iPhone Air: Apple’s Thinnest iPhone Yet, but at What Cost?

It’s September, and Apple has just wrapped its “Awe Dropping” event, announcing four new iPhones. The biggest change this year is that Apple has replaced the Plus variant with the new iPhone Air, which is Apple’s thinnest smartphone to date.

While the iPhone Air was always expected to have some compromises, it looks like its slim profile comes with more tradeoffs than many expected. Moreover, Apple has priced this smartphone close to Pro iPhone variants, which makes things tighter for this smartphone. If you are looking to buy an iPhone Air, here are the 5 tradeoffs you should know before you punch the pre-order button.

iPhone Air only comes with a single speaker

Not the battery, I was truly surprised that the iPhone Air only ships with a single speaker, and moreover, it is located in the earpiece and not at the bottom, which is generally considered the default speaker placement on phones, even for a mono speaker.

We haven’t tested real-world audio yet, but it’s tough to believe it’d sound anywhere close to the Pro Phones at the same price point.

Well, if you think you can trade off audio for that thickness with headphones, there are still other compromises you need to know.

Promises All Day Battery, but We Have Trust Issues

Apple claims the iPhone Air will have an all-day battery life. But guess, we have to test it out in the real world to see if it actually delivers the claims.

The reason we are uncertain about the battery life is because of Apple’s history with its “mini” series. When we tested the iPhone mini series with smaller battery capacity compared to the rest of the lineup, we were mostly satisfied with the battery life back then; however, even then, the battery didn’t last a full day for power users.

The iPhone Air, with its lower-capacity battery than the rest of the iPhone 17 series lineup, may face a similar challenge, as it may struggle to keep up with the big 6.5-inch display and A19 Pro processor.

While Apple hasn’t revealed the exact numbers, according to the EU listings, the battery capacity of the iPhone Air is about 3200 mAh compared to a 3,692mAh battery on the standard iPhone 17 and 4,252mAh and 5,088mAh batteries on the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max.

Ironically, during the launch presentation, Apple mentioned about the new MagSafe battery for iPhone Air just 10 seconds after claiming all-day battery life, clearly hinting that users may need that extra juice that was compromised because of that thickness.

Single Camera – We Understand Space Constraints, but…

If you are not into photography, you won’t even bother having the camera on the back, but if you are, the Apple iPhone Air only comes with a single rear camera. For comparison, the standard model, iPhone 17, comes with dual 48-megapixel cameras, and the Pro offers one more telephoto lens.

Considering the price, one might feel shortchanged. For casual users, it may be fine, but if photography is a decent priority, the Air feels under-equipped.

Limited Charging Speeds and Transfer Speeds

Not only the battery capacity, Apple, for better thermal efficiency, has also limited charging speeds on the iPhone Air. The new iPhone Pro models now support up to 40W charging speeds. The iPhone Air still charges at 20W. While the lesser battery capacity should help to recharge the device quickly, it still feels outdated when rivals and even Apple’s own Pro models are moving to much faster standards. Despite you spending more than 150% of the price on the iPhone Air, it comes with similar charging speeds as the base iPhone 17. And yes, even wireless charging support is up to 20W only.

Another major drawback is that the iPhone Air’s USB-C port is limited to USB 2, which only offers transfer speed up to 480 Mb/s compared to the USB 3 ports on the similarly priced Pro phones. For anyone transferring large files, this could be frustrating.

eSIM Only Option

While many companies have adopted eSIM-only options in some countries, physical SIMs are still widely used in many countries, and many users still prefer physical SIMs over eSIMs because they are easier to swap between devices and don’t rely on carrier support for activation. Apple says that because of the size limitations, iPhone Air will come with eSIM-only support in all regions.

This means if you purchase an iPhone Air, you will have to rely on the eSIM. While some studies say eSIM is more convenient than physical SIMs, you might face challenges if your carrier has limited support, or if you frequently switch numbers and devices, where physical SIMs still offer a faster, hassle-free experience.

And Some More…

Here is a summary of the compromises or trade-offs the iPhone Air has when compared to the standard iPhone 17 to give you a battery idea of what you are sacrificing for the slim profile.

However, compared to the iPhone 17, the iPhone Air comes with a better processor.

Not everything about the iPhone Air is bad. The iPhone Air is an undeniably thin and light smartphone from Apple, and also an engineering marvel when you see what Apple manages to do inside.

If you want the best and thinnest iPhone ever and don’t care about the high-end cameras, fast charging, and physical SIMs, Air is the best option.

However, if your priority is owning the thinnest smartphone, you can ignore these tradeoffs, such as a smaller battery, a single speaker and other compromises.

But the Apple iPhone Air is unnecessarily thin at a price that it directly competes against the iPhone 17 Pro series, which offers incredible value for money and features when compared to the Pro and even the standard Model, which costs way less.

The direct competitors for the iPhone Air are the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, which doesn’t have as many compromises as the iPhone Air. Despite not using the latest battery technology, the Samsung S25 Edge comes with a larger 3990 mAh battery, dual stereo speakers and also supports two nano SIMs.

Samsung S25 Edge vs iPhone Air, Who did it better?#AppleEvent #iPhoneAir #GalaxyS25Edge #Apple #Samsung pic.twitter.com/dBVqNeNBsf

— TechPP (@techpp) September 10, 2025

However, the user reactions so far seem to be different, and many people actually like it, so if these cons don’t bother you, you can still consider the iPhone Air, but it’s best to wait until real-world reviews of this device pour in. Honestly, we are excited to try out the iPhone Air, as it’s by far the most exciting product of the four iPhones launched this year.

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