Some unfortunate news about the iPhone Air has surfaced

Why did Apple discontinue the Plus models, replacing them instead with the new iPhone Air? Because the Plus models weren’t selling all too well, just like the iPhone mini models that came before them.

Apple was hoping to strike gold with something new, ideally creating a model that actually holds its own against the base model iPhone 17, as well as the iPhone 17 Pro. Yeah, that didn’t happen.

iPhone Air sales fall behind Plus models

The iPhone Air, according to a report (translated source) from a reliable industry insider, has fallen behind in sales to the Plus models that it was supposed to replace. As such, Apple has already cut iPhone Air production massively.The phone is a pretty divisive product: those who love it, really love it, while others who have tried it send it back and get a regular iPhone 17 or one of the Pro models instead. For the latter subset of users, the camera or battery tradeoffs become too much to accept.

Will Apple cancel it like the Galaxy S26 Edge?

Samsung has cancelled the Galaxy S26 Edge. Less than a year after the Galaxy S25 Edge came out, the company has abandoned the new model and returned to the Plus models, fearing poor sales in the future. In a way, I disagree with this decision, and think that Samsung has lost its identity.

Naturally, the question now arises about whether Apple will do something similar. Though nothing can be said for certain so early after the release of the iPhone Air, I’d wager no. Apple wants to make the iPhone Air the standard model, and current product timelines all point to more, and better, Air models in the future.

At the very least, Apple will likely make the Air for a few more years, just like it did with the Plus and mini models, before ultimately deciding whether to keep it around or not.

An emerging category that needs more polish

I still believe that these super slim phones could really take off, once Apple and Samsung adopt better battery technology. Like the silicon batteries found in so many Chinese smartphones nowadays.

I think that the iPhone Air will get a lot better in a couple of years, and will succeed in becoming the new go-to iPhone recommendation. Samsung was just too hasty in panicking over poor sales. It’s an emerging product category that just needs a little more polish — and lots of silicon batteries — to realize its true potential.

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