iPhone Air: Apple’s Thinnest Phone Hints at All-Glass Future

Apple has unveiled the iPhone Air, its slimmest handset to date at just 5.6 mm. That makes it 36 percent thinner than the iPhone 17 Pro, a difference CEO Tim Cook joked was so extreme it felt like the device might “fly away.” The quip aside, the launch leans into an idea Apple has been chasing for years: a seamless slab of glass, once described by Steve Jobs and recently resurfaced in reporting from The Wall Street Journal.

iPhone Air Sets a New Record for Thinness

Design chief Molly Anderson described the project as something her team had been chasing for years. The Air measures slimmer than a Cartier Love bracelet and only marginally thicker than three stacked quarters. Despite that, it carries a titanium frame for rigidity and lightness, while a polished edge treatment makes the device appear even thinner to the eye. Alan Dye, Apple’s design VP, positioned it as another step toward Jobs’s vision of an all-glass iPhone.

To reach that profile, Apple cut back slightly on the battery and camera system. Executives were clear that the Pro line remains the workhorse for creators and performance-driven buyers, while the Air is intended as a statement of lightness and design. “We wanted the choice to be difficult: power or design,” Anderson admitted. Outside the company, cultural voices picked up the same tension. Palace co-founder Lev Tanju remarked that he suddenly felt pulled toward a thinner phone, while stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson drew parallels to fashion’s current “thin is in” fixation now surfacing in consumer tech.

Apple also leaned into the Air as something closer to a wearable. New cases and cross-body straps were highlighted as ways to carry the phone more like a fashion accessory than a device. Cook reinforced that sentiment by framing the iPhone as personal and expressive. With its reflective finish and slim build, the Air edges into jewelry territory as much as electronics.

Looking Ahead: Glasswing and Foldable Speculation

The iPhone Air goes on sale September 19, with pre-orders opening this Friday. Reports point to longer-term plans inside Apple for a 2027 anniversary model codenamed “Glasswing,” said to feature curved glass edges, nearly invisible bezels, and no front cutouts. Separate rumors continue to suggest a foldable iPhone could follow, though timelines remain murky.

For now, the Air represents Apple’s boldest design pivot in years. It asks customers to decide whether extreme thinness and aesthetics justify the trade-offs in battery and camera capability. Whether buyers embrace that compromise will say a lot about how far Apple can push its long-running pursuit of the all-glass phone.

Would this thinner, jewelry-like iPhone actually appeal to you, or does performance still come first? Let us know below.