Apple iPhone Air review: Apple’s thinnest iPhone is a bold step into the future

When you first hold the iPhone Air, it feels almost unreal. At just 5.6mm thick and 165g, this 6.5-inch iPhone barely feels like a piece of tech at all. It is the kind of phone that makes people stop and ask to hold it. During my time with the device, that happened constantly. Everyone wanted to see how thin it really was, and once they did, the reactions were pure disbelief.

The iPhone Air marks a clear shift in Apple’s design language. Rather than adding more cameras, more lenses, and more bulk, Apple has done the opposite. It trimmed everything down, making the Air not only the slimmest iPhone ever, but also the lightest in its size class. The titanium frame keeps it sturdy, even under pressure tests, while the Ceramic Shield 2 glass resists scratches better than any iPhone before it. It feels premium, yet delicate enough that you instinctively hold it more carefully.

The 6.5-inch ProMotion display hits 3,000 nits of brightness and looks excellent in every lighting condition. Colours are sharp and realistic, and scrolling feels incredibly smooth. It sits in a sweet spot between the iPhone 16 Plus and the 17 Pro, offering enough screen without the heft. Apple’s choice to pair this with muted tones like Sky Blue and Light Gold adds a touch of restraint. It is elegant, though some may miss the playful finishes of older iPhones.

Despite its thin frame, the Air houses Apple’s latest A19 chip and a 48MP main camera. The single rear lens produces sharp, balanced images, and the new 18MP selfie camera captures wider group shots without twisting your wrist. Dual Capture mode lets you record from both cameras at once, which is a fun, social feature that works surprisingly well for travel videos or vlogs. That said, photographers might miss the flexibility of telephoto or ultrawide lenses, which are exclusive to the Pro models.

Battery life is where the Air’s size starts to show its limits. The 3,149mAh unit can handle a full day of moderate use, but heavy users will likely need the MagSafe battery pack. Apple’s official add-on fits seamlessly, though there are more practical alternatives that charge faster or include power indicators. Charging itself remains slower than the Pro lineup, with 20W MagSafe speeds and USB 2 data transfer, a step behind the USB 3 speeds on pricier models.

The single-speaker setup also feels like a compromise. It gets loud enough for casual listening, but it lacks the depth and stereo spread of the iPhone 17 series. For anyone serious about audio, AirPods Pro 3 are almost essential companions here.

Still, the iPhone Air is not about raw performance. It is a design statement that feels like Apple’s proof of concept for a thinner, more efficient future. The titanium frame ensures it is not fragile, the display is among the best in the business, and the overall build is an engineering marvel. The compromises are real, but intentional. Apple has shown it can make an ultra-thin iPhone that still feels powerful, refined, and forward-looking.

Starting at Rs 1,19,900 for 256GB, the iPhone Air replaces the iPhone 16 Plus. It will appeal to those who appreciate design and want a phone that feels new, not just upgraded. For power users, the Pro models still make more sense. But for everyone else, this might be Apple’s most exciting iPhone in years simply because it dares to be different.