iPhone Air’s Poor Sales Spook Rivals Into Ditching Ultra-Thin Phone Plans
[[{“value”:”A Weibo leaker today suggested that Apple’s iPhone Air 2 may be the only next-generation ultra-thin flagship smartphone from a major brand, after the original model’s poor sales performance appears to have led competing manufacturers to abandon plans for their own follow-up products.
The leaker known as “Digital Chat Station” today posted on Weibo, claiming that the iPhone Air barely surpassed 700,000 unit activations even after multiple rounds of price reductions. The post also noted that an unspecified domestic Chinese ultra-thin device managed only 50,000 activations, and that the rival’s planned follow-up now looks “highly precarious” and is in all likelihood going to be scrapped. The leaker concluded that the iPhone Air 2 may end up as the sole ultra-thin flagship of the next generation.
The iPhone Air has struggled commercially since its September 2025 launch. A KeyBanc Capital Markets survey found “virtually no demand” for the device, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that suppliers had been asked to cut capacity by more than 80% between launch and early 2026, and the iPhone Air is now widely believed to be entirely out of production.
The device’s poor reception has reverberated across the industry. Xiaomi reportedly planned a “true Air model” to rival Apple’s offering, while Vivo targeted thinness within its mid-range S series. Both companies are said to have halted related projects. Samsung similarly cancelled the Galaxy S26 Edge after the Galaxy S25 Edge sold poorly.
Despite all of this, a separate leaker claimed last month that Apple will push ahead with at least two generations of the device regardless of sales performance. Reports are now aligned around a spring 2027 launch, with the delay attributed both to poor sales of the original and to Apple’s new split launch strategy, which moves the standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and iPhone Air 2 to a spring window while reserving fall 2026 for the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone. Reports from Nikkei Asia, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, and The Information all point to an early 2027 release.
Apple is said to be significantly revising the iPhone Air 2 to address the main criticisms of the original. The Information reported that Apple is considering adding a second rear camera, likely an Ultra Wide lens to complement the existing 48-megapixel Fusion camera, along with lower pricing. Other rumored changes include reduced weight, vapor chamber cooling, and increased battery capacity. Apple is believed to have requested an ultra-thin Face ID module from suppliers to free up internal space for the additional camera. According to The Elec, Apple also plans to bring a thinner, brighter Samsung OLED technology called CoE (Color Filter on Encapsulation) to the iPhone Air 2, after debuting it first on the foldable iPhone.
This article, “iPhone Air’s Poor Sales Spook Rivals Into Ditching Ultra-Thin Phone Plans” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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