The ultralight could become a permanent fixture in Apple’s smartphone lineup.
Apple may follow up on the iPhone Air, an ultralight smartphone introduced last year. According to Mark Gurman bloombergThe company may be planning to launch a second version of the device for spring 2027. The potential new product could add a second rear camera, better battery life and a version of the A20 Pro processor, sources said.
Apple rarely provides details about sales figures for individual models, but our impression has been that the iPhone Air wasn’t a big mover among buyers. The device has largely been seen as a precursor to Apple’s eventual foldable smartphone, and many of us who follow the company closely didn’t expect it to have much staying power.
This rumor suggests that Apple may have higher aspirations for this ultralight form factor as a more permanent part of its mobile lineup. We found the rear camera alone to be a downside in our review of the iPhone Air, so mitigating some of the tradeoffs required for such a thin chassis might increase the appeal.
The idea of a spring release for the iPhone Air 2 confirms how Apple is rethinking its product calendar. Previously, all of its smartphone announcements came in the fall. However, within the past 12 months, the company focused on its pricier models in September and pushed the announcement of its budget iPhone 17e to the spring. Since many of Apple’s attempts to have smaller smartphones have been abandoned (the iPhone Mini and the iPhone SE, we hardly know you), perhaps the new strategy is to try to deliver miniaturity from a different perspective.
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