Apple had excessive hopes when it unveiled the iPhone Air again in September. However gross sales of the ultra-thin smartphone have been so underwhelming that it’s even affecting the launch plans of different firms.
In keeping with business sources cited by Sina Finance and Jiemian.com (themselves cited by DigiTimes), a number of main Chinese language smartphone producers have “frozen or canceled their very own ‘Air’ ultra-thin telephone tasks” in response to the iPhone Air’s reportedly disappointing gross sales. The record of corporations affected contains Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. Xiaomi specifically was believed to be planning an iPhone Air copycat, however has reportedly canned the venture.
A Cupertino apologist might at a push spin this as excellent news for Apple, which can no less than profit from a scarcity of competitors. However this actually serves as additional affirmation that the iPhone Air was a misstep. Failure at all times appeared doubtless, given Samsung’s struggles with the Galaxy S25 Edge in the summertime, however by that time the Air’s growth should have been too far alongside to abort. In any case Apple tends to view failure by different firms as a possibility somewhat than a warning signal.
The iPhone Air, like the unique iPhone all these years in the past, wasn’t the primary ultrathin telephone to enter its market, nevertheless it hoped to be the primary to repair the market’s issues. We have been advised that the Air couldn’t be bent; that its single rear digicam lens was truly a “two-in-one digicam system;” that its battery life was surprisingly good. However there have been nonetheless inevitably compromises, and prospects seem to favor the acquainted comforts of the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Professional.
Within the months since launch there have been remoted reviews that the Air isn’t doing so badly in any case, and one reader emailed me just lately to reward the Air and to level out that income from provider purchases could also be delayed. However whereas Apple hasn’t but introduced any official gross sales figures (and gained’t ever announce numbers for the Air alone, as an alternative rolling them in with general iPhone income) it’s changing into troublesome to disregard the burden of proof pointing in direction of failure.
On the manufacturing aspect we’ve heard that Apple has “drastically” in the reduction of its orders; on the shopper aspect there have been reviews of “just about no shopper demand.” And whether or not or not we select to consider these reviews, it’s putting that the market, pushed solely by revenue, is now turning away from the Air’s path.