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

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


Alvin R Cabral
  • English
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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.

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
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
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.

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While you're here
'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street

The seven points are:

Shakhbout bin Sultan Street

Dhafeer Street

Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)

Salama bint Butti Street

Al Dhafra Street

Rabdan Street

Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)

if you go

The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to ­Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4

The Sky Is Pink

Director: Shonali Bose

Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf

Three stars

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

 

 

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: seven-speed

Power: 620bhp

Torque: 760Nm

Price: Dh898,000

On sale: now

World Series

Game 1: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4
Game 2: Red Sox 4, Dodgers 2
Game 3: Saturday (UAE)

* if needed

Game 4: Sunday
Game 5: Monday
Game 6: Wednesday
Game 7: Thursday

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How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

Tips for SMEs to cope
  • Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
  • Make sure you have an online presence
  • Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
  • Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
    Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Top Hundred overseas picks

London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith 

Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah 

Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott

Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz

Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw

Trent Rockets: Colin Munro

Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson

Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock

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The biog

Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia

Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins

Favourite dish: Grilled fish

Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.

The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000

Engine 3.6L V6

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm

Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km

Profile of Tarabut Gateway

Founder: Abdulla Almoayed

Based: UAE

Founded: 2017

Number of employees: 35

Sector: FinTech

Raised: $13 million

Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.

Married Malala

Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.

The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.

Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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  1. Mastery of audio-visual content creation. 
  2. Cinematography, shots and movement.
  3. All aspects of post-production.
  4. Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
  5. Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
  6. Tourism industry knowledge.
  7. Professional ethics.
Titanium Escrow profile

Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue  
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family

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BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8

Transmission: nine-speed automatic

Power: 630bhp

Torque: 900Nm

Price: Dh810,000

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

'Peninsula'

Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra

Director: ​Yeon Sang-ho

Rating: 2/5

Janet Yellen's Firsts

  • In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve 
  • In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers 
Updated: September 11, 2025, 7:12 AM