iPhone Air revealed: Unboxing Apple’s thinnest smartphone yet
Ultra-thin design turns heads, but practical questions remain. Watch our review video
Dubai: Apple's boldest iPhone experiment in years arrives in UAE stores September 19, and the iPhone Air is impressive – if you can overlook some practical compromises.
Gulf News got early access to the ultra-thin device, and here's what we discovered.
Design: Incredibly light but unstable
At just 165 grams, the iPhone Air feels almost weightless in hand. Some claim you'll forget it's in your pocket, though that's not quite true – you'll definitely notice its premium feel.
Available in space black, cloud white, light gold, and sky blue, the phone looks stunning from every angle. However, the prominent camera bump makes it wobble annoyingly on flat surfaces, a clear trade-off for the slim profile.
Apple's Ceramic Shield protects both front and back, addressing durability concerns about such a thin device.
Performance: A19 Pro delivers
The A19 Pro chip handles everything smoothly, from demanding apps to intensive gaming. The N1 chip manages Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 beautifully, making file transfers noticeably faster than previous generations.
Apple promises up to 40 hours of battery life with MagSafe charging – a claim we’re still testing. If accurate, it addresses the main concern about ultra-thin phones: battery compromise.
The e-SIM reality
Like all new iPhones, the Air supports only e-SIM across the GCC. No physical SIM slot means potential conversion hassles with network providers, despite Apple's claims of security advantages.
iOS 18.1 experience
The software runs flawlessly, with Apple Intelligence features taking advantage of the A19 Pro chip's capabilities. iOS 18.1 brings improved widgets and notification grouping that feel refined.
Bottom line
The iPhone Air represents Apple's most ambitious design in years. It's undeniably gorgeous and surprisingly capable.
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