TECH NEWS – It appears that the Cupertino tech giant does not have much confidence in the successor to the iPhone Air.
Selling the iPhone Air was always going to be difficult, as buyers would likely be deterred by the compromises associated with Apple’s slim flagship. Rumors suggested that the company intended to address this next year by introducing a dual-camera setup, but there is now talk of a hardware downgrade that is unlikely to please most buyers and does not bode well for the future of this category.
A rumor posted on the eyes1122 blog discusses a 48 MP + 48 MP rear camera setup for the iPhone Air 2. While that would address one of the iPhone Air’s biggest shortcomings, those eagerly anticipating the device, which could arrive early next year, may face a substantial drop in performance. The A20 Pro processor is expected to be available only in the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Fold models later this year, because the iPhone Air 2 will reportedly use the standard A20. According to the rumor, Apple will not even use a binned, imperfect A20 Pro, as it did with the original iPhone Air and the A19 Pro. In short, the same chip expected in the base iPhone 18 will also power the internals of the iPhone Air 2. Given Apple’s current situation, including its struggle with increased storage and RAM costs, the company was probably forced into this compromise.
TSMC’s 2 nm N2 manufacturing process is not cheap, so using the standard A20 could be one possible way to reduce component costs by millions while offering almost the same user experience. At the same time, the iPhone Air 2 is almost certain to be significantly more expensive than the iPhone 18, but since both devices will feature the same SoC, or system-on-a-chip, and probably the same amount of RAM, does the iPhone Air 2 not seem unnecessary? It certainly appears that way, and because of this downgrade, the iPhone Air 2 could even become the final blow for Apple’s slim flagship line. Aware of the weak interest in thinner smartphones, Apple will probably order the smallest possible production run for the iPhone Air 2 in order to minimize losses from unsold inventory.
Perhaps we will see iPhone Plus models again in 2028.
