• Source:JND

Apple wanted to move in a different direction with its iPhone, and during its latest launch event for the iPhone 17 series, the tech giant also dropped the iPhone Air. But the response the product received was only lukewarm, and the product was not received well, and for some obvious reasons. According to data pertaining to market research, the iPhone Air falls far behind when it comes to reception rate. The Consumer Intelligence Research Partners surveyed the number of people who bought iPhones in the quarter ending in December and found out that only 6% bought Apple's latest iPhone Air.

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Compared with other iPhone devices that got launched, the base iPhone 17 reception stood at 22%, while for the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, it stood at 25% and 27%, respectively, according to the report that was shared by CNN. Apple will soon announce its global iPhone revenue for the quarter, but specific iPhone numbers might not be there.

The less than overwhelming response to iPhone Air and reports suggesting weak demand are already out there, but this is not what Apple might be banking on. According to International Data Corporation, this year Apple had a record number of shipments driven by its latest iPhone 17, and some analysts have also predicted that iPhone Air was not supposed to be a prime moving force for the company either. Instead, it's speculated that the phone was there to add another tier of buyers to the fore.

What Data Suggests

Fresh data from CIRP that CNN shared suggests that the iPhone Air is struggling to keep up with Apple’s other latest iPhone models. The gap in consumer interest is noticeable. The findings come from a survey of 500 US consumers who bought an Apple product between October and December 2025, conducted from January 2 to January 21.

This isn’t the first sign that the iPhone Air isn’t exactly flying off shelves. After its September launch alongside the iPhone 17 lineup, reports soon began pointing to weaker-than-expected demand. In November, The Information said Apple had pushed back plans for a second-generation iPhone Air because sales didn’t meet expectations. Around the same time, Nikkei Asian Review reported that Apple had already scaled down production of the iPhone Air last fall while increasing orders for its other iPhone models.

More recently, reports again suggest that Apple has delayed the next iPhone Air model due to disappointing sales performance.

According to Josh Lowitz, a CIRP analyst involved in the study, the reason might be fairly straightforward. Consumers just don’t seem to care much about thinner phones.

Lowitz noted that most people who ended up buying the iPhone Air weren’t drawn in by its slim design. Instead, they were simply replacing an older phone. The thin form factor, it seems, wasn’t the deciding factor at all.

The only thing the iPhone Air brings is its form factor that is its thickness, yes its definitely the thinnest iPhone yet, but the 17 Pro Max has the largest screen, the longest lasting battery and a camera with three lenses, the base variant is the cheapest and just the Pro version is just Pro Max but a bit smaller. So in terms of difference, there is not much that the Air version got.

CIRP analyst Michael Levin expressed, as shared by CNN, “The 17 Pro, Pro Max and the base 17 cover a lot of the features.”

But Why Go Ahead With iPhone Air?

Analysts predict that this device was not just for sales but paves the way for future R&D for newer devices like the foldable, which Apple could drop this year itself, as reported by Bloomberg.

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There were some physical changes, like the placement of its CPU/silicon that was there near the camera module; this specific change sheds light on how Apple might be looking at the placement of hardware and that it could come in use when Apple goes for something else like a foldable phone.

For now the story of Apple iPhone Air seems like is coming to and end with less than satisfactory performance, the device now only serves as a lesson for future development of devices.


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