From the iPod Nano and MacBook Air to the iPad Air, Apple has repeatedly proven that "thinner" means better.
In September 2025, that philosophy reached its peak with the launch of the iPhone Air, a phone with a thickness of 5.6mm – thinner than a pencil. The product was hailed as a masterpiece of engineering, an icon shaping the future.
However, reality turned out to be the opposite of what was expected.
Users no longer say "wow" because it's thin and lightweight.
Just two months later, production lines shut down. Orders were cut by 90%, and the iPhone Air, instead of becoming an icon, became a costly lesson.
Ironically, the iPhone Air isn't a bad product from a technical standpoint; on the contrary, it's a marvel.
At the iPhone 17 launch event, journalist Lance Ulanoff was challenged by Apple's Chief Marketing Officer, Greg Joswiak, to bend the iPhone Air.
As a result, it's completely robust, and Apple has successfully eliminated the "Bendgate phantom" (a media term used to describe a mobile product with a frame prone to bending) – like the infamous case of the fragile iPhone 6 Plus bending and breaking in the past.
But that's also where the problem begins. Apple poured too many technical resources into addressing a fear (of bending) and pursuing a goal (thinness) that no user actually requested.
While Apple was preoccupied with ultra-thin designs, they forgot what users needed in a phone costing up to $999 (listed at 31.9 million VND in Vietnam).
As Techovedas and 9to5Mac analyzed, Apple paid a very high price to achieve a thickness of 5.6mm.
In the Vietnamese market, the standard version of the iPhone Air costs approximately 31 million VND (Photo: Thu Uyên).
First, the most devastating blow was the camera system. In an era where cameras are the deciding factor, the iPhone Air only had a single rear lens, which was the most complained-about aspect by users.
Although Apple tries to market it as a "2-in-1," in reality it can't compete with the dual-camera setup on the standard iPhone 17 and is a joke when compared to the triple-camera setup on the iPhone 17 Pro.
In addition, there's the sacrifice in sound quality with only one speaker, battery life is affected by the limited physical space, and the eSIM-only support poses a barrier in many markets.
This is like Apple building an aerodynamically perfect Formula 1 race car, but forgetting to put on the right tires and forget to fill the gas tank.
Even if users accept the hardware sacrifice, they cannot justify its place in Apple's product lineup.
If the technical sacrifices were the internal cause, then the pricing strategy and product positioning were the external factors that "killed off" the iPhone Air.
The product fell into a trap that Apple had set for itself, what analysts call the "Middle Child Syndrome," which had previously killed the iPhone mini and iPhone Plus.
The iPhone Air is caught between two sides. On one hand, at $999, it's only about $100 cheaper than the iPhone 17 Pro ($1,099).
Clearly, Apple customers don't lack $100. They ask themselves, "Why should I save $100 to get a phone with a worse camera, weaker battery, and fewer speakers?"
Instead, they invested their money in the Pro version.
Reports from The Economic Times and PhoneArena clearly show this: While Air orders were cut, orders for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max increased.
On the other hand, for those looking for a cheaper option, the standard iPhone 17 (assuming it's priced at $899) is a good choice, although it's thicker but has a dual camera and significantly better battery life.
The iPhone Air became an illogical choice: not "Pro" enough for high-end users and not "good" enough for the average consumer. A survey by KeyBanc Capital Markets proved that most users had little need for this product.
Apple's sudden braking.
And Apple, more than anyone else, understands the language of the market. Their response was swift and decisive. What's amazing isn't the failure of the iPhone Air, but the speed at which Apple acknowledged it and acted.
Just weeks after its launch, Apple drastically cut production, bringing orders down to "the end of the production lifecycle."
According to reports, Foxconn and Luxshare, the two assembly giants, have nearly retired their Air production lines prematurely. This is no ordinary adjustment; it's a sharp brake, demonstrating Apple's aggressive response to supply chain management and its ruthlessness in the face of real sales data.
Users are not willing to sacrifice features for the ultra-thin design of the iPhone Air (Photo: Thu Uyên).
This failure immediately reshaped the future. Reports from Yahoo Finance and The Information confirm that Apple has indefinitely postponed the launch of the iPhone Air 2 in the fall of next year.
So, does this mark the end of an iPhone "Air"? Analysts suggest not. They believe Apple isn't giving up; instead, it plans a comeback in the spring of 2027.
Analysts believe the top technical goal for the iPhone Air 2 is to solve its "biggest problem": integrating a dual-camera system (including a main and ultra-wide lens) into an ultra-slim body.
If the predictions are correct, this would be a landmark acknowledgment: Users will never again compromise camera quality for thinness.
The failure of the iPhone Air, therefore, is not just the failure of a product. It marks the end of an era that Apple designer Jony Ive had shaped, where "thin" was synonymous with "the future."
The market has changed, and consumers have matured. We're past the days of being amazed by a phone that's a few millimeters thinner. Today, users care about more practical things: How long does the battery last? Does it take good night photos? Does the phone run smoothly?
The iPhone Air is an expensive work of art in a world that demands powerful tools. Apple, with its abrupt production shutdown, seems to have learned a major lesson from user feedback.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/iphone-air-that-bai-khi-mong-nhe-khong-con-du-hap-dan-20251114103938718.htm
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