iPhone Air: First impressions

Apple finally took the wraps off its much-awaited iPhone Air at the company’s ‘Awe Dropping’ event on September 9. The iPhone Air is a brand-new addition to the iPhone family, redefining what a slim smartphone can be. At just 5.6mm thick, it’s the thinnest and sleekest iPhone Apple has ever made. Promising to blend minimalist design with pro-level performance, the iPhone Air marks a bold new direction for Apple. We had the chance to experience Apple’s slimmest iPhone yet, and here are our initial impressions.The iPhone Air is undoubtedly a visual and tactile marvel. The smartphone is made using 80% recycled grade 5 titanium and it feels quite sturdy. Apple has also included Ceramic Shield 2 on both the sides of the smartphone, making it three times more scratch-resistant as compared to previous generation models. Despite its thin form factor, Apple has included all the button controls present in iPhone 17 series. The iPhone Air consists of the power button and camera capture button located in the right, whereas the left side houses the action button and volume control keys. The rear of the smartphone features a plateau that is precision-milled on both sides to house the cameras, speaker, and Apple silicon. This maximises space for the battery to deliver remarkable all-day battery life. The Apple iPhone Air features a 6.5-inch OLED display with 1260x2736 pixel resolution. The smartphone display comes with ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz. The Always-On display shows important information at a glance, and when not in use, it efficiently adjusts down to 1Hz. iPhone Air is easy to use outside with 3000 nits peak outdoor brightness — the highest ever on iPhone — and 2x better outdoor contrast. The smartphone also comes with IP68 rating which makes it resistant to dust and water. Apple iPhone Air is powered by Apple’s own A19 Pro chipset along with N1, and C1X chips which claims to make the device more power-efficient. The A19 Pro chipset features a new 6-core CPU which promises to improve performance and efficiency for the tasks users do every day. iPhone Air also features N1, a new Apple-designed wireless networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread.N1 improves the overall performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop. Along with this, the iPhone Air also includes C1X, a new cellular modem designed by Apple. C1X is up to 2x faster than C1, and for the same cellular technologies, it is even faster than the modem in iPhone 16 Pro, while using 30 percent less energy overall. Apple claims that the iPhone Air will deliver a day's battery life on a single charge. We will test this claim of the company in our detailed review. The smartphone comes with three storage options — 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. The iPhone Air comes in Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue colour options. Coming to camera, the Apple iPhone Air features a 48MP Fusion Main camera and an 18MP Center Stage front camera. The 48MP Fusion camera in the iPhone Air gives users the equivalent of four lenses in their pocket. The custom main lens enables the popular 28mm and 35mm focal lengths, so users have more options to frame their shot, and the large 2.0µm quad-pixel sensor with sensor-shift OlS excels in low light. Users can also get closer to their subject with the optical-quality 2x Telephoto. The iPhone Air introduces an all-new Center Stage front camera that advances the photo and video experience. The Center Stage front camera features the first square front camera sensor on iPhone, offering a wide field of view and capturing photos up to 18MP. The new centre-stage camera setup prevents the users from the hassle of rotating the phone every time they take a selfie. Users can take photos and videos in portrait or landscape while holding their iPhone vertically. For group shots, Center Stage for photos uses AI to automatically expand the field of view and can rotate from portrait to landscape to include everyone in the frame. While we haven't fully tested the cameras yet, our initial experience left us impressed with their accuracy and detailed results. For a more in-depth analysis, you'll need to wait for our full review.Apple iPhone Air runs iOS 26 operating system. This latest version of the operating system brings a new design, Apple Intelligence capabilities, and meaningful improvements to the apps. The new design with Liquid Glass makes apps and system experiences more expressive. Apple Intelligence now translates text and audio on the go with Live Translation, helping users communicate across languages in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. Apple Intelligence now translates text and audio on the go with Live Translation, helping users communicate across languages in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone.Apple iPhone Air can be said to be Apple’s daring design move in years. With a starting price tag of Rs 1,19,900 and pro-grade internals, iPhone Air feels like a preview of a foldable future. Stay tuned for our review to find out if the phone is worth the money or not.