Apple’s iPhone Air - ultra-light packed with Pro power

As Apple unveiled its iPhone 17 series last month, most eyes were riveted on the Air variant {first of its kind) as it boasted an ultra-slim design (positioned as the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever) and innovative features. Let’s look at what it has to offer:

Design & build

Taking inspiration from the MacBook Air, the iPhone Air is impressively thin at just 5.6mm and weighs 165g. Its lightweight design makes everyday tasks like messaging and scrolling on social media apps a breeze, and there will be less hand fatigue.

The internal components are cleverly designed, with the processor placed in the camera plateau at the top, and Apple has also let go of the physical SIM slot to make more room for high-density battery cells. 

Though it looks fragile, the iPhone Air is remarkably sturdy. Apple has used aerospace-grade 5 titanium for the frame.

The front and back are protected by Ceramic Shield 2 and Ceramic Shield (gen 1), respectively. It has far better scratch resistance compared to previous iPhone models. The device is IP68-rated, meaning it can survive a dip in the swimming pool up to six meters for close to 30 minutes.

Display

The 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display boasts 3,000 nits peak brightness, 120Hz ProMotion, and an anti-reflection coating. It performs exceptionally well outdoors with minimal glare. The always-on display feature is available but can be turned off to conserve battery.

Performance

Thanks to the powerful 27-core A19 Pro silicon with Neural Accelerators, the iPhone Air delivers smooth performance. Be it gaming, photography, or AI processing, it doesn’t show any lag-ness as such. Hardware-accelerated ray tracing feature delivers an immersive gaming experience. 

During extended sessions outdoors, the device gets slightly warm, but it’s manageable.

The device runs iOS 26 and comes with the all-new Liquid Glass UI featuring a translucent design. Though there are minor bugs, it is likely to be addressed in future updates. The device supports Apple Intelligence features such as Image Playground, real-time translations, highlight to search and more. 

Battery life

Under normal usage with Wi-Fi connectivity, the iPhone Air can last a full day. However, heavy 5G cellular usage for multimedia consumption on OTT apps or playing graphics-rich games will drain the phone a tad faster.

Connectivity

Apple has incorporated a custom-designed C1X modem and N1 wireless chip to support faster cellular, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6. It also includes Crash Detection and SOS Satellite Connectivity (limited regions). It supports up to eight e-SIMs, but only two can be active at all times.

Photography

The lone 48MP Fusion camera on the back captures pretty nice photos with good detail, even in low light. It offers 2X optical and 10X digital zoom.  Thanks to an AI-powered feature, the 18MP Centre Stage front camera allows users to get group selfies vertically and not have to awkwardly hold the phone in landscape orientation.

It supports 4K HDR on both front and rear cameras. Like all iPhones, recorded videos on iPhone Air are stable and of excellent quality. 

Final take-away

The iPhone Air delivers top-notch performance, on par with the Pro model, but its sleek design compromises on battery life and the lack of additional camera sensors is sorely missed.