Since its launch, the iPhone has been a device that pushes expectations and experiments with concepts that few others in the smartphone industry dared to try. Apple has played things relatively safe in recent years, but with the iPhone Air 17, the company seems ready to shake things up in some notable ways. The new model is a curious mix of nostalgia and progress, echoing memories of the iPhone 4’s clean lines and the first MacBook Air’s focus on lightness. In most ways, this is Apple making a statement: thinness is back in style, though not at the expense of strength or power, and it mostly delivers that message with a style all its own.
Unboxing the iPhone Air 17, I was struck by how thin this phone really is. At just 5.6 millimetres thick, it’s Apple’s slimmest smartphone yet and, by most accounts, the thinnest phone on the market that isn’t foldable. You might expect something this slim to feel delicate in the hand, maybe even disposable, but it doesn’t. The titanium frame feels remarkably sturdy, the flat edges smooth yet grippy. Even though the camera bump sits visibly raised across the top, the phone rests flat on a table — one of those rare ergonomic wins Apple gets exactly right.
Even with its slim profile, the iPhone Air 17 manages to pack modern horsepower that rivals many flagship devices on the market. It runs on Apple’s A19 Pro chip, the same powerhouse found in the iPhone 17 Pro series. There’s no compromise in day-to-day performance: games load fast, photo editing runs without lag, and apps open instantly (more on that later). Benchmarks show the Air sits just below the Pro models in raw graphics scores, owing to one fewer GPU core, but in real-world use, the difference feels negligible. It even stays cooler than some of its heavier siblings during extended play sessions — an impressive feat for such a thin enclosure.
Apple has gone all out with many aspects of this phone, and the iPhone Air 17’s display is no exception. The 6.5-inch OLED panel delivers peak brightness of 3,000 nits, variable refresh rates up to 120 hertz, and exceptional outdoor visibility. Watching video on it feels immersive — not because the screen is larger, but because the phone’s lightness makes it comfortable to hold.
The anti-reflective coating gives it a matte finish that reduces glare and produces colours that appear more natural and less saturated. Even when compared with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series, the Air’s screen renders finer details and more accurate tones. I played a range of games and watched several videos on this phone, and everything looked sharp, crisp and vibrant. It’s easy to overlook this device next to the iPhone 17 Pro, but make no mistake: Apple put a lot of care into it, and it shows.
I won’t spend too much time diving into the operating system of the iPhone Air 17 — we have a full review of the iPhone 17 Pro for that — but I’ll touch on a few key aspects to set the scene and highlight what this phone takes advantage of most. The user interface now features a subtle “liquid glass” design, layering soft transparency effects beneath app menus and widgets.
System-wide AI tools include smarter message summaries, call screening, and new background generation options in Messages. Still, Apple Intelligence feels like a work in progress rather than a complete overhaul of the assistant. Siri’s major upgrade isn’t expected until 2026, and Apple’s feature set continues to trail Google’s Gemini suite in scope and fluidity. Even so, these early steps function with the kind of quiet precision Apple tends to favour.
“I’d describe battery life on the iPhone Air 17 as mixed rather than poor.”
For the average user, iOS 26 is vibrant, easy to navigate, and fully takes advantage of the iPhone Air 17’s hardware. The system offers a well-designed camera app, strong battery management at the operating system level, and an impressive selection of apps ready to download once you’re set up. If you’re switching from Android, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but both platforms now offer strong, polished experiences. It might take time to adjust, but you won’t feel shortchanged moving from one to the other.
Looking back at the hardware, it’s worth considering the iPhone Air 17’s longevity. This is one of the thinnest phones on the market — perhaps the thinnest — and as such, some compromises had to be made, with the battery being the most notable. Even so, I’d describe the battery life on the iPhone Air 17 as mixed rather than poor. Apple rates the phone at about 27 hours of video playback, but real-world results are more varied than that.
In theory, if you turned off every feature and only watched videos, that might be possible. However, if you’re using it as a smartphone, you’ll likely make it to your nightstand before it complains about needing a top-up. That’s acceptable for a device this compact, though it falls short of the Pro Max’s all-day-plus benchmark. Charging also lags behind other 17-series models — it lacks the newer 40-watt fast charging Apple introduced in the Pro line. Reaching 55 per cent in 30 minutes is respectable but not remarkable.
Having used this phone for a few weeks, I found it performed better than when I first brought it into the office. The phone actually learned my habits and optimized its performance based on that. Even while travelling and spending far too much time on social media and gaming, I still made it to about 8 p.m. with roughly 25 per cent remaining. Apple offers an optional battery pack that attaches magnetically to the back of the iPhone Air 17. It’s lightweight and adds little bulk compared with similar accessories on the market. It’s a great option for a quick top-up, though I understand some users may find the need for an add-on frustrating. For those people, the Pro or Pro Max models remain better options, delivering longer battery life and stronger all-day performance.
What isn’t so easy to overlook is the camera system, as the iPhone Air 17’s content-creation capabilities are among its biggest trade-offs — and potentially a deal-breaker for many. Unlike every other model in Apple’s current lineup, the Air includes only a single 48-megapixel rear camera. It performs well: photos show crisp texture, realistic colour and solid low-light handling, but you lose the ultrawide and telephoto options that define today’s flagship phones.
Portraits look good, though edge detection can blur clothing outlines, and the 10× digital zoom introduces more noise than you’d expect from a flagship smartphone. That said, the device still holds its own in most situations. The iPhone Air 17 camera is more than capable for casual users, but those who demand the best system possible — whether for content creation or capturing standout photos in varied conditions — may find it lacking.
“The iPhone Air 17 camera is more than capable for casual users…”
Turning to the front, the 18-megapixel camera delivers bright, balanced selfies and supports Apple’s new Center Stage framing for video calls. Dual Capture mode, which allows simultaneous recording with both lenses, is a welcome addition, even if it lacks the cinematic video tools found on the Pro line. For users who mainly need a camera for meetings, FaceTime or the occasional photo, the iPhone Air 17 covers the essentials well. However, compared with other phones in Apple’s lineup, it gives up quite a bit in content-creation performance for the sake of lightness — and that trade-off may disappoint some buyers.
The speakers on the iPhone Air 17 are another area where it feels like compromises were made to achieve the phone’s remarkably slim form. The single top-firing speaker gets loud but produces thin, high-pitched tones at full volume. Without a stereo setup, watching shows or gaming can feel unbalanced. Still, voices remain clear, which is useful for calls and podcasts. For most users, the iPhone Air 17’s audio is perfectly serviceable and sounds premium enough for everyday use. However, compared with other Apple devices, it can feel like a slight downgrade.
Even with all its drawbacks, Apple deserves credit for durability — the company truly nails it here. To ease concerns about such thin hardware, the Air uses Ceramic Shield 2 glass on both sides, offering three times the scratch resistance of its predecessor and four times the crack protection of standard glass panels. In bend tests shown during Apple’s demonstrations, it withstood 130 pounds of force without flexing. The result is a phone that feels both delicate and resilient — a small engineering paradox that fits neatly in your hand.
There’s a lot to like about the iPhone Air 17, yet it also feels a bit like a product searching for its audience. There’s no denying it’s one of the thinnest and most distinct phones on the market. It’s a joy to use, and Apple has managed to fit nearly everything most users need into a form factor that challenges competitors to match its engineering.
But with a starting price of $999 for the 256-gigabyte model, it sits uncomfortably close to the iPhone 17 Pro, which offers more cameras, a larger battery and faster charging for only a little more. That overlap could deter buyers who value traditional flagship features. Still, for those who prioritize lightness and elegance over multi-lens photography, the Air stands alone. This is a phone designed to remind you what minimalism feels like when executed with intent.
Even after all that, I love this device for many reasons, and Apple deserves credit for pushing the boundaries of what we expect from our phones. In an age of oversized devices chasing camera counts and battery capacity, the iPhone Air 17 strips everything back — and that’s what makes it so appealing. It’s not meant to be the Pro alternative or even a mass-market standard; it’s Apple’s statement on where the company is willing to experiment again. There’s something refreshingly old-school about that — an echo of the first iPhone’s focus on restraint and design.
The iPhone Air 17 isn’t perfect. It runs slightly warm under stress, takes its time charging and can’t replace a Pro when users need serious content-creation power. But it’s Apple’s most interesting phone in years — not because it does more, but because it dares to do less, deliberately and elegantly. Thin might not be everything, but with this phone, Apple makes a convincing case that it still matters. I hope more brands follow this lead and show what’s possible when design is stripped back to its essentials, leaving only true innovation.
