Apple introduced the world this week to its thinnest phone yet.
With a depth of 5.6 millimeters, the iPhone Air rests on a fingertip in its debut clip. It was the star of the show at Apple’s “awe dropping” fall event, where it emphasized the phone’s “impossibly thin” yet durable design.
“It does seem like it’s going to fly away when you’re holding it,” CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal after unveiling the phone.
The iPhone Air’s predecessors varied in depth, shape, and height. The OG iPhone, known for its rounded edges, is a whopping 11.6 millimeters, while the iPhone 6 held the crown for Apple’s thinnest phone before the Air came along, at 6.9 millimeters. The new iPhone 17 falls between that range at 7.9 millimeters thick.
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Despite its lightness — it weighs 5.8 ounces — Apple execs seem confident in its durability. In a video published Thursday, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, challenged interviewers to try to bend the iPhone Air. It appeared to hold its shape.
“It is more durable than any previous iPhone,” John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, said during the interview.
Apple is probably pretty proud of that achievement after 2014’s “bendgate,” when some people found that their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models bent under a certain amount of pressure.
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Apple used titanium in the iPhone Air, which Ternus said helps with durability.
The Air starts at $999, $200 more than the new iPhone 17 base model. It is available for preorder beginning Friday. Those hoping to demo it in stores will have to wait for its September 19 release date.
Depth isn’t the only consideration when buying a phone, of course — price, battery life, and camera matter, too. Apple touts the iPhone Air’s 27-hour battery life and is selling a dedicated MagSafe battery accessory alongside it.
The Air is a big achievement for Apple. The company said it spent years dreaming of and working on the device. Alan Dye, Apple’s vice president of human interface design, told the WSJ that the Air is a step “towards that singular piece of glass that Steve Jobs talked about back in the day.”
