Apple 'Close' To Pulling The Plug On iPhone Air Production Amid Poor Sales

Merely a month and a half after launching the latest iPhone 17 series, Apple is cutting back production of iPhone Air to 'near-zero' levels due to poor demand and sales, reports The Verge.

While the iPhone 17 series has witnessed strong sales overall, the iPhone Air has been a notable underperformer. As such, Apple has slashed its production completely for the new model, which accounted for just 10-15% of all production orders projected for the iPhone 17 lineup.

This comes at a time when Apple, according to a Nikkei Asia report, has actually bumped production of iPhone 17 by 5 million units while increasing production capacity for the Pro models as well.

Apple's reaction comes in response to the poor sales of iPhone Air, which has seen similar demand as the iPhone 16 Plus, the model it replaced on the 17 lineup.

This compares to the iPhone 17, which has witnessed 31% more demand than the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max, which saw a 12% bump in sales against the iPhone 16 counterparts.

This serves as a major disappointment for Apple, which had unveiled the iPhone Air model as a big design revamp, featuring lighter and thinner skin. It is the thinnest smartphone Apple has ever produced.

However, a key drawback of the iPhone Air has been the battery. Due to its size, Apple has had to include a smaller battery on the Air compared to the iPhone 17 or the Pro model. In fact, the iPhone 17 battery capacity is similar to that of the iPhone 13 Pro, according to MKBHD.

Multiple battery tests done by YouTubers have also unveiled a significantly poor performance from the iPhone Air compared to any smartphone model in existence right now.

The road ahead for the future of iPhone Air series, therefore, remains tricky and it will be interesting to see whether the poor sales due to battery performance will motivate Apple to come out with a more improved iPhone Air 2 in the next launch.