TECH NEWS – The story around Apple’s thin iPhone is all over the place: some firms insist demand is healthy and production is steady, while others forecast cuts and call time on the model.

What do you do when top analysts flat-out contradict each other? That’s the iPhone Air in a nutshell. One camp claims demand is holding up; the other predicts a swift fade-out for the ultra-slim variant. TD Cowen says Apple isn’t changing the iPhone Air’s production cadence and, after on-the-ground checks, reaffirms its earlier build targets: 3 million units in Q3 2025 and 7 million in Q4.

That directly clashes with KeyBanc Capital’s read from last week, which argued there’s virtually no demand for the iPhone Air and limited willingness to pay for foldables. Then Nikkei Asia reported Apple is dialing back iPhone Air output while upping orders for other iPhone 17 models. Adding fuel, renowned Apple watcher Ming-Chi Kuo said most iPhone Air suppliers are expected to slash capacity by more than 80%.

Complicating matters further, Jefferies now says lead times in China for the iPhone Air are nearly zero, and wait times for iPhone 17 Pro have essentially vanished as well. Even so, based on channel checks, the firm claims iPhone momentum in China has accelerated: in the first five weeks after iPhone 17 shipping began, total iPhone sales rose 19% year over year.

The iPhone Air’s collapsing Chinese lead times are a worrying signal. The model was previously hailed as a local hit thanks to its eSIM exclusivity—a novelty in the market. Which leaves the core question: how much real demand is there for the ultra-thin smartphone, and whose narrative is closest to the truth?

Source: WCCFTech