A new Apple launch is always a highly anticipated event, but this year it scaled a new high as trade and consumers waited for the new iPhone Air with bated breath.
On Tuesday, the company launched its thinnest iPhone ever. Despite a large 6.5‑inch display and the power of the A19 Pro chip, the iPhone Air is just 5.6mm in height and weighs just 165 grams.
In the US, it is being launched with a retail price starting at $999 (AED3,670) for 256GB storage.
Apple launches new iPhone Air
Here are some of the details of the new iPhone Air that the industry experts expect will prop up Apple’s sales this year.
Design: The thinnest iPhone ever made, measuring just 5.6mm with a large 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display. It’s thinner than Samsung’s S25 Edge (5.8mm). The grade 5 titanium frame is strong, with a high-gloss mirror finish, and features a new plateau on the back that is precision-milled on both sides to house the cameras, speaker, and Apple silicon. The Action button helps users to easily access several functions with just a press. Camera Control helps to launch the camera or enable visual intelligence. iPhone Air is easy to use outside with 3000 nits peak outdoor brightness – the highest ever on iPhone – and 2x better outdoor contrast. A new Apple-designed coating provides 3x better scratch resistance and improved anti-reflection to reduce glare.
Camera: The Center Stage front camera features the first square front camera sensor on iPhone, offering a wide field of view and capturing photos up to 18MP. Users no longer need to rotate their iPhone to take a landscape selfie – they can take photos and videos in portrait or landscape while holding their iPhone vertically, and they can record on the front and rear cameras simultaneously with Dual Capture — perfect for documenting themselves and the world around them. Even though it has just one camera, the new 48MP Fusion camera system gives users the equivalent of four lenses in their pocket, with the main lens enabling the popular 28mm and 35mm focal lengths. A new image pipeline built for iPhone Air enables next-generation portraits with Focus Control at the same level as multicamera systems, automatically capturing depth information so users can turn photos into portraits later in the Photos app. It also captures video in 4K60 fps Dolby Vision.
UAE availability: Customers in the UAE are among one of 63 countries where iPhone Air will be available for pre-order starting Friday, 12 September. Availability begins Friday, 19 September.
Storage & Pricing: It starts with 256GB storage (US$999 in the US), and offers 512GB (US$1199) and 1TB (US$1399) options as well.
Battery: iPhone Air delivers all-day battery life. The new Adaptive Power Mode in iOS 26 also gets to know a user’s typical battery consumption and anticipates when they might run low, intelligently conserving power to help get them through the day.
Colours: iPhone Air will be available in four finishes – space black, cloud white, light gold, and sky blue.
eSIM-only phone: To save space internally and enable the light and thin form factor, the iPhone Air is an eSIM-only design. An industry standard, eSIM is supported by over 500 carriers worldwide. It makes staying connected while traveling even more convenient, allowing continued connectivity.
What its design team said: “The all-new iPhone Air is so powerful, yet impossibly thin and light, that you really have to hold it to believe it’s real. This huge leap in design and engineering is only made possible through Apple innovation, especially Apple silicon. It delivers advanced features our users will love, like pro performance, a versatile 48MP Fusion camera system, our innovative Center Stage front camera, and great all-day battery life — all in a breakthrough design that feels like you’re holding the future” – John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering
