Apple iPhone Air review

I haven't used an iPhone Air. This review comes from Apple's spec page, which I read on November 7, 2026, and from the battery tests Notebookcheck wrote up in September 2025. Notebookcheck didn't run those tests in its own lab. Dave2D, a YouTube reviewer, ran them, and Notebookcheck reported the numbers. The 7.0 is my opinion from all that.

The money first. The Air costs $1,099Not verifiedNot verified for the base 256GB model, checked November 1, 2026. Apple also sells 512GB and 1TB versions.

The thin part is real

Apple lists the Air at 5.64 mm thick and 165 g, with a 6.5-inch OLED screen. That's a big screen in a light phone. It runs on the A19 Pro chip, and it's rated IP68 for 6 m of water for up to 30 minutes.

If weight in a jacket pocket is what you notice most about a phone, this is the one to look at.

The battery is where it gives ground

Apple doesn't print a battery capacity on its spec page. It gives one figure: up to 27 hours of video playback. Notebookcheck reports the cell at 3,149 mAh. The base iPhone 17 has 3,692 mAh, so the Air's battery is about 15% smaller, by my arithmetic.

The tests show what that costs. In Dave2D's Genshin Impact run at 600 nits, the Air lasted about 3 hours 11 minutes and the iPhone 17 about 5 hours. In a Reddit and social-app test, the Air managed 9.5 hours of active use against just over 13 hours for the iPhone 17.

Three and a half hours less scrolling. That's the trade.

This annoys me more than anything else here. Apple shaved millimeters, and the bill comes due in the evening. Notebookcheck's headline calls the runtimes surprisingly good for the cell size, and that's fair. Fair isn't the same as long, though.

Charging

Apple says the Air reaches 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W-or-stronger adapter. The adapter is sold separately. The spec page doesn't give the phone's maximum charging wattage.

Half a battery in half an hour helps. On the 9.5-hour social-app result, I'd expect to plug in at lunch on a heavy day.

If you use your phone lightly

This is where I'd buy it. Messages, maps, a podcast and a few photos won't come near Dave2D's numbers. You'd carry a 165 g phone with a 6.5-inch screen and charge it every night like anything else.

If you game, or your days run long

Skip it. Around 3 hours of Genshin Impact is short, and the iPhone 17 ran about 5 hours on the same test. For a long travel day, I'd want the bigger battery over the thinner frame.

If photos decide it

Apple lists a 48MP Fusion camera system. No camera test went into this score, so read one before you spend $1,099Not verifiedNot verified on it for pictures.