By: Nick Gambino
Well, that was short lived. A month after it was announced, the iPhone Air is reportedly already on the chopping block.
Apple has notified supply chain partners that they are reducing production of the thin, design-first phone by 80%, according to reports from at least two different sources – veteran tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and tech publication Nikkei Asia.
This drastic drop in numbers is what you would see in the final stage of life for an Apple product. They didn’t even let it breathe to see if it could get its legs. They just amputated on the gurney.
This of course is due to poor numbers, falling way short of what they needed to justify an entire new product. But pulling the plug on the iPhone Air is probably easier because it’s part of a bigger lineup – the iPhone 17.
“Most suppliers are expected to reduce capacity by more than 80% by 1Q26, while some components with longer lead times are expected to be discontinued by the end of 2025,” Kuo says in an X post. “This indicates that the existing Pro series and standard models already cover the majority of high-end user demand well.”
Going even further, this isn’t Apple’s first attempt at creating an alternative for people who either want a cheaper, more lightweight or even bigger phone. Apple had launched and put to bed the mini, the Plus, and now – carrying on tradition – the iPhone Air.
The flaw was probably in thinking there was a big enough chunk of the market looking for something a little bit lighter, We’ve been carrying these smartphones around for almost two decades. We’re used to it. We don’t need to keep going lighter and thinner. And that’s really all the Air had to offer, and it sacrificed performance and camera quality to do it.
If you want a cheaper phone go with the iPhone 16e or wait and see if they release the iPhone 17e in early 2026. That’s probably when the new budget phone is going to be released as it’s a year after the debut of the 16e.
