The iPhone Air has one-upped the folding iPhone before it’s even been revealed

Every few years, the Apple faithful sinks its hooks into a new “one more thing” product that, we’re convinced, will change everything. Most recently, that was the Vision Pro. The next prospect in this long line of halo products? Next year’s folding iPhone.

This long-rumored device has been massively hyped over the last few years, and there are lots of reasons to be excited. For one thing, Apple waits until it thinks it’s perfected a concept before launching a new product category. If that proves to be true for the foldable iPhone, we could be something truly innovative.

The problem? I expect that most people simply won’t buy a folding iPhone.

The primary drawback is likely to be the price, which will no doubt be absolutely sky-high. Foldable phones from other companies are already expensive due to both their high-tech components and their high-end positioning. Plus, this is Apple we’re talking about. The company isn’t shy about charging a premium for a polished, quality experience, especially for first-gen devices.

As well as that, foldable phones are a truly niche offering. Most of us simply don’t need (or even want) such a device. A standard form-factor phone does the job for most average users, while the Pro iPhones serve the needs of enthusiasts. Only the most dedicated upgraders will want something like the foldable iPhone.

It has the potential to be a rough opening round for Apple’s high-stakes gamble. But what if the next iPhone gem isn’t off somewhere on the horizon, but rather already here, hiding in plain sight?

A taste of fresh Air

Let’s cut right to the chase: I think the iPhone Air will make as much of a splash among the world’s phone fanatics as the foldable iPhone, if not more so.

Apple fans snap up thin and light devices in droves. The MacBook Air is one of the most popular laptops in the world, after all. The iPhone Air delivers all that slim and svelte goodness in heaps. And it’s remarkably innovative with the entire phone basically housed in the camera “plateau,” as Apple calls it.

While it’s a radical product, in many ways it’s also the same iPhone we know and love, but enhanced. Compared to the iPhone 17, you get a thinner frame, superb durability, a higher-end chip, the same great ProMotion display and some unique enhancements—it’s the only iPhone in the latest lineup that still has a titanium frame, for one thing.

At the same time, there aren’t too many sacrifices to be made. Apple promises you’ll get “all-day battery life,” and while the company was too coy to mention raw figures, its website says the iPhone Air gets up to 27 hours of video playback. That’s not all that far behind the iPhone 17 Pro’s 31 hours. And sure, there’s only one camera, but you can still take pretty great 48MP photos. The 2x zoom is a little disappointing, as is the lack of macro mode, but it’s not the end of the world.

All things considered, its combination of an incredible design and impressive features could make the iPhone Air a real hit. If I were looking for a new iPhone, I’d be sorely tempted by its astonishing thinness that belies its powerful internals. The foldable iPhone, meanwhile, could go the way of the Vision Pro: remarkable tech that few people really need or can afford.

The iPhone Air’s $999 price tag is a little higher than I was hoping for, but not too far off (and not at all surprising). Even so, it’s far more accessible than the foldable iPhone, which is expected to cost upwards of $2,000. In the end, that means the iPhone Air gives you a taste of the future without costing anywhere near as much as the foldable iPhone.

A tough Pro position

This isn’t to say the iPhone Air won’t have its struggles. As for the device that could post a real challenge to Apple’s ultra-slimline device? That would be the iPhone 17 Pro.

The iPhone Air’s $999 price tag puts it dangerously close to the iPhone 17 Pro, which starts at $1,099. For $100 extra, you get a far superior camera system, longer battery life, and better performance with thermal power management. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see many people opting for the iPhone 17 Pro for the camera system alone, which is head and shoulders above anything you get with the iPhone Air.

Apple

That said, the differences between the two iPhones are not huge. Your choice is likely to hinge on one question: Do you love taking photos and videos? If so, get the iPhone 17 Pro. If not, you might be best served by the iPhone Air.

Ultimately, being able to compete with the iPhone 17 Pro shows what a great offering the iPhone Air is. It’s far from the simplistic “thin iPhone 17” device that some might have expected before Apple’s launch event. I never expected it to go toe to toe with – and outshine, in some ways – the iPhone 17 Pro quite so effectively.

That puts the iPhone Air in a great position. For me, it’s likely to be a far more compelling prospect than the foldable iPhone. And after watching Apple unveil it at its event Tuesday, I don’t think I’m the only one who feels that way.