Apple had excessive hopes when it unveiled the iPhone Air again in September. However gross sales of the ultra-thin smartphone have been so underwhelming that it’s even affecting the launch plans of different firms.
In response to trade sources cited by Sina Finance and Jiemian.com (themselves cited by DigiTimes), a number of main Chinese language smartphone producers have “frozen or canceled their very own ‘Air’ ultra-thin cellphone initiatives” in response to the iPhone Air’s reportedly disappointing gross sales. The listing of corporations affected consists of Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. Xiaomi specifically was believed to be planning an iPhone Air copycat, however has reportedly canned the venture.
A Cupertino apologist may at a push spin this as excellent news for Apple, which is able to no less than profit from a scarcity of competitors. However this actually serves as additional affirmation that the iPhone Air was a misstep. Failure at all times appeared probably, given Samsung’s struggles with the Galaxy S25 Edge in the summertime, however by that time the Air’s growth will need to have been too far alongside to abort. In any case Apple tends to view failure by different firms as a possibility moderately than a warning signal.
The iPhone Air, like the unique iPhone all these years in the past, wasn’t the primary ultrathin cellphone to enter its market, but it surely hoped to be the primary to repair the market’s issues. We had been informed that the Air couldn’t be bent; that its single rear digital camera lens was really a “two-in-one digital camera system;” that its battery life was surprisingly good. However there have been nonetheless inevitably compromises, and prospects seem to desire the acquainted comforts of the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Professional.
Within the months since launch there have been remoted studies that the Air isn’t doing so badly in spite of everything, and one reader emailed me lately to reward the Air and to level out that income from service purchases could also be delayed. However whereas Apple hasn’t but introduced any official gross sales figures (and received’t ever announce numbers for the Air alone, as a substitute rolling them in with total iPhone income) it’s changing into troublesome to disregard the burden of proof pointing in the direction of failure.
On the manufacturing aspect we’ve heard that Apple has “drastically” in the reduction of its orders; on the client aspect there have been studies of “nearly no shopper demand.” And whether or not or not we select to imagine these studies, it’s putting that the market, pushed solely by revenue, is now turning away from the Air’s path.
