"Apple's iPhone Air was the company's most interesting new iPhone this year, at least insofar as it was the one most different from previous iPhones. A note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, whose supply chain sources are often accurate about Apple's future plans, said yesterday that demand for the iPhone Air "has fallen short of expectations" and that "both shipments and production capacity" were being scaled back to account for the lower-than-expected demand."
"Kuo's note is backed up by reports from other analysts at Mizuho Securities ( via MacRumors) and Nikkei Asia. Both of these reports say that demand for the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro models remains strong, indicating that this is just a problem for the iPhone Air and not a wider slowdown caused by tariffs or other external factors."
"The standard iPhone, the regular-sized iPhone Pro, and the big iPhone Pro have all been mainstays in Apple's lineup, but the company has had a harder time coming up with a fourth phone that sells well enough to stick around. The small-screened iPhone mini and the large-screened iPhone Plus were each discontinued after two generations."
The iPhone Air offered a notably different design emphasizing compact size and light weight, and its size and weight were highlighted as strengths. Early market signals show that consumer uptake has underperformed. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that demand "has fallen short of expectations" and that shipments and production capacity are being reduced. Reports from Mizuho Securities and Nikkei Asia corroborate Kuo's assessment while noting strong demand for iPhone 17 and 17 Pro models. The weakness appears isolated to iPhone Air rather than reflecting a broader slowdown. Apple has historically struggled to sustain a fourth model, with the mini and Plus discontinued after two generations.
Read at Ars Technica
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