The 'supermodel' smartphone race

With Apple having just launched the iPhone Air with a thickness of 5.6mm, the smartphone market is predicted to see a race for the slimmest models in the near future.

Air iPhone

However, before the iPhone Air was released, the market had already seen two other ultra-thin products, notably foldable smartphones, from Oppo and Honor.

iPhone Air sparks a "supermodel" race.

One of the highlights that attracted global attention at Apple's recent iPhone 17 launch event was the introduction of the iPhone Air, touted as the thinnest iPhone ever.

With a thickness of only 5.6mm – users can verify this by stacking 7-8 bank cards on top of each other to get the thickness of the current iPhone Air smartphone.

The iPhone Air has sparked user interest in the "supermodel" trend in smartphones - Photo: APPLE

Despite its slim profile, the iPhone Air uses a titanium frame, making it elegant, lightweight, and durable.

According to Apple, the back of the iPhone Air is protected by Ceramic Shield and the front features Ceramic Shield 2, providing three times better scratch resistance, making the iPhone Air more durable than any previous iPhone.

“The all-new iPhone Air is incredibly powerful yet unbelievably thin and light, to the point that you can’t believe it’s real when you actually hold it in your hand. This leap forward in design and engineering is only possible through Apple’s innovative technology, especially Apple silicon,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.

Does Oppo have the world's thinnest foldable smartphone?

Before the iPhone Air was released, Oppo astonished the market by unveiling the Find N5, the world's thinnest foldable smartphone, measuring just 8.93mm when folded and only 4.21mm when unfolded.

Weighing in at 229g, the Find N5 is even lighter than many flagship bar-style phones, offering a comfortable, secure grip and a natural user experience.

The Oppo Find N5 is only 8.93mm thin when folded and 4.21mm when unfolded - Photo: TRUC GIANG

According to Oppo, despite its thin design, the frame is made from a 7,000-layer aluminum alloy, increasing durability by 30% and providing better protection against impacts. In addition, the ultra-thin Nanocrystal glass improves the outer screen's drop resistance by up to 20%.

This product also boasts TÜV Rheinland certification for durable foldable screens – one of the most stringent durability assessment standards on the market.

Pete Lau, Senior Vice President and Head of Product at OPPO Global, said: "The Find N5 unlocks the potential of foldable phones, bringing the experience of a tablet and a laptop to your hand."

Honor - a formidable competitor in the "supermodel" race.

As early as the end of 2024, Honor was one of the first smartphone manufacturers to join the ultra-thin smartphone race with the Magic V3 – considered the world's thinnest foldable smartphone at the time. Specifically, the product was only 4.35 mm thick when unfolded and 9.2 mm when folded, and weighed only 226g.

The Honor Magic V3 is only 4.35 mm thick when unfolded and 9.2 mm when folded - Photo: HOANG MY

With a sleek design comparable to a regular bar phone, the Honor Magic V3 offers a more immersive experience thanks to its display area being twice as large when unfolded.

Furthermore, in July of this year, the company also launched the successor to the V3, the Magic V5, in the Chinese market. It boasts an ultra-slim design, measuring only 8.8mm when folded and approximately 4.1mm - 4.2mm when unfolded, depending on the color version.

Weight has also been optimized, with the white version weighing only 217g, the lightest in the product line. The black, gold, and reddish-brown versions weigh approximately 222g.

Despite being thinner, the Magic V5 boasts a 12% increase in battery capacity compared to its predecessor, from 5,150mAh to 6,100mAh for the Chinese version and 5,820mAh for the international version.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuoc-dua-smartphone-sieu-mau-2025092510481174.htm