Apple iPhone Air Review: The Least Sensible iPhone Ever

Price When Reviewed

$999 (256GB) | $1,199 (512GB) | $1,399 (1TB)

Best Prices Today: Apple iPhone Air (2025)

$999

The iPhone Air is the biggest thing to happen to Apple’s smartphones since the iPhone X made its debut eight years ago. 

It’s a reimagining of what an iPhone can look like, ditching the tried-and-tested design for something far more daring. 

The ultra-slim chassis is an impressive feat of engineering, but it has some very real consequences elsewhere. Despite the £999/$999 price tag, the iPhone Air has significant downgrades compared to even the base iPhone 17. 

Is it worth it in exchange for a potential slice of the future? I spent a week using the iPhone Air as my main phone to find out. 

Design & Build

• Ultra-slim 5.6mm design
• Durable, titanium build
• IP68 water and dust resistance

The iPhone Air is a phone I never expected Apple to make.  

Sure, there are slimline Air-branded versions of its iPad and MacBook, but a smartphone is a different kettle of fish. Not only is it limited by the height of a USB-C port, but it also requires lots of different components to be housed within a very small space. 

But I’m grateful for Apple’s ambition, and from a design perspective, the iPhone Air has undoubtedly paid off. 

The iPhone Air is a gorgeous device to hold, with a thickness of just 5.6mm (0.2mm thinner than Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge) and a weight of 165g giving it a barely-there feel in your hand. Alongside a tiny bezel around the edge of the screen, the immersive feel of using it is unmatched by any phone I’ve ever tried. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

There are rumours that the iPhone Air’s design could be the blueprint for the upcoming foldable iPhone, which is slated to launch in 2026. If Apple stuck two of these together and got the hinge right, I’d be very happy indeed. 

Even without a folding mechanism, one of my big concerns was durability. Judging by the photos, it almost looks like you could snap the iPhone Air in half if you tried hard enough. 

Interestingly, Apple has shifted back to aluminium frames on the iPhone 17 range, but retained titanium here. I’m very glad it did – titanium is both lighter and stronger than aluminium, which makes it perfect for the Air. 

And I needn’t have worried about durability. Apple’s engineers have clearly made this a top priority, because it doesn’t feel flimsy at all. I briefly tried bending it, and there was no flex, let alone any signs of damage. YouTuber JerryRigEverything’s testing was much more extreme, and it fared very well there, too. 

If it were any other phone, I’d suggest using a case. Apple’s official one, which it sent to me alongside the device, is about as slimline as it gets, but it undoubtedly detracts from the stunning design. I’d be tempted to risk it and go case-free. 

Fortunately, grip isn’t an issue. I was able to use the iPhone Air without worrying about it falling out of my pocket or off a table, which is a common concern for glass-backed phones.  

The matt coating on the rear also does a good job of resisting fingerprint smudges on the Space Black model I tested, although it’s also available in much more interesting Cloud White, Light Gold and Sky Blue variants, if you’d prefer. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Like all the 2025 iPhones, the Air boasts an IP68 rating. Apple’s claims go beyond the usual for water resistance, stating that it can survive submersion in up to six metres of water for up to 30 minutes. It’s also fully dust-proof. 

Elsewhere, the iPhone Air’s haptic feedback is some of the best in the business. I’m not usually a fan of vibrations while typing, charging and using physical buttons, but it really impressed me. The subtle jolt when enabling Silent mode via the Action Button is a personal favourite. 

The latter is one of five physical buttons around the side of the device. Alongside power and volume controls, it’s also joined by the Camera Control button. I find it to be a useful shortcut to the camera app and a nice physical shutter button, but it’s slightly awkwardly placed and too fiddly to offer intuitive controls. 

Screen & Speakers

• 6.5-inch OLED panel
• Adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate
• Mono earpiece speaker

The iPhone Air’s display is my favourite thing about it. The combination of superb quality and that immersive design I mentioned earlier delivers a viewing experience that few handsets can match. 

It’s a 6.5-inch panel that stretches almost all the way to the edges of the phone, with its 1260 x 2736 resolution meaning it matches all the iPhone 17 models for pixel density (460ppi). 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Apple has fully embraced OLED on its iPhone flagships in recent years, and I’m glad it has. The rich, vibrant colours and deep blacks are particularly apparent here, making it an ideal device for watching YouTube or TV shows. I wouldn’t usually recommend watching movies on a phone, but the quality of the visuals here won’t let you down. 

Meanwhile, the 120Hz refresh rate works in tandem with LTPO technology, ensuring it can automatically drop as low as 1Hz to save battery life when not required. The latter is perfect for the Always-On display, which allows you to see essential information while the screen is off, though it’s something I prefer to keep switched off. 

The iPhone Air is also excellent when it comes to visibility. An impressive peak brightness of 3000 nits makes it easy to use in basically any outdoor environment, with the Ceramic Shield 2 front cover including an effective anti-reflective coating. Indoors, the …. nits figure I recorded is among the highest on any phone. 

I genuinely can’t think of anything the iPhone Air’s screen isn’t good at, which is rare for a phone display. 

This will come as no surprise if you’re familiar with the iPhone, but there’s no fingerprint sensor of any description. Instead, the iPhone Air relies on the pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen, which houses the Face ID sensors. 

Some Android phones, including the Pixel 10 series, offer a 3D face unlock that’s secure enough to be used to authenticate payments and log into banking apps. But for a seamless experience in practically any situation, I still prefer Face ID. 

Unfortunately, space constraints mean the iPhone Air’s speakers have been compromised. With no speaker at the bottom, it’s totally reliant on the earpiece for audio, and quality suffers as a result.