The MacRumors Show
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PodcastThe MacRumors Show
Publisher/creatorThe MacRumors Show
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About this episode
The iPhone Air reaches one year on sale next month, and Apple is now closer to launching its successor than it is to the original's debut. On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss what's next for the device.
The first-generation model has had a difficult run. A KeyBanc Capital Markets survey found virtually no demand for the device within weeks of its September 2025 launch, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that suppliers were asked to cut capacity by more than 80%between launch and early 2026, and Luxshare and Foxconn both wound down production, leaving the phone believed to be entirely out of manufacture. Apple discounted it heavily in March, and SellCell data put its ten-week depreciation at 44.3% on average, against 34.6% for the iPhone 17series. The Weibo leaker known as "Digital Chat Station" said in May that the device had barely surpassed 700,000 activations even after multiple rounds of price cuts.
A single rear camera left a $999 phone looking less capable than the cheaper iPhone 17, which has two, and the absence of the iPhone 17 Pro's vapor chamber cooling means the Air runs warmer under load. It also lacks stereo speakers. Battery life falls short of a full day for many users, mitigated in part by the dedicated MagSafe battery accessory Apple sells alongside it. With the iPhone 17 Pro starting at $1,099, the Air occupies a $100 gap that gave buyers little reason to stop there.
Almost every change rumored for the second-generation model targets one of those points. Bloomberg reported in June that Apple will add an Ultra Wide lens alongside the existing 48-megapixel Fusion camera, and that the dual-lens design has reached advanced testing with the same exterior as the current model save for the extra lens.
Almost everything other than the battery sits inside the iPhone Air's camera plateau, and Apple has reportedly asked suppliers for an ultra-thin Face ID module to free up space. The company also plans to adopt Samsung's CoE display technology, which is thinner and brighter than the current panel and debuts first on the foldable iPhone. Digital Chat Station expects a 3,500mAh battery, up from 3,149mAh, and The Information reported that Apple wants the device to be lighter and to gain vapor chamber cooling despite the added hardware.
The device will also likely feature the A20 Pro chip, binned in some form like its predecessor, along with Apple's second-generation N2 wireless networking chip, the C2 modem, and 12GB of RAM, unchanged from the current model. Externally, little is expected to change beyond the additional rear camera, but Pu expects a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, in line with the wider iPhone 18lineup. A lavender color option could replace Sky Blue.
Pricing is the biggest open question. The Information reported that Apple is considering a lower price for the second model, but the surrounding lineup is moving too. Pu expects the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max to cost $250 to $300 morethan the current Pro models owing to 2nm silicon and memory costs, and the foldable iPhone is rumored to start somewhere between roughly $2,000 and $2,500. A widened gap between the Air and the Pro tier could change the calculation that undermined the original, particularly once the camera disparity with the standard iPhone disappears.
The leaker "Fixed Focus Digital" claimed in April that Apple will push through at least two generations of the device no matter how poorly it sells, a position consistent with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who expects the Air 2 in spring 2027 alongside the standard iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e. Nikkei Asia reported in January that no second-generation Air was expected before 2027 at the earliest.
Apple's confidence in the fall lineup appears to be growing in the meantime. The company reportedly told suppliers to prepare roughly 10 million foldable iPhones this year, up from an earlier forecast of seven to eight million, and has booked parts for around 80 million smartphones in the second half of 2026. Samsung, meanwhile, says the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Z Flip 8 drew 1.44 million pre-orders in South Korea across seven days, a company record, with the redesigned Z Fold 8 accounting for close to half of them.
The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone are expected in September, and Apple has already begun preparing for the event, opening a lottery for U.S. retail employees to staff it.
Episode summary
This AI-generated Shortcast summary may omit nuance. Use the original episode when context or exact wording matters.
Welcome back to the MacRumors Show. I’m broadcasting from another bathroom—Hartley says it looks like a shower curtain. I’m vacationing in rainy Carolina beach weather, but we weren’t skipping an episode. Hartley’s back from an intense U.S. trip, including Virginia, the MacRumors state.
I’m tired, but it was good fun, and I came home to a sunny English summer’s day. Eleven months on, the iPhone Air has sold poorly, but it’s still refreshing: the display is right, it’s exceptionally light, and the glass-and-polished-titanium finish feels premium. The MagSafe battery pack is excellent too.
I really liked it, but battery life is the obvious compromise, even if the pack can effectively add another day. I missed telephoto more than ultra-wide, and without Pro cooling, the Air can get hot enough for performance to dip.
Air owners I’ve spoken to are eyeing an iPhone 18 Pro, not an Air 2. The rumored successor may add ultra-wide; I’d prefer telephoto, but ultra-wide is useful for groups and landscapes. Two lenses also stop the cheaper standard iPhone looking better equipped.
It may place those cameras horizontally, use smaller Face ID hardware, and reduce the Dynamic Island. I think that suits this thin, slightly larger form factor. A thinner, brighter display and lighter components could offset a larger battery. It’s modest upgrades adding up, not one magic fix.
The biggest problem is price. At about $999, it sat too close to Pro: for another hundred dollars, people see better cameras and extras. Monthly payments make it worse—$23 standard, $29 Air, $32 Pro. The Air becomes a stepping stone toward either neighbor.
That could change if Pro rises by two or three hundred dollars and a foldable goes above $2,000. Apple barely marketed the original after launch. It needed a luxurious, design-led identity, unusual accessories, and fashion-oriented promotion instead of simply vanishing.
I’d still take Pro because cameras and battery come first, but Air could become the regular iPhone. An inexpensive Neo-style model, Air, Pro, then Ultra makes sense if each step is a few hundred dollars apart. Better battery, cooler performance, more cameras, and a lower price would make Air a real premium middle tier.
The foldable could scramble this. Samsung’s latest Fold preorder numbers surprised me, and I’m revising my prediction that Apple’s foldable would flop on price. Around $2,000 may sell enormously well if Apple nails the form factor and marketing; $2,500 still makes me nervous.
Samsung surprised me too. Apple’s foldable may be scarce at first, creating demand, though foldables remain small and most people will choose an 18 Pro. Apple should refresh its presentation style: polished video is easy to watch, but live events feel authentic when audiences react and demos can go wrong.
That in-person September-event report may just mean retail staff being recruited for launch-day activity, not a stage keynote. Still, I’d love a hybrid: play the slick video, then have someone walk out holding the phone and demo it. Let us know which iPhone you’d pick, whether Air can be saved, and if Apple should bring live events back. We’ll catch you next week.
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