Is Apple's thinnest phone yet worth the very chunky price tag?

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The iPhone Air was announced earlier this week as the "surprise guest" at the Apple Event in California by CEO Tim Cook – although months of rumours somewhat hindered the shock factor.

The millimetre-thick device, measuring in at just 5.6mm, breaks records as the slimmest phone Apple has ever made, while also beating out the size of competition like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

The new phone comes equipped with all the latest Apple enhancements from a 48MP camera, to the A19 chip and iOS26, to four new ethereal colourways.

This latest drop from the Apple Extended Universe is available to pre-order from today, so we've put together everything you need to know about the device.

You can also take a look at the new iPhone 17 Pro Max UK release date and Apple Watch Ultra 3 UK release date.

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New Apple iPhone Air UK release date

iPhone air
Apple

The iPhone Air will be available for pre-order from 1pm today – Friday 12th September.

The pre-order window will be open for one week until the release date on Friday 19th September.

What is the Apple iPhone Air UK price?

The iPhone Air starts at £999 for the 256GB model, it will also be available in 512GB and 1TB storage sizes.

How to pre-order the new Apple iPhone Air today

The iPhone Air will be available for pre-order today at Apple itself as well as several UK retailers, including Very, Currys and Amazon.

We also expect plenty of UK mobile networks to be offering the phone on contract, such as Three, Vodafone, EE and Sky.

Check out the best Apple iPhone 17 pre-order deals.

Apple iPhone Air thin design

iPhone air
Apple

Obviously the main draw for the iPhone Air is its status as the thinnest iPhone ever made, measuring in at just 5.6mm. If you want a comparison, the average pinkie fingernail starts at 7.5mm in width, and the new Samsung Edge which came out in May is 5.8mm, so it's very thin.

But, within that slim package is a 6.5-inch Super Retina display protected by an all-new Ceramic Shield 2 front cover, which is tougher than any other smartphone glass and provides 3x better scratch resistance, plus improved anti-reflection to reduce glare.

The frame is made from grade 5 titanium and has a high-gloss mirror finish, plus, despite the thin size Apple hasn't compromised on the number of buttons – the iPhone Air has the on button, volume buttons and recently-added Action Button as normal.

What iPhone Air colours are there?

The iPhone Air unsurprisingly draws inspiration from its name when it comes to the new colourways. There are currently four available: space black, cloud white, light gold, and sky blue.

Apple iPhone Air specs

The iPhone Air moves away from other members of the 17 family with just one centre-stage front camera and a single back camera. The front camera features the first front camera sensor on iPhone, offering a wide field of view and capturing photos up to 18MP, it also means users no longer have to rotate their iPhone to take a landscape selfie — they can take photos and videos in portrait or landscape while holding their iPhone vertically.

Meanwhile the rear camera contains a new 48MP Fusion camera system which gives users the equivalent of four lenses in one. The main lens allows to take photos at 28mm and 35mm focal lengths and enjoy high quality pictures from afar with the Telephoto. You can also record video in 4K60 fps Dolby Vision.

The new Apple iPhone Air will run on iOS 26 — Apple's latest iOS software which was announced at its WWDC25 (Worldwide Developers Conference) event earlier this year — which means the new smartphone will have Apple's new Liquid Glass design language. This design language will give the new smartphone a glossy and translucent look. It also enables enhanced Apple Intelligence capabilities like new live translation and call screening features.

The Apple iPhone Air comes fitted with the A19 Pro chip to improve its performance and power efficiency. However, there is a new thermal system to prevent the iPhone from overheating.

Does the new Apple iPhone Air have wireless charging?

Yes. Like all new iPhones, the Air has a MagSafe frame which enables wireless charging. You can buy the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery and iPhone Air Case with MagSafe alongside your new phone, which allows a wireless charging setup.

Apple iPhone Air vs iPhone 17 Pro: Which new smartphone is better?

The iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro are both exciting new offerings to the Apple Universe. They both benefit from new enhancements like the A19 chip and iOS 26, which means they'll be fast, smooth and power efficient.

Both also feature a 48MP camera although the iPhone 17 Pro comes kitted with a whopping three Three 48MP Fusion cameras and an additional new 48MP Telephoto camera, plus 4x and 8x optical zoom.

The 17 Pro also has the best-ever battery life of any iPhone (up to 37 hours) and is generally sturdier with a thermally conductive aluminium unibody. However, it is smaller at 6.3-inches and starts at £1,099 — so £100 more expensive.

Our verdict? If it's the high-tech features and film-worthy camera quality you're after, go with the Pro. If you're more about the look and feel of the phone and love the Air's more ethereal colourways, go for that.

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Apple Watch Series 11 vs Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple AirPods Pro 3 UK release date guides.

Authors

Olivia Garrett
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