It was supposed to be the next big thing. Apple introduced the iPhone Air—the slimmest iPhone ever built at $5.6\text{mm}$. It was a major redesign. It turned heads back in September.
But here’s the reality: the iPhone Air failed to meet sales expectations. The demand was just not there. And then the ripple effect followed—it’s killing the entire ultra-thin phone trend right in its tracks.
The Great Pivot
The biggest players in China—Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo—they had their own ultra-slim flagships planned. They were going to compete directly with the Air. Not anymore.
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According to sources like Sina Finance and DigiTimes, they’ve either stopped or heavily adjusted those plans. That’s a massive shift in strategy. It shows the industry is genuinely spooked by the Air’s market performance.
Jotting notes on the scale of the failure:
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Supply Chain Cuts: Apple’s own suppliers—Foxconn and Luxshare—have already dismantled or stopped the Air’s production lines. That’s not just a slowdown. That’s a production halt.
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Resource Reallocation: The Chinese brands are pulling resources, including eSIM technology, away from those “Air” projects. They’re shifting focus to more conventional devices. They don’t want the same fate.
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The Competitor Flop: Samsung is facing the same challenge. They are already rumored to have canceled the Galaxy S26 Edge, the successor to their own ultra-slim flagship. This isn’t just an Apple problem.
Also read: No Samsungs, Only iPhones: Why London Phone Thieves Have Their Priorities Set
Why Did Consumers Say No?
The iPhone Air was $5.6\text{mm}$ thin, yes. It was a beautiful piece of hardware. But here’s the core issue. The whole product was built on a compromise.
It sacrificed too much. The battery was smaller. It only had a single rear camera. All this for a high price tag of $₹1,19,900$.
The thing is, the iPhone 17 Pro cost only a little more at $₹1,34,900$. But that Pro model gave you a bigger battery, a triple-camera setup, and stereo speakers. The value proposition was just completely warped. Consumers looked at the Air and decided they didn’t want style over substance. They went for the Pro model instead.
Now, even Apple is back to the drawing board. They’re rumored to have delayed the second-generation iPhone Air. They need a major redesign. They need to fix the battery life and the camera functionality. The situation is ongoing, and the industry is watching to see if “thin” ever gets a second chance.
Also read: No Samsungs, Only iPhones: Why London Phone Thieves Have Their Priorities Set
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