The iPhone Air is Apple's slim smartphone, complementing its other Air devices, the MacBook Air and iPad Air. In terms of its place in the company's smartphone catalog, it replaces the iPhone 16 Plus and sits between the base model – iPhone 17 – and the two Pro models. I tested it for a week to see how it handles daily life.
What I liked:
High-brightness screen with excellent display quality
Battery that lasts a full day
Slim
Relatively good camera
What I didn’t like:
Single speaker
Camera with a single sensor
No wide-angle sensor
No AI capabilities
Small battery capacity (on the other hand, it surprisingly performs well)
Design: iPhone Air – Slim and Shiny
As a reminder, a few months ago, Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Edge (full review), its slim device, beating Apple to market, so today both Android and iPhone users can choose a slim smartphone (if we temporarily set aside less popular brands in Israel). While Samsung’s option comes in at 5.8mm thickness and 163 grams weight, both impressive, the Air is slimmer – 5.6mm – but slightly heavier at 165 grams.
The Air is undoubtedly an impressive smartphone; it feels slim in the hand, light, and made some people who saw it excited. The silver frame alongside the back of the device I tested, in a very light sky-blue shade bordering on white, made it look shiny and futuristic.
At the new iPhone launch event, Apple addressed one of the points that could discourage consumers from buying a slim smartphone – durability. Apple noted that this device comes with a new front glass – Ceramic Shield 2 – which is more durable than the previous generation. It also has a new coating that triples scratch resistance and reduces reflections. The Ceramic Shield protection is also on the back of the device. Will this device survive the test of time and drops/scratches? It's hard to say, so it’s best to protect it with a screen protector and case.
Screen: iPhone Air – High Brightness and Rich Colors
The rich colors here, the high sharpness, alongside high brightness (peaking at 3000 nits) that holds up well in direct sunlight, make this screen a pleasure. The Air comes with a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display (Apple’s OLED technology) with a high 120Hz refresh rate and an always-on display that drops the refresh rate to 1Hz to save battery.
Interface: iPhone Air – Still a Successful Interface, but Where’s the AI?
For someone used to AI features in Samsung smartphones (whether Google Gemini or Samsung’s AI solutions), their absence is noticeable on the iPhone. Putting that aside, iOS version 26 is polished and provides Apple’s successful ecosystem experience, whether in excellent connectivity with the company’s accessories (AirPods), the MacBook, and other internal Apple apps that make the experience seamless.
Hardware: Single Speaker and eSIM Only
The processor here is the same as the new Pro models – A19 Pro. The wireless communication chip – N1 – includes WiFi 7 (if you have a compatible router, you’re set) and Bluetooth 6. The Air doesn’t come with a physical SIM card, only eSIM, to save space. This isn’t a major drawback, but worth knowing. Also, there is only a single speaker, not a pair, which is noticeable when watching movies, as sound comes only from the left side.
Camera: Single Sensor, but Still Delivers
In photography, the Air comes with a single rear camera sensor. It’s a 48-megapixel sensor with 2x digital zoom. The results of this model’s photos were good, with natural-looking colors and good detail and sharpness, and the 2x zoom was not bad at all. In portrait shots, I got relatively sharp images with a nicely blurred background effect. In night shots, the results were well-lit but not very sharp. Despite positive camera performance, it’s not at flagship level, and the lack of wide-angle shots is noticeable.
Apple also added its new Center Stage technology to the front camera (18 megapixels). This sensor allows shooting in landscape while holding the device vertically. It’s a convenient way to take landscape shots, especially since people are used to shooting vertically. It can detect if not everyone fits in the frame and adjust the angle. This camera performs well under ideal light conditions, but indoors, even in a well-lit room, its limitations are noticeable.
A nice feature (not unique to Apple) is the ability to record videos simultaneously with the front and rear cameras, capturing both the person filming and the object being filmed.
Battery: Small Capacity, but Good Performance
One concern with slim smartphones is the battery. For example, the S25 Edge had a 3900mAh battery compared to the 3149mAh in the Air. While Samsung’s battery was disappointing, Apple’s surprisingly performs well and won’t leave you without power during the day. For me, it lasted from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. with 5 hours of screen time (without Always On), with 21% battery remaining.
What’s disappointing is the wired charging at only 20W, though wireless charging is also 20W, which isn’t bad.
Price: The iPhone Air was provided for review courtesy of the Dinamika chain, offering the 256GB version for NIS 4,750 and the 512GB version for NIS 5,650.
Bottom Line: The iPhone Air comes with a price close to NIS 5,000 (or more, depending on storage) and offers a luxurious and unique design compared to other Apple models. The screen is excellent, the battery, despite initial doubts, performs well, and the camera manages nicely with a single sensor, though it’s not flagship-level or priced like a flagship device.
The iPhone Air brings a unique, new design and continues the trend of slim smartphones, with Apple managing to create a product that won’t disappoint those who purchase it.
For Tzachi Hoffman’s website: https://thegadgetreviews.com/