Do we actually need an iPhone Air? Discuss.

So it’s barely been two months since the iPhone 16 line hit the stores and rumors about the iPhone 17 – having started over the summer – are now setting expectations for Apple’s next generation of smartphones. There’s a lot of vague information at the moment regarding the kinds of upgrades consumers can look forward to, but several insiders and analysts currently agree on one thing: Apple will be making some changes to the iPhone lineup in 2025… and the biggest one of all seems to be the introduction of a whole new model.

That would obviously be the iPhone 17 “Air” or “Slim” – depending on who’s doing the speculative reporting – a substantially thinner model than any currently offered by Apple, sporting an updated or even completely new design, premium-class materials and decent specs. This will, supposedly, be different enough to reignite mainstream interest around the iPhone, since Apple’s smartphones have admittedly not evolved in an impressive enough manner over the last few years.

So chances are that a new iPhone model is indeed on the way. Question is… do consumers actually need one in Apple’s next lineup? And, come to think of it, why did they ever need a fifth iPhone option in the first place?

A cautionary tale of unsuccessful iPhones

Taking a look at Apple’s choices makes it clear that the company thinks we do need a fifth iPhone option. Ever since the introduction of the Mini model in the iPhone 12 series, back in 2020, Apple has offered every year, without fail, a fifth model along the iPhone SE, the regular iPhone and the two Pro variants. The company did change this strategy in 2022 – as it had become apparent that people are just not interested in small smartphones anymore – by axing the iPhone 14 Mini and reintroducing the iPhone 14 Plus. But that fifth-model approach remained at play.

The reasons why we’d all need a fifth iPhone option though – regardless of design, form or specs – are not exactly clear. What is its actual purpose? See, in theory, mainstream consumers usually go for the standard iPhone, consumers who need the most affordable model go for the SE and demanding consumers who don’t like jumbo-sized screens go for the Pro model. It’s only demanding consumers who don’t mind using huge devices that go for the Pro Max model – although their numbers are only increasing each year, which is to be expected given the range of the things we do with our smartphones nowadays.

Those four tiers – with prices ranging from around $500 to about $2000, more or less evenly spaced between different models – have worked as intended for years. So where would an iPhone 17 “Air” fit in Apple’s lineup? It seems that the company will be axing the iPhone 17 Plus – whose sales numbers have not been much better than those of the Mini – placing the iPhone 17 “Air” between the standard iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro. Unless, that is, the company deems this particular device to be such an engineering marvel that it deserves to cost more than an iPhone 17 Pro Max (not improbable but rather unlikely).

If that iPhone Air positioning turns out to be true, then the Plus will be the second example of a fifth iPhone model that proved commercially unsuccessful, after the Mini, in less than half a decade. This may or may not prove that consumers have largely rejected such an option outright, but it does raise questions about its necessity in the first place. It also does not bode well for any iPhone model following the footsteps of the Mini and the Plus, but that’s not the only reason why this particular model may be facing an uphill battle.

A new option that might not be appealing enough

Most people interested in a hypothetical iPhone “Air” may have not considered that its slim form factor will probably be this new model’s only feature of note. It will not be sporting the most powerful A1x processor, an advanced camera array or a big battery because, well, there won’t be enough room for any of that in such a svelte chassis. In fact – this is plain physics – an iPhone “Air” is almost guaranteed to offer lower performance, worse thermals and limited battery life compared to other iPhone models because, again, that slim form factor means there will be far less available space for its internal components.

One other thing that most people entertaining the idea of an iPhone “Air” may not have taken into account is what can only be described as “the harsh reality of the smartphone case”. As a long-time iPhone user (ever since the days of the iPhone 4) yours truly openly admits that he’s tried to use many of Apple’s top smartphones without a case. Why? Because they look and feel the best that way, obviously. They just do. So he really, really tried… but, at the end of the day, all it takes is a single drop of a $1200 or $1500 device on concrete or a hard floor to make anyone go running back to using protective cases. When you know, you know.

The thing is that, as soon as one puts a smartphone case on an iPhone “Air” – a case designed to properly protect it from everyday scratches and accidental drops – this device is not going to look or feel slim or different anymore. Apple will undoubtedly put together some absolutely amazing marketing videos about how beautiful the iPhone “Air” is in the hands of young people using it without a care in the world, sure. But, for the great majority of people, that’s not how an expensive smartphone is handled in everyday life, which is fast and messy and unpredictable – hence the wide variety and immense popularity of protective cases in the market today.

Who asked for a thinner iPhone anyway?

So, let’s see. If a hypothetical iPhone 17 “Air” turns out to be not as capable as other iPhones, but not as slim or as beautiful as advertised when used in real life by real people either… where would that leave this probable fifth iPhone option for 2025?

In a tough spot, that’s where. On paper an iPhone 17 “Air” might sound interesting but, in reality, it’s not something anyone actually asked for. Just think about it for a minute. Smarter, more effective cameras on new smartphones? Lots of people are asking for that. Bright, contrasty screens where text is easy to read in all lighting conditions? Most people are asking for that. Better battery life? Everyone’s asking for that. But… thinner smartphones? Who’s asking for that, really?

This is precisely what happens when tech behemoths such as Apple lose sight of – and interest in – what their customers actually need by only focusing on what investors want. By going down that road these companies end up making it all about the marketing angle. They are essentially trying to invent reasons why people might want to purchase some hot new product serving a corporate strategy, instead of striving to offer consumers products that would probably be way more interesting and helpful to them.

That is ultimately why an iPhone 17 “Air” is not likely to find the kind of success Apple is hoping for. Not only is a fifth option needed as much as the Mini and the Plus were – that is, not at all – but it is also designed to serve Apple more than the company’s customers. Frankly, at this point in time it would make more sense for Apple to offer an iPhone “Ultra” model – priced higher than a Max, provided it offered enough upgrades over a Pro – than an “Air” or “Slim” model. Then again, who knows? Apple releasing both an “Ultra” and an “Air” model is not out of the question, is it?