Apple iPhone Air review: the super skinny iPhone will surprise you

I remember the Apple iPhone 6 with great fondness. It was the model I switched back to iOS for (I had the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G) after a couple of years dabbling with BlackBerry and Android. The reason I loved it so much was its slim design and back then, I really liked the curved edges too.

I have been converted to flat edges over the last few years (not that I've had a choice) but I've always been secretly hoping slim phones would make a comeback. When Apple announced the iPhone Air then, it felt like my wishes had come true, but do I have to compromise too much for its slender build?

Price and availability

The Apple iPhone Air starts at £999 /$999 and it is available to buy from Apple, as well a number of major retailers including John Lewis in the UK and Best Buy in the US. Storage starts at 256GB, with 512GB costing £1,199 / $1199 and 1TB costing £1,399 / $1399. There are four colour options of Sky Blue, Light Gold, Cloud White and Space Black.

Apple iPhone Air Review: Design and Features

It's fair to say that phone design has become a little stagnant over the last few years. I'm not talking about folding phones, because they definitely still bring plenty to the table, but standard phones typically focus more on camera and AI capabilities than design these days.

As someone who loves design, the iPhone Air – and Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge, but we're not talking about that here – is a breath of fresh air.

I'd have preferred a matte finish over polished, but the 5.6mm titanium frame is gorgeous. It's a pleasure to use with a weight that's significantly lighter than I've become used to on my iPhone 16 Pro Max and a display that hits the sweet spot for me in terms of size.

The glass rear panel is soft and smooth and it feels lovely in the hand, while features like the Action Button and Camera Control button are both on board despite the thin frame. It's eSIM only, so that's something to consider, and I don't recommend putting a case on if you don't want to ruin its look, but overall, the iPhone Air is a real delight on the design front.

Apple iPhone Air review: Camera

There are, of course, some compromises that have to be made with a slim build as there just isn't the space to fit everything in. But in the iPhone Air's defence, it cuts far fewer corners than I expected it to. One of those corners is the rear camera, in that it only offers a single main sensor compared to a triple setup like the iPhone 17 Pro or even a dual setup like the cheaper iPhone 17.

That single 48-megapixel sensor does produce excellent images, however, with balanced colours and great detail. There is 2x optical zoom from the single sensor but that's as close as you can get without losing detail. Please don't bother using the 10x digital zoom for everyone's sake.

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Move to the front camera and you get the same 18-megapixel sensor as the other new iPhone models with Centre Stage technology (first introduced on iPad) to keep you in the frame. It was the ability to switch between portrait and landscape selfies without rotating the phone that was the real winning camera feature for me though. It works brilliantly and it means no more selfies with weird side-eyes.

Apple iPhone Air Review: Performance

Under the hood of the iPhone Air, you'll find a similar processor to the iPhone 17 Pro, with the A19 Pro running the show (but with a 5-core GPU rather than a 6-core GPU). That results in a smooth and fluid experience, much like the punchy and vibrant display thanks to 120Hz refresh rate support.

The Air gets a little warmer than the iPhone 17 Pro at the top by the camera bump, but I'm not talking hot, and the Pro models have been designed for better heat dissipation so that finding was expected.

Plus, it's battery life you really care about, no doubt, and I am pleased to confirm it is not as terrible as you might be expecting. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised. My days start at 6am and finish around midnight and the iPhone Air had between 25 and 35 per cent every night during my review period and that was with heavy use.

Ultimately, you'll get through the day and evening no problem, but if you're planning on staying out till all hours, consider investing in the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery Pack.

Should I buy the Apple iPhone Air?

The Apple iPhone Air is a brilliant phone and it will be perfect for some users who have been dreaming for the return of slim and lightweight phones since devices like the iPhone 6.

It only has a single camera, so you miss out on ultra-wide or proper zoom capabilities and putting a case on it, despite you feeling like you'll want to protect it, will ruin exactly what it's about.

But the design is an absolute delight to use; the battery life is more than respectable; the display is lovely, and the single camera is very capable. For the right person, the iPhone Air is everything it should be.

Alternatives to consider

If you're considering the iPhone Air, there's a very good chance you are looking for a slim phone. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is almost identical in thickness at 5.8mm compared to the Air's 5.6mm and it is lighter at 163g compared to 165g, though it runs on Android and Samsung's One UI rather than iOS of course.

If you want an iPhone but you don't want to compromise on camera, or you think you'll ruin the Air's design with a case, then consider the iPhone 17, which offers superb value for money this year.