169: Apple's iPhone Air Is in Trouble

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the latest rumors about the iPhone Air not selling as well as Apple hoped.

There have been many recent reports suggesting the ‌iPhone Air‌ has failed to catch on with consumers, with Apple moving to cut production due to lower-than-expected sales. The first warning sign was the ready availability of the ‌iPhone Air‌ at launch, suggesting lower than expected demand.

Last week, Japan's Mizuho Securities said that Apple would reduce iPhone Air production by at least one million units because of underwhelming sales performance. Nikkei then reported that Apple planned to cut production significantly almost to "end-of-production levels."

KeyBanc Capital Markets said that there is "virtually no demand" for the ‌iPhone Air‌ and that Apple would "drastically" cut production as a result. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo then clarified that suppliers have been asked to reduce capacity by more than 80% between now and the first quarter of 2026, and some components with longer lead times will be discontinued by the end of 2025.

Samsung is apparently seeing a similar response to its super thin ‌iPhone Air‌ rival, the Galaxy S25 Edge. Reports indicate that Samsung canceled a next-generation model after disappointing sales.

According to Kuo, the ‌iPhone Air‌'s poor performance suggests that the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro models already "cover the majority of high-end user demand," so there is little room for new market segments. All of the other new iPhones are all believed to be selling better than expected, with Apple increasing up production of these models.

Apple apparently planned three more ‌iPhone Air‌ generations, but that could now change in light of real-world sales data. We could get yet another new iPhone form factor as soon as 2026, with rumors suggesting that Apple will debut a foldable model alongside the iPhone 18 lineup.