Apple's ultra-thin iPhone flops as foldable iPad hits a crease

Apple's run of hardware experiments appears to be hitting some turbulence: The company's ultra-thin iPhone Air has reportedly failed to catch on with buyers, while its long-awaited foldable iPad is slipping further down the calendar amid engineering snags and soaring costs. Hand holding a new iPhone 17 Air According to …

[Dave K]

If I wanted a lighter phone with less functionality, I'd also want it to be smaller in terms of dimensions, not just thinner and flimsier...

[Neil Barnes]

And price...

[elsergiovolador]

I judge every gadget by two things: how long I’ll use it and how it’ll make me feel. Divide the price by the months of use, then ask if you really want to stare at, hold, and hear that thing every single day.

Sure, you can “save” on a bargain phone - but then you’re stuck looking at it for years. The pain of the price fades fast (unless you’ve financed it into eternity), but the device stays with you, mocking you daily.

That’s why I care less about cost and more about whether it makes me want to actually use it.

Take the Dell XPS. Fire it up, and the fans scream like a dentist’s drill. Every session feels like punishment. Spend a bit more on a Mac, and suddenly it’s silent, smooth, and calm. You stop thinking about the machine and start thinking about the work. Funny how a few decibels can separate misery from motivation.

[hedgie]

Might depend on the OS. On the same hardware with my last dual-boot, the fans would scream like a jet taking off every time I booted into Windows for gaming, but the thing was dead silent under Linux. But yes, longevity is one of the things I think of when getting hardware, and a lot of it *is* Apple kit. Main reasons I use a Thinkpad is that I've always hated Apple's keyboards and don't want to carry one along with a laptop, and the fact that I didn't have to pay for it. But Thinkpads certainly like Apple stuff in terms of paying more for similar specs than most other laptops.

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you check that fan control was actually working under Linux? ;)

[hedgie]

Yeah. They were moving at a moderate speed (I went for larger but slower fans for noise), which is what I'd expect under normal load. And when I was looking at the load on system resources, KDE with all the desktop shiny stuff turned to maximum used nothing compared to Windows with everything possible turned *off*. I'm sure that had I actually used Windows for anything but booting up a pirated copy for gaming and had knowledge of it, I could have removed some of that junk, besides what a quick guide showed me. And that was Win 10 on, at the time, respectable hardware and liquid cooling that was making my fans scream.

[MachDiamond]

"Sure, you can “save” on a bargain phone - but then you’re stuck looking at it for years."

I can buy a dozen bargain phones for the cost of a new iPhone. Battery capacity goes to shit in about 2-3 years anyway. What usually bites me is a change in standards (4G>5G) or a phone that won't run a new enough OS to work with the one or two apps I really need.

[Anonymous Coward]

I too have a 2nd hand Dell XPS (15 inch 9500, with hybrid graphics) I wiped the hard disk and stuck Arch linux on it. It's normally pretty quiet, (normally no louder than my old 7250 latitude) but It does get noisier if I work the nvidia gpu by running meshroom or similar. (About the same noise level as a lenovo P1 Gen 2 doing the same task....)

[Anonymous Coward]

Written by AI

[Anonymous Coward]

"with less functionality, I'd also want it to be smaller in terms of dimensions"

Not a fan of anything Apple but a refurbished 4.7" iPhone SE (2019) was for me the optimal size and acceptable weight. I only know how to make and receive calls etc how to use the compass. ;)

If they made new models the same size and a little lighter I would actually buy one. I think the newer SEs are/were 5.4". :(

The downside is you cannot get cases for old 5s/SE etc except in charity shops if you are lucky.

The idea of an Apple "feature" (i)phone really would be a paradigm shift without the clutch.†

_{† It's a Dilbert cartoon but I don't know if Scott Adams is still canceled given the far grosser antics of the current US administration.}

[Headley_Grange]

Flimsy

See this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ56ve39l2I

Skip forward to 7:40 to the bit where he bends it.

[Like a badger]

Re: Flimsy

I am impressed, despite my previous comments to the contrary, looking at that I can't see arse pockets resulting in many curved iPhone Airs.

[Dwarf]

Re: Flimsy

There is a marketing opportunity here..

Change the case to be made of ultra light, super strong, super cheap, yet to be invented material that can resist bending, then put super strong crystal glass on it, making it stronger than the various grades of "great ape" glass.

All to save a half a millimeter, which in turn makes it more likely to break when its dropped.

Alternately, make it a bit thicker, cheaper, easier to find and say, thats OK using generally available materials. Which is pretty much what everyone wanted in the first place.

[Michael Strorm]

I've said before that the thickness of laptops used to be an issue (e.g. even Apple's own from the mid-90s are ludicrously bulky by modern standards) but we passed the point several years ago where they were thin enough for all practical purposes and that further improvements were purely aesthetic and that the footprint was the main issue (e.g. MacBook Air).

The iPhone Air has crossed that point with phones. Like the MacBook Airs, it's a technologically impressive achievement to get that thin, but beyond that... so what?

As others have noted, it's actually "much* sturdier than you'd expect from something that thin, and that's impressive in engineering terms too... but again, if you didn't need it to be that thin in the first place, that's all it is.

And for me personally, the way that the camera sticks out in profile looks weird and unbalanced, completely ruins any would-be slimline aesthetics and renders all that thinness elsewhere redundant.

[Charlie Clark]

FWIW the airs now resemble MacBook Pros: the tapering has gone and they more ports thanks to the return of magnetic charging cable, though of course, it's not compatible with older ones…

[hoola]

Any phone where the camera has to stick out is simply being made pointlessly thin.

It is vulnerable & gets snagged or you have to put it in a case that now has bulk to protect it,

[Dr Dan Holdsworth]

The other problem now is what pretty much everyone does with a new high-end smartphone: take it out of the packaging, admire the lovely design and form, then bung it in a phone case to protect that lovely shiny from the world. Phone cases also add functionality such as tripods for camera use (without which the Astro mode on Pixel phones is essentially impossible to use).

It would therefore be nice to see Apple designing in a much more sturdy casing on the phone its self and giving some thought towards allowing a phone to be held in a tripod for photography or filming (and this would only need to be something like indents on the casing side to locate a gripper, and perhaps stronger magnets on the back). Adding in better corner protection and texturing to the case sides to make it easier to hold onto would also help greatly.

Do that and the end user no longer has to buy and use a case to make the phone usable in the real world. This then leaves the manufacturer logo much more visible, helping with advertising of the thing.

[David Hicklin]

> then bung it in a phone case

I always bung my phone in a case as it does protect it, I have had phones since Nokia first started and never broken a screen yet......<crack>.......

[kmorwath]

Even worse, thinner phones may be less comfortable to handle (without a cover). Now, if it was a phone that hovers in the Air right next to you, it mitgh not be important, but fingers have to rest somewhere.

Just like others, I do not need a 6.7" phone because I don't watch videos nor take photos with it - yet I need something that stays in a normal pocket.

[mcswell]

phone cases

My 12Pro lives in a case, which obviously makes it thicker. Originally the case was because I was afraid of breaking the phone if I dropped it, although I've read that that's not likely. (I do think about it when I get out of my car in my garage with a concrete floor, though.) But then I tried holding the phone without a case, and it's just too slippery. If Apple were to make a phone with a non-slippery outside--particularly the edges--I might go caseless.

[kmorwath]

Re: phone cases

A non-slippery case won't be shiny, and thereby most (l)users won't like the phone, it would look less "appealing" in promotional photos and videos. Then they buy it and put it a non shiny case...

[hedgie]

I recently gave my old iPhone 11 to a friend who was phoneless, since I could get a 16 financed through my carrier,[1] even though it's a year or two before I was planning on upgrading. The 16 is definitely thicker, and I actually prefer it that way. It still fits well in my pocket, but has a more solid feeling to it. The 11 is so thin that, no matter how well it's engineered and what it's made of, it looks and feels flimsy. Even if it's *not*, it's uncomfortably thin without a thick case. Even if it's not rational, it's not comfortable at all. The thought of something thinner is an instant "nope".

For the most part, Apple's current line-up looks fine for pretty much anyone who doesn't have a magpie-like obsession with grabbing everything that's new and shiny, or rich investors thinking there *always* has to be something new and different coming out. I'm looking at getting a higher-end Mini within the next year or so, since it's easily powerful enough for my needs and a fairly reasonable price considering how long I keep hardware. Really, my only quibble[2] with their line-up is that iPads have a crippled OS;[3] a device that's only 80-90% of a laptop substitute is rather frustrating at times, since I have to carry both to do all the things I want to. They don't need to change the form-factor of what they have, especially to make it even thinner. So unless the iPhone Air or foldable one were things to appease investors, or flog to people who would buy anything coming out of Cupertino, I really don't see the point of either of these things in the first place.

[1] With the side benefit of being locked in a contract where they can't raise my rates.

[2] Besides Apple being Apple and the things that go along with that.

[3] I do get more mileage out of mine than I thought I would, since I just got it to replace a Wacom that was having driver conflicts with my mouse, that plays surprisingly well with my Linux laptop, and now also use it as an e-reader, for image editing, and writing some documents.

[Steve Davies 3]

Or...

Bring back the iPhone SE (with TouchID)

[Charlie Clark]

Re: Or...

I think I've got one of those for testing: not easy to hold and use with one hand compared to, say, my Samsung S10e from the same era.

[ChoHag]

Re: Or...

It sounds like you're holding it wrong.

[Charlie Clark]

Re: Or...

Probably, only use it once a month or so, but it's definitely slippier than the Samsung. Much smaller screen as well and LCD not OLED, right?

[John Robson]

Re: Or...

The "bring back" wasn't a literal bring back that spec, but that form factor.

Slap an A17 and an OLED on there, and you've got all the phone most people want... Doesn't even have to be all that much cheaper if it's a form factor in demand (and I suggest a screen small enough for people to use one handed is such a form factor), which should bolster profit margins somewhat.

[Headley_Grange]

Re: Or...

"and you've got all the phone most people want.."

I use an iPhone 13 mini cos it's a nice size, fits in my pockets and has everything I need - including the inability to run Apple AI. I bought an Apple refurbed one last year as a spare just in case and I'll use the 13 mini as long as it's secure. The problem is that folks like us are in a minority and small phones aren't what most people want evidenced by the fact that small iPhones don't sell nearly as well as the larger models (allegedly - apparently the internet sometimes tell fibs).

I'm sure it's more nuanced than this and there are lots of other theories out there. Some say that there was a rush to buy the last gen of the SE and as a result people didn't buy the 13 mini when it came out soon afterwards. The cynic in me suspects that people who buy the small phones are the sort of people who hang on to their phones for as long as possible and are unlikely to flip them for a new feature or better camera so Apple doesn't prioritise customers like us.

I'm resigned to a couple more years use of the 13 mini and then I'll have to get a stupidly huge phone that's too large to use one-handedl, doesn't fit in my denim jacket pockets and will have no features valuable to me that the 13 mini doesn't already have.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Or...

My daily phone.

Affordable, effective and still supported. (For now)

It’s a phone guys, it should be cheap.

[Charlie Clark]

Re: Or...

Define cheap.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Or...

… and an iPhone 17 Plus. Mid way between 17 and Pro Max.

[DS999]

It isn't really less functionality

Unless you are really using the camera effectively enough that having the three lenses rather than one makes a difference in your results. Most of us aren't good enough photographers for that to matter. Oh, and I guess it doesn't have the vapor chamber the Pro/Pro Max do but those were new this year so otherwise the same as previous generations in that respect.

I don't care about thin, or small, but I do care about weight. Having a thinner lighter phone would appeal to me, and the battery is already more than I need so losing some capacity there wouldn't matter.

I suspect that since it was called "iPhone Air" rather than "iPhone 17 Air" it was always intended as a one off. The folding phone will likely be about the same (unfolded) thickness and have the same titanium case so this was sort of a real world testbed to insure it has the desired durability etc. If it catches on, great, they can continue it. If not, well no one should have expected a second one when it didn't share the same naming scheme as its brethren.

[mcswell]

Re: It isn't really less functionality

I use the telephoto on my 12 Pro all the time (hiking, bird watching, animal watching). I hardly ever use the wide angle. So yes, I could see having two lenses, so long as one is a telephoto. But one lens, no.

[Sampler]

Vindication

I was downvoted to hell when I lamented it's launch saying who needs a thinner phone..

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Vindication

But you got over that.

[Sandtitz]

Re: Vindication

"I was downvoted to hell when I lamented it's launch saying who needs a thinner phone.."

Your post history says you got 13 upvotes and 2 downvotes for your post. Perhaps you need a thicker skin if that's your idea of hell.

[Sampler]

Re: Vindication

Not on here, I should've clarified that, reddit - but I'm glad you took the time to review my post history..

[TVU]

Perhaps Jony Ive's Cult of Thinness is going out of fashion now, particularly as he is no longer at Apple to influence things?

[Tippis]

They shrunk it in every dimension that doesn't matter. Maybe they'd have better luck using the same tech to reduce the other ones instead.

I can feel my 13 mini slowly edging its way towards battery failure and once that happens, there's nothing on the market that can replace that handy form factor. Ugh.

[Anonymous Coward]

You should be able to get the battery replaced, possibly officially, almost certainly unofficially.

[TheFifth]

I absolutely agree! The thickness is the last dimension I care about when it's in my pocket.

I'd been using a 12 Mini since they launched in 2020 and loved the form factor. At the end of last year I had a bit of spare cash so thought I'd update all of my tech. Picked up a new iPad, laptop and phone, all of which will see me through for the foreseeable future. As there was nothing similar to the Mini I went with a standard base model iPhone 16. I don't use my phone for much more than phone calls, text messages and paying for parking with apps, so I don't need anything amazing.

I hate the size of all of the modern iPhone lineup. It's impossible to put in a pocket without being really aware that it's there. It pokes out of the top of most. The weight was the biggest shock to me. If I'm wearing comfy track suit type trousers around the house, the weight of the phone in the pocket pulls them down as I walk around!

It seems impossible to get a decent, small form factor phone from any manufacturer these days. Apple used to be the last company making one, but they've fallen for the Android mantra of "must have a massive screen". I hate it.

[JimmyPage]

If Apple want to try something really radical

Why not get the shit you already have made to work ?

That goes for Samsung too.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: If Apple want to try something really radical

>That goes for Samsung too.

You complained when they exploded, now you complain when they don't explode.

You can't please some people !

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: If Apple want to try something really radical

Like Siri not being deaf and dumb.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: If Apple want to try something really radical

You do have to enable it :)

[Tim99]

China?

Apparently poor sales do not apply to China (simply.com).

[FIA]

Re: China?

I suspect the air is a halo product, it gave the engineers something to flex their muscles with and will be a status symbol for the few that buy them.

If you're buying a phone like that you don't stick it in a case... so you've got to be able to afford to break it....

It also allows the 'pro' to focus on performance at the cost of a slightly less appealing design.

[DS999]

Re: China?

It remains to be seen how well it sells there long term. The launch in China was delayed because they needed special approval for it as an eSIM only device. The "forbidden" nature of it being something that their government had never previously approved probably gives it a sort of subversive quality - or at least as subversive as China's citizens are allowed to be.

[FIA]

I do like stories like these....

"Apple is struggling to build a product it's never announced or even acknowledged exists..."

[IGotOut]

Why?

The body is thin, but the camera lenses stick out just as far, so its max depth is no different. Unless you have the top sticking out from the top of your pocket (screaming "steal me") you just lose battery capacity and gain nothing.

[Rich 2]

Re: Why?

Totally agree. Apple’s obsession with making everything paper thin is ridiculous. I think most people would prefer a sensibly sized phone with a better battery

I also don’t understand why they make the back of the phone out of glass. The thing is going to be put in a cover anyway to stop the glass breaking and to compensate for the camera sticking out and making the thing wobble when laid down on a table. So you’re not going to see the “oh so cool” glass back of the phone anyway

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Why?

I also don’t understand why they make the back of the phone out of glass.

It has matched CTE and tensile strength as the front. So it improves the products beam strength relative to a plastic back.

It is RF transparent everywhere, for the myriad antennas and charging coils a modern phone needs, compared to a metal back.

It is thus quite a good choice, if not the best choice, for a glued sandwich construction.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Why?

What something like an iPhone 17 “Plus” same as base model but bigger. May I also suggest an entry level one - say last years innards shrunk into a small form shedding some expensive features like Touch ID and the fancy camera. Can be called “Special Edition”. Cost conscious businesses will love it for staff who need a company phone.

So iPhone 17 Plus and iPhone SE.

I’ll let Tim know what the punters want.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Why?

Because they can. Besides, I doubt it's going to be a problem for Apple if it doesn't sell well, as long as it gets out in enough hands for real-world testing. It's what they do with the lessons learned that could be more interesting.

Personally, a phone that folds on the vertical axis has no attraction for me; one that folds like my old Motorola Razrs could be. I found the Razr to be the optimum format: compact to fit in most pockets but large enough to be usable. If the iPhone Air leads to an "Apple Razr" could return the iPhone back to the front of the pack (as long as it's not priced totally out of reach).

[Bloodbeastterror]

I'm looking forward to the day when all Apple users subscribe to Louis Rossman's YouTube channel and finally come to their senses about how they're overpaying for shabby badly-designed equipment. Shiny, yes. Good value? No.

[ParlezVousFranglais]

Brave post - I'll happily go toe-to-toe on socialism vs capitalism, but Apple fanbois are far too hardcore for me ツ --->>>

[David Hicklin]

> Brave post - I'll happily go toe-to-toe on socialism vs capitalism, but Apple fanbois are far too hardcore for me ツ --->>>

Not a fanboi by any stretch and used to have Android in the early days but have been Apple for a long time now - for me it simply "just works" and the times when I do upgrade (or replace when I lost it*) are so painless.

I also don't have the latest , greatest shiny - the SE models are all I need

* Got a replacement phone & sim, switched on, logged on and it restored back exactly as I had it just before I long it - lovely.

[Like a badger]

I'm not looking forward to that day. I wouldn't ever buy Apple tech as its too expensive for my tastes, but the company have pioneered many ideas that are now widely available at a reasonable cost, or they've taken somebody else's good but weakly executed idea and made it work well (again resulting in wider adoption). I'm thankful to Apple and their deep pocketed buyers for the benefits that have accrued in the Android world.

[MiguelC]

Good point, have one!

[Dan 55]

the company have pioneered many ideas that are now widely available at a reasonable cost

Removal of user-replaceable parts, removal of SD card, removal of headphone jack, removal of sideloading apps (aka installing on your own hardware) without registering as a developer...

[The Organ Grinder's Monkey]

I don't remember iPhones ever having external memory cards?

[Dan 55]

Android did though, until manufacturers decided to bring these Apple benefits to the Android world.

[Mishak]

Headphone jack

To be fair, I've not used one of those in anger since I ditched my off-brand Walkman...

Even headsets for PC use have been wireless as I like to roam when I'm in a pointless call.

I know some people have a thing for them, but some of us really don't miss them.

[Dan 55]

Re: Headphone jack

Apparently useful for streaming, gaming, and people who don't like throwing away earbuds after two years and buying them again.

[MiguelC]

Re: Headphone jack

And FM radio - without wired earphones you lose the antena...

[sabroni]

Re: I know some people have a thing for them

I have a thing for reliability, for simplicity, for things that are understandable and straightforward.

Ear buds on a wire are just like wireless ones except no need for batteries, no need to encode and send the audio over bluetooth and something keeps them together if you drop one.

Some people have a thing for expensive, easily losable, battery powered earbuds but some of us never saw the attraction.

[Sandtitz]

...every preloaded 3rd party software uninstallable, around 10 years of OS support, killing of Adobe Flash...

But tt's not all roses on this side of fence.

Draconian rules to enforce only the hindered Safari browser engine (and many other things). The expensive lightning cables should have been replaced at least 5 years before it happened. Apple fanboys. Hurdles to prevent using your own ring tones or watching your own DVD rips, requiring usage of iTunes. Also:

The creators of iTunes are a "bunch of mindless jerks who'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes". I dare anyone here to defend this piece of shit software.

[Dan 55]

...every preloaded 3rd party software uninstallable, around 10 years of OS support, killing of Adobe Flash...

No, the first two still haven't made it to Android.

[Sparkypatrick]

ITunes is basically dead. If you thought it was bad, try its replacement. The Apple Music app clearly only supports anything other than their streaming service grudgingly (and very badly).

[David 132]

I haven't used iTunes since they ditched CoverFlow, which shows how long ago it was.

Nowadays I use VLC on my iphone and copy the music I want across using its LAN browser. I'm a Luddite and prefer my music collection to be in the form of actual mp3/FLAC files I can play wherever & whenever I want, rather than being chained to a streaming subscription.

Oh, and for playback on the PC I'm a fan of MusicBee. With the excellent 3DBee plugin it's a fair approximation of the old, good Coverflow iTunes.

[wknd]

I watch Louis's videos on my 5yo iPhone, thank you very much

[werdsmith]

“ I'm looking forward to the day when all Apple users subscribe to Louis Rossman's YouTube channel and finally come to their senses about how they're overpaying for shabby badly-designed equipment. Shiny, yes. Good value? No.”

When you say “all Apple users” you overlook the millions of us using older iPhones that we got for next to nothing, or in my case I paid zero for my last two (IPhone Xs and now 12).

I don’t use iPhone because I like it, it’s obviously not perfect, but looking at the state of the absolutely awful main alternative option, it’s really the only choice. Android phones (I have a company one) take shabby and badly designed to new levels.

[wknd]

People are buying ugly external batteries for their phones, and Apple thought a good idea to launch an even thiner phone with, obviously, shorter autonomy.

Meanwhile, they could add a bigger battery, solving the bulky lenses in the process, and people would gladly upgrade.

[Charlie Clark]

Flawed comparison with Huawei

You take a potshot at the underpowed chipset in the Huawei foldable neglecting that the device has been available for a while, whereas Apple's device won't be around for a few years. Simple choice for those that want this kind of device: buy Huawei. Probably powerful enough and who knows what they'll have by the time Apple release theirs.

[ComicalEngineer]

13 is my lucky number

I have an iphone 13. It's coming up to 3 years old at which point it's paid for. I'll keep using it as long as it works.

Ultra thin phones and gadgets are are a vanity fad. I'd happily swap thinness for the 8 day battery life of my old Nokia.

I'd happily have a phone slightly thicker (say 2-3mm) than my i13 if it has another 24 - 48 hours battery life.

Again it's the endless search for the must have unique selling point for a new gadget.

I also have a 10.1" ipad which I use for emails etc when I don't have my laptop with me. The thickness isn't an issue.

One of the major issues with new tech is that there just isn't a "must have" killer app / killer reason for having the latest gadget.

Which means that manufcturers are continually searching for the "must have" feature.

[Like a badger]

Re: 13 is my lucky number

"I'd happily swap thinness for the 8 day battery life of my old Nokia......One of the major issues with new tech is that there just isn't a "must have" killer app / killer reason for having the latest gadget. Which means that manufcturers are continually searching for the "must have" feature."

I'd say a "must have feature" would be a phone that supports 4-8 days use.

By making the Air as thin as it, Apple have proven there is plenty of space for top end phone gimmicks and a load more LiPo without the phone being a brick. All we now have to do is to penetrate the Cupertino doughnut, slice through the Gordian knot of Apple groupthink, and explain the idea to their clueless board. Sadly the main idea we'd need to explain is that us plebs and most Apple customers don't spend ten hours or more each day in a state of the art office where every flat surface is a wireless charger and even the toilets have wireless chargers built into the bog roll dispensers.

[ravenviz]

Re: 13 is my lucky number

I just upgraded from an iPhone 8 to a 12 mini, the 12 is actually physically smaller, but with a larger screen.

I’ll no doubt have this 12 until at least after iPhone 22 comes out, at which point I’ll probably switch to whichever more modern one is not much bigger, and less than £200 second hand.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: 13 is my lucky number

I still have an iPhone 8. Battery life isn’t great, I’ll look next year at replacing it, but having had mobile phones for 25 years or more, thickness of an iPhone just isn’t an issue.

[ravenviz]

Re: 13 is my lucky number

My 8 had started struggling when with some apps, occasional lockouts and freezes, plus the camera had started going “wobbly”.

[werdsmith]

Re: 13 is my lucky number

Ultra thin phones and gadgets are are a vanity fad. I'd happily swap thinness for the 8 day battery life of my old Nokia.

It’s not the thinness you need to swap. If you crippled your smartphone so it was only as capable as the old Nokia and then only used it for the same purposes then the battery would probably outlast the old Nokia.

I have a company smartphone that I don’t use for anything apart from the occasional 2FA OTP. It gets charged every 2 weeks or so.

[Zack Mollusc]

foldy screens for bendy iphones

Just a thought, but why not put a foldy technology screen into a normal slab shaped phone? If you sat on it wrong, it wouldn't crack the screen. Might help it survive being dropped, too.

[Spazturtle]

Re: foldy screens for bendy iphones

Because the folding screens are so soft that you can scratch them with your fingernail.

[Anal Leakage]

You forgot to mention Psion.

[Alex 75]

iPhone Air - Testbed for new tech

It really doesn't matter much how many iPhone Airs they sell. This is a testbed for their new tech (chips and packaging) that they will carry forward to their foldable phone and future iPhones.

[Mitoo Bobsworth]

iMissed

Apple have been missing the mark with their iThings for a while now - they no longer have Mr Jobs' knack for nicking good ideas & applying his 'reality distortion field' to them. Now they're mostly a reiteration of past glories.

[werdsmith]

Re: iMissed

Which, apart from these foldy things, applies to all phone makers.

[MachDiamond]

Re: iMissed

"they no longer have Mr Jobs' knack for nicking good ideas & applying his 'reality distortion field' to them. Now they're mostly a reiteration of past glories."

That's my main criticism of Tim. He's not wandering through the R&D lab to see what might be ready to check for seasoning and finish it off to be served. Yet another iPhone that isn't much of an improvement on the last iPhone, un-upgradeable computers, un-serviceable tech and what seems like an abandonment of the creative community. Maybe he doesn't know anything about media creators, but he inherited them just the same and needs to keep them happy. I'm very surprised that iThing fatigue hasn't set in to a greater extent.

[Anonymous Coward]

Meh, you can fold any phone or tablet

It’s just a matter of force.

[Richard 12]

Re: Meh, you can fold any phone or tablet

The hard part is avoiding creases, as mentioned in the article

[DrewPH]

Air Schmair

Thin is all well and good, but the iPhone Air is only 12g lighter than the iPhone 17 (165g vs 177g).

When you have 58 year old slightly arthritic hands, light is way more important than thin. The technology must exist to bring a nice rigid phone with 6" screen in under 120g.

[DrewPH]

Re: Air Schmair

To the thumb downer... I'm genuinely at a loss... wait till you're 58. Hopefully your hands will be as painful as mine.

[Anonymous Coward]

Where's the MINI?!

Yeah, who needs a *thinner* iPhone? Or a bigger one? I want a *smaller* iPhone (than what's being released lately).

The iPhone 13 Mini is the perfect form factor for me: it's small enough to use one handed and slips comfortably in a pocket. It's the last iPhone I bought, I've only ever bought iPhones around that size, and I have no desire for a larger screen..

I know larger is good for browsing and watching videos, but I'm also a huge fan oh the iPad and that's my go-to device for those activities. I use my iPhone for calls, maps, touchless payments, and *brief* browsing when I need to look up something when away from the iPad.

Apple, if you're listening, the iPhones are already thin enough. Stop trying to come up with different ways to make expensive iPhones and make another small form factor mobile like the 13 Mini. I'd happily have upgraded this year if you had, but it looks like I'll carry on with my 13 Mini for another year.

[phuzz]

Re: Where's the MINI?!

I fully agree, I'd much rather have a phone that was smaller in the xy dimensions, and I don't mind if it's relatively 'fat', especially if that means more battery.

The trouble is, apparently they don't sell very well. Every manufacturer that tries to build one, rarely continues it for more than a couple of generations.

I've never found a good explanation, even though comments like 'I want a smaller screen' comes up when practically any phone is mentioned, so it seems like demand is there. I guess we're just a vocal minority.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Where's the MINI?!

"The trouble is, apparently they don't sell very well. Every manufacturer that tries to build one, rarely continues it for more than a couple of generations."

I think you'd need to create a list of tick boxes to be sure that while they're building a more robust phone, they aren't deleting features.

Kids that live neck deep in their phone all day would soon discover what models have the biggest battery/longest life.

[TheFifth]

Re: Where's the MINI?!

Agreed. Give me a smaller screen that actually fits in a pocket, please. A bit lighter would be good too. I always have other, larger screens around me when I want to watch videos etc. so I don't need my phone to have a massive screen. I want something that actually fits in a pocket without poking out the top.

[PB90210]

Re: Where's the MINI?!

Couple of years ago I was in the market for a replacement phone and was looking for something smaller. A Sony model stood out as it had a smaller screen size... but found out that was a red herring as it turned to have a bezel that meant it was a similar size to the rest of the bezel-less designs

[Tim99]

Re: Where's the MINI?!

Mrs Tim99 has inherited my 13 mini, replacing her previous inherited 12 mini. She uses it as a basic phone - also connected to her iPad in the house. The combination works well for her to send texts, FaceTime and email. I bought a 17 Air last month, mainly because a cataract operation didn’t go as well as I hoped. I don’t use a case for most of the time as it travels in my trouser-side pocket, but I did buy a bumper case which I have used a few times (it feels a bit slippery, and for a small thing appears quite heavy and bulky). The phone "feels nice" to handle without the case. Screen is very good. The camera and battery are both OK. Macro mode is so-so, and telephoto is "adequate" for my purposes. My iPad Pro works well enough for macro shots.

Lots of purchasers of the large 17 pro in the shop - almost all with the orange version (maybe the buyers "wanted others to know it was the top of the line"?). Its camera seemed excellent, but the phone felt heavy and a bit uncomfortable in the hand. I extended the tether and put one in my pocket to try (after checking with the salesperson!) - It felt like the extra weight was pulling my shorts down, the Air was fine.

Generally very pleased with the Air, and suspect that it *will* sell, after the first-adopter surge for the Pro has finished. Many of us don’t need the features of the Pro; and might well also buy the expected, cheaper, 17e.

Caveat: I may well be a fat, old (retired), rich, white man - normal expectations may not apply.

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Considering everyone puts their precious iPhones in ugly plastic cases, what exactly is the point of the iPhone Air?

[Tim99]

See my post above? The Air is small/light enough to go in my trouser pocket, and is sufficiently "grippy" not to be at a particular risk of dropping.

Caveat: I've been carrying mobile phones around since the Ericsson EH238, Jane. As far as I can recall it was the only one that I've dropped (The aerial caught on my clothing) - It broke and the Telco swapped it out for a working one at minimal charge. Maybe that made me more careful...

Of my previous phones, the 12 & 13 Minis had a case that included a carrier for a credit and seniors cards, driving licence and a folded currency note. The air works fine with just a MagSafe card carrier that is just thick enough to protect the camera if the phone is laid flat - Although I normally detach it and put it another pocket when leaving the house. Being elderly, my hands fine-motor control is not as good as it was, but so far, I still haven't dropped it.

[The Onymous Coward]

Wrong segment because margins

IMHO they've shrunk the wrong dimension and gone after the wrong customer segment because the company focus for the iPhone Air was one thing and one thing only: margins.

I have an iPhone 13 mini; people regularly comment that my phone is "nice and small", "didn't know they made them that small" etc. I myself am dissuaded from upgrading because newer iPhones are too big for me - too large in the pocket, too big to easily use one-handed. Yet, Apple discontinued that form factor because their insistence on pricing according to size meant it was low-margin.

They should bin off the Air and re-introduce the mini at the same price point as the regular iPhones. Bonus points if they can put a touch ID sensor on the side of the phone where your thumb naturally rests, so that it has touch ID and a full-body screen without a notch of island.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Wrong segment because margins

> IMHO they've shrunk the wrong dimension and gone after the wrong customer segment because the company focus for the iPhone Air was one thing and one thing only: margins.

Apropos "wrong customer segment" another thing Apple could usefully do is refine Intune device management to allow separate corporate from private. Many employers are no longer providing work phones but insist employee's own devices are enrolled into Intune, but while "remote wipe" includes all my personal phone info that's not going to happen. Some people even work for more than one employer and might still want to use the same phone.

[Tim99]

Re: Wrong segment because margins

Had a 13 Mini (see posts above) would not go back to Touch ID (elderly fingers). The notch didn't bother me. YMMV.

[Stuart Castle]

I like the phablet style of phone. I have an iphone 16 pro max, and I love it. I do a lot of things on the iphone that that take advantage of the larger screen. Mainly accessing work related apps and websites.

While doing work related stuff, I usually also have a Macbook Pro with me, but it's not always practical or safe to get that out, so a phone with a relatively large screen is good for me.

One thing I wish phone manufacturers would move away from though is this idea that we all only want thing phones. I don't. I have pockets large enough for a slightly thicker phone, and i suspect i'm not the only one.

I think having a larger battery would benefit me more than a thinner one, and perhaps they could use the power saving tech to ensure my phone lasts for a week on one charge, rather than the day that a thinner battery would allow. Perhaps even go back to interchangable batteries.

[Anonymous Coward]

Stuff the thinness, give me battery

I don't get where this thinness fetish comes from, the fashion world?

I would much rather have a decent battery life, but that's the one option Apple does NOT offer in its range.

OK, I admit I have an extra problem in that I find those phones *way* too slippery (thinness would worsen that) so I sleeve them anyway, also for protection.

[Tim Kemp]

Cowards

Bravery would have been to release an iPhone without a camera, offering a privacy bump, less distraction, more space for battery etc.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Cowards

"Bravery would have been to release an iPhone without a camera"

That would be death for the model. As a professional photographer, I don't use my phone's camera that often, but it is handy for quick shots of price tags at the DIY store or organizational ideas I see on my annual Ikea visit. A model with only a basic camera with the specs stated honestly could be fine.

[Starfish]

Camera bump renders the whole experiment pointless

I could see the point in a thin phone - but the camera bump means by time you add a case the whole phone will be the same thickness as the bump.

Bad design that would have never happened under Jobs / Ive's watch.

[VeryRealHuman]

What

I find it really hard to believe they thought it would be super popular. As an exercise to prepare for an eventual foldable or whatever, sure. But they must really be on that good stuff if they thought this would carve out a big market for itself.

[ThomH]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Vision Pro yet

I just checked the website, and apparently it's still a product.

I think I'm very typical in iPhone terms: I picked mine based on screen diagonal. I don't have a clue what depth it is, and as long as it's within ordinary bounds I really don't care.

I had and very much liked a Retina MacBook back in its day but at that scale there was a substantial difference in heft. Even now between the Pro and the Air. I don't think the difference between an ordinary phone and the iPhone Air would even register.

[Ryan D]

Anybody remember

The Vertu line of designer phones? Made to be a luxury conversation piece but nothing astounding in terms of usability or technology. As some mentioned, a shiny toy that let the engineers flex some muscles to build using exotic materials. The iPhone air is just another example.

[uccsoundman]

I want battery life, not thinness

Here's what I want from my iPhone. Battery Life, Memory, and some sort of real file system. I don't like having to store all of my music in their cloud. In my old Android phone, I could make a folder and put stuff in there. I was a convert to iPhone from Android because my son used to work for Apple and got a new phone every year, and I got his cast-offs, and all of the grandchildren's pictures are on Apple's cloud. But I don't particularly like them. I don't like their file system (or lack thereof). Note, he no longer works for Apple, and much to my surprise he now wears an analog watch with NO features.

But it's mostly about battery life. Even with a new battery I lurch from charging station to charging station. Apple Watch? BAH! $999 dollars and the battery barely lasts one day. OTOH I bought a cheap Chinese knock-off for ~$30. Doesn't ALMOST everything I want (which is notifications on my arm, but a notification from my medical app is blocked). AND the battery lasts WEEKS instead of hours. I've never tested it to full run-down, but running 2 weeks only takes it down to 80%. Now, why can't Apple watches do that?