The iPhone Air 2 was notably absent when Apple hosted its annual iPhone launch event on Wednesday. Alongside the base iPhone 18 models, a second iteration of the lightweight Air did not appear, as Apple concentrated purely on premium devices.
Last year’s iPhone 17 Air, priced at roughly £790, measured just 5.6mm thick and weighed only 165 grams. It offered buyers a middle-ground option between the base iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro models, and at a reasonable price. The device came with a single rear 48-megapixel wide-angle camera, a smaller battery and a single speaker.
Although sales of the iPhone Air were reportedly disappointing, the handset arguably served as a first step towards the iPhone Duo. It demonstrated that a slim, lightweight phone could be just as durable and capable as a fully specced device. Those pared-back features and the slim profile would have been pivotal to designing Apple’s new folding phone, since foldables must be slim and make similar compromises on specifications. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 has only two rear lenses compared with the three on other Galaxy models, and the iPhone Duo likewise carries just two rear cameras.
Fewer Options for Middle-Ground Buyers
The absence of a refreshed Air leaves a gap for buyers wanting a phone that sits slightly above the base iPhone without spending upward of £950 — the starting price of the cheapest handset Apple announced on Wednesday, when it unveiled premium devices including the iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Many buyers also do not want a folding phone. A survey of more than 2,600 adults found that 75% were not interested in a foldable iPhone, and most would want to spend less than £790 if they did buy one. The iPhone Duo costs between roughly £1,580 and £2,530, far exceeding the iPhone Air’s original £790 price tag.
Apple also raised prices across its iPhone 17 lineup on Wednesday. The iPhone 17 Air now starts at around £870, with the increases arriving amid a global memory shortage driven by the surge in AI tools. This has further narrowed the options available to more budget-conscious consumers.
A Possible Spring Launch
Speculation suggests the iPhone 18 Air may have been pushed back to a rumoured spring launch, where it could appear alongside an iPhone 18 base model and a potential iPhone 18E, the budget follow-up to this year’s iPhone 17E.
IDC Worldwide Device Trackers Senior Research Director Nabila Popal believes Apple is strategically withholding the second iPhone Air until next year to bundle it with the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18E, launching a trio of more affordable smartphones to contrast with the premium trio of the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and Duo.
“It allows Apple to spread its shipments more evenly throughout the year and simultaneously allow the spotlight on the premium models this fall — especially the new iPhone foldable,” Popal said.
