Apple slims down to take on Samsung with 'MacBook-level' iPhone Air

Company's iPhone line-up has largely maintained its prices despite talk of increase

Apple says the 5.6mm-thin iPhone Air is its 'most durable' smartphone. Getty Images

Apple has unveiled its newest iPhone line-up, featuring major upgrades to hardware and software, plus a new slimmer version, while largely maintaining its prices amid tariff pressure.

The California-based company introduced the iPhone 17 series comprising the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the iPhone Air at its annual launch event on Tuesday.

The iPhone Air, with a thickness of 5.6mm, formalises a new battlefront in the smartphone wars, especially after Samsung Electronics launched the 5.8mm Galaxy S25 Edge in June.

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The "Air" branding was first used by Apple in the first MacBook Air in 2008 – just months after the original iPhone was launched – and adapted by the iPad in 2013. The company has since used it as its signature to show how compact its devices are.

And Apple repeated a familiar tagline on Tuesday, declaring the slimmer iPhone Air to be "impossibly thin".

The Apple iPhone Air uses Ceramic Shield to protect its front and rear. Photo: Apple

"We've continued to push boundaries ... it is unlike anything we've ever created," Apple chief executive Tim Cook said.

Apple said that, despite its thinness, the iPhone Air, clad with Grade 5 spacecraft titanium, is its most durable smartphone and features its newest A19 Pro chip, which has been reconfigured to bring "MacBook-level" power.

The company has been producing its own silicon-based processors that allow it to configure features to its standards and fuse all components into a single board. Apple attributed this ability to be one of the reasons for the creation of the iPhone Air.

The device has a single 48MP rear lens and a front camera that uses Centre Stage, a feature first introduced on the latest generation of iMacs that detects subjects in the frame and automatically adjusts to capture all of them.

The front camera also features a self-rotating viewfinder that eliminates the need to switch from portrait to landscape modes.

The iPhone Air is a "piece of the future, powerful yet so light it seems to disappear in your hands", Apple said.

While there are no clearly defined metrics to show what constitutes a slim smartphone, Apple is banking on the iPhone Air, with its lower price compared to the Pro models and stand-out design, to prop up sales in an increasingly competitive environment.

The iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, meanwhile, feature Apple's first use of a unibody chassis and the biggest battery by far in the iPhone range. The Pro Max now also has a 2TB option.

The Apple iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max both have three cameras that all have 48MP sensors. Photo: Apple

Apple said the overhaul includes a "completely new" thermal system that "dissipates heat rapidly" and a performance boost of up to 40 per cent.

Apple also launched the entry-level iPhone 17, now with a bigger 16cm display and a "more durable design" powered by the A19 chip. It also features Centre Stage.

The company has also said improvements have been made to Apple Intelligence, underpinned by iOS 16 that features a refreshed interface called Liquid Glass, which gives a translucent effect and adds fluidity.

Apple has also largely maintained its pricing, bucking rumours of an across-the-board price increase. The iPhone 17's base price remains at $799 (Dh3,399), while the iPhone Air starts at $999, although that is for the 256GB version, which is now the lowest storage option after Apple removed the 128GB version in previous Plus models.

The iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099 – $100 more than its predecessor, but now also at a base storage of 256GB – while the iPhone 17 Pro Max stays put at $1,199.

It is unclear if the tariffs have, even indirectly, affected Apple's operations. However, the company has made moves to counter any potential hits: it has announced plans to move the majority of iPhone manufacturing to India amid the US-China trade war and pledged $600 billion into US manufacturing.

Apple has also refreshed its accessories line-up with the release of the AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3 and Apple Watch Ultra 3.