In the spirit of honesty and truth-telling, most of us are probably irrevocably addicted to our phones. The average person checks their device upwards of 150 times a day–a force of habit reinforced by the dopamine loop that we can’t quite seem to disembark. So it’s a little ironic and frankly, a little brilliant, that one of the phones Apple chose to release into this landscape of digital excess is one that makes a quiet, confident case for doing less.

The iPhone Air is not Apple’s most powerful phone. It is not the most camera-laden, nor its most feature-packed but it could be argued that it is its most considered. After some time spent with it, we’re convinced: this is the iPhone for people who want their phone to work for them rather than the other way around.

 

SKINNY LEGEND

The first and most noticeable thing one notices about the iPhone Air is its silhouette and weight (or rather, the absence of it). At just 5.6mm thick and weighing in at 165 grams, it is the thinnest iPhone Apple has ever made. Its slim silhouette belies its durability, with a frame made from Grade 5 titanium and its front and back wrapped in Ceramic Shield for scratch resistance.

The device is available in four subtle colourways–Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold and Sky Blue. In a world of maximalist smartphone design, the Air is the equivalent of a well-cut minimal wardrobe: you hardly notice it’s there, which is exactly the point. And while the Air carries the smallest battery in Apple’s latest iPhone lineup at 3,148 mAh, with up to 27 hours of video playback, it still manages to outperform the iPhone 16. For most days and in most use cases, this is more than sufficient. And on the days it isn’t, the optional MagSafe Battery Pack extends that ceiling up to 40 hours. 

 

PRO POWER

For the person who moves between emails, decks, editing apps and social media across a single afternoon, the iPhone Air handles everything without a flicker of hesitation. Under the impossibly slim chassis lives an A19 Pro chip–the same engine powering Apple’s Pro lineup–featuring a new 6-core CPU that improves performance and efficiency, delivering the fastest CPU in any smartphone.

Apple Intelligence features are also along for the ride, with writing tools, Siri, and on-device AI that helps you draft, summarise and prioritise to help you get through your to-do list so you can put your phone down sooner to step outside and touch grass.

 

ONE LENS WITH A CLEAR STANCE

Depending on personal expectation or requirement, the Air’s most interesting (and controversial) design decision has to be its camera. There is a single rear lens: a 48MP Fusion camera that uses computational photography to deliver standard, 2x telephoto and portrait modes from one sensor alone. Up front, an 18MP Center Stage camera is capable of flipping between portrait and landscape selfies without you having to rotate the phone.

For the everyday user whose life isn’t a constant trawl for content, the setup is genuinely excellent. Photos are sharp, detailed and naturally rendered. Its limitations, however, begin to show in its zoom capabilities, particularly when compared to the triple-camera Pro setup. Content creators who rely on versatile zoom, ultra-wide or macro capabilities will likely find the Pro a better fit. But for the rest of us who just want great photos without overthinking? The Air proves that one exceptional lens is more than enough.

 

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