Apple has announced the release of the iPhone Air, which the company said is the thinnest iPhone ever made. This is a new phone in the iPhone family. The iPhone Air has the latest Apple silicon chips and a frame made of titanium.
Pricing, Storage and Availability
The starting price of iPhone Air in the US is $999 and comes with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. It will be available in Select countries, including India, for pre-order on September 12, with general availability beginning September 19. A second wave of rollout in 22 additional markets will follow on September 26. In India, the iPhone Air 256 GB has a price tag of Rs INR 1,19,900.
The device is available in space black, cloud white, light gold, and sky blue.
Thinner, Lighter and Stronger With Titanium Build
At just 5.6mm thick, the iPhone Air is Apple’s slimmest iPhone to date. Its frame is made from grade 5 titanium, featuring a high-gloss mirror finish and a newly sculpted plateau to house the camera system, Apple silicon, and speakers. Apple says that this internal redesign makes the most of space for a bigger battery while keeping the structure strong.
Enhanced Durability With Ceramic Shield
For the first time, Apple has applied Ceramic Shield protection to both the front and back of the device. Ceramic Shield 2 protects the front of the phone, making it three times less likely to get scratched and better at reducing glare. The back, which has the new camera plateau, is also protected by a Ceramic shield, which Apple claims makes it four times less likely to crack than older iPhones.
High-Brightness Display With Adaptive Refresh Rate
The 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display supports ProMotion up to 120Hz for smoother visuals, alongside Always-On display functionality that can scale down to 1Hz when idle. The screen gets up to 3000 nits of brightness outside, making it the brightest iPhone screen ever.
Powered by A19 Pro, N1, and C1X Chips
The iPhone Air has three Apple-designed chips:
The A19 Pro has a 6-core CPU and a 5-core GPU, which makes it faster, lets you play AAA games, and lets you use AI on the device.
N1: A new wireless networking chip that works with Thread, Bluetooth 6, and Wi-Fi 7.
C1X is an Apple-designed cellular Modem that is twice as fast as the one before it and uses 30% less power.
Apple says this makes the iPhone Air the iPhone with the least power use ever.
Advanced Camera Systems With AI and Dual Capture
The iPhone Air includes a 48MP Fusion main camera, which offers the equivalent of four lenses through software. The new Photonic Engine makes colours and details more accurate and the 2x Telephoto zoom makes portraits and close-ups sharper, as per Apple.
The 18MP Center Stage front camera has a wider field of view and supports Dual Capture, which lets you record from both the front and back cameras at the same time. Other features include 4K HDR stabilisation, AI field expansion, and auto-rotation.
As far as Video is concerned, it supports 4K at 60 frames per second in Dolby Vision. For post-editing, it has Spatial Audio, wind noise reduction and Audio Mix tools.
Optimised for Battery Efficiency
Apple said the internal architecture has been designed to maximise space for the battery, aided by performance optimisations in iOS 26 and a new Adaptive Power Mode, which learns user behaviour and conserves energy during low-usage periods. The company did not disclose specific battery capacity but claims the device offers “fantastic all-day battery life.”
eSIM-Only Design and Global Support
The iPhone Air ships in an eSIM-only configuration in select countries, allowing for more internal space savings. eSIM is now supported by more than 500 global carriers, including all major U.S. operators. In India, however, the iPhone Air may come with a physical SIM.
iOS 26 and Apple Intelligence Integration
The iPhone Air comes preloaded with iOS 26. This version features new Apple Intelligence tools, including Live Translation for real-time voice and text translation, visual intelligence for interaction-based insights from screenshots, and AI call screening. Developers can access the on-device foundation model, which works offline for individuals concerned about their privacy.
Additional updates include enhancements to Apple Music, Maps, Wallet, and the new Apple Games app.
