Air. To this point, Apple is reportedly boosting iPhone 17 production by 2 million units, iPhone 17 Pro production by 1 million units, and iPhone 17 Pro Max production by 4 million units. All told, overall iPhone 17 sales appear to be quite strong, which is in line with previous reports we’ve seen over the past few weeks.
Apple’s iPhone 17 is still hard to find
Ming Yeung/Getty Images
To be honest, Apple reducing iPhone Air production isn’t terribly surprising. While the device is impressively light and feels great in hand, the value proposition offered by the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models is simply hard to beat. Indeed, many have said that this year’s iPhone 17 is the best entry-level iPhone in years. As an illustrative example, battery life (as measured by video playback) on the iPhone 16 was a modest 2 hours more than on the iPhone 15. The iPhone 17, meanwhile, supports up to 30 hours of video playback compared to the iPhone 16, which supports 22 hours of video playback. That’s a significant jump.
Speaking to the popularity of the iPhone 17, shipping estimates for some configurations are still stuck at 2-3 weeks across the U.S., the U.K., France, Switzerland, China, and Japan. If you want to get an iPhone 17 as quickly as possible, you’re better off going with the 256GB model, as the 512GB model appears to be in short supply.
It’s also worth noting that preorders for the iPhone 17 in China this year reportedly broke records. Further, iPhone 17 preorders in China during the first few minutes of availability reportedly surpassed iPhone 16 preorder volume in its first 24 hours of availability. Apple famously doesn’t break out iPhone sales data by model type, but we’ll likely get additional information from the company when it holds its quarterly earnings conference call later this month.
Apple doesn’t need the iPhone Air to be a huge hit
Cheng Xin/Getty Images
It’s important to note that Apple’s iPhone Air doesn’t need to be a runaway hit. Arguably, it was never designed to be. After all, the device holds a unique and somewhat peculiar spot in Apple’s product lineup. Consider that the device is pricier than the iPhone 17 but has a less impressive camera setup than the iPhone 17 Pro. Pricing and feature wise, the iPhone Air sits in no man’s land.
But that doesn’t matter, because the device itself is something of a prelude to the long-rumored foldable iPhone. To this end, Bloomberg last month reported that the foldable iPhone, when open, will resemble “two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side.”
In a sense, the iPhone Air is a proof of concept. It represents Apple’s ongoing efforts to develop an incredibly thin form factor without having to sacrifice processing power or battery life. The innovations that went into the iPhone Air will likely migrate to the foldable iPhone. If all goes according to plan, Apple will release a foldable iPhone as part of its 2026 iPhone lineup. A recent report, however, relays that the launch might be pushed back to 2027, as Apple still hasn’t decided upon a final design for key components.
