Apple’s new iPhone Air isn’t meeting expectations, according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a post on X, Kuo said on Wednesday that demand for the iPhone Air has been weaker than Apple hoped, prompting suppliers to scale back shipments and production. “Most suppliers are expected to reduce capacity by more than 80% by 1Q26,” he wrote, adding that some components with longer lead times “are expected to be discontinued by the end of 2025.”
Kuo said the weak performance suggests that Apple’s existing Pro and standard iPhone models already meet the needs of most high-end users. He added that efforts to create new market segments — like the iPhone mini, Plus, and now Air — have “failed to gain traction.”
Nikkei also reports orders have been reduced to near “end-of-production” levels, with initial sales in China (that just started only last week) described as muted. While some reviews praise its substantial feel, critics note issues like high pricing and thermal throttling as deterrents.
“The total forecast has almost entered end-of-production mode, dropping significantly compared to earlier projections, to only about 10% fewer orders compared with September starting in November,” one of the component supplier managers said to Nikkei.
The iPhone Air, unveiled by Apple in September alongside the iPhone 17 series, is the company’s thinnest smartphone yet at just 5.6mm thick and 165 grams, featuring a 6.5-inch display with ProMotion technology, A19 Pro chip, and a redesigned Center Stage front camera protected by Ceramic Shield. It gets features like satellite connectivity and brighter displays from the Pro models, positioning it as a sleek, high-performance alternative to bulkier flagships. Priced from $1,449 in Canada, the super thin design but faced some early criticism over battery life in intensive use.
Did you jump on the iPhone Air this year? What do you think of it?
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I'm glad it didn't sell. It prove my point when I said that majority of people don't want thinner phones with not only a worse battery life, but also a mono speaker and a worse camera as well for a premium price. I hope Apple and Samsung learned from this and we're done with those phones for good.
Nope, it’s the price first before anything else.
All good points but realistically, if the price was $500, it would be selling like hotcakes. But Apple wouldn’t sell it at that price because they need to recoup research and development cost, new production line costs and foremost, they wouldn’t dilute the brand by selling at an affordable price. They’d rather take a loss and kill the line.
I wonder also if having an amazing iphone 17 is playing a role. I hear that the 17 demand has outstriped the supply and has been Apple's most successful base model iPhone ever in terms of sales. For $300 less u are getting a pretty dam good phone that has a better camera then the Air.
The iPhone Air, iPhone X, and iPhone 4 all made me feel excited about the iPhone. The iPhone Air in particular is probably my favourite iPhone I've ever owned, but I've never used more than 100% of the battery capacity in a day, am not a professional photographer, and think even the iPhone Pro speakers suck so don't care if the speaker sucks a little bit more.
I'm sad this might be the only one, but if the sales are really that bad, I guess people just aren't willing to pay for worse specs to get peak design IMHO.