Remember about 10 years ago (you probably wouldn’t) when ‘thin’ used to be the bragging right for phones? Then the industry got carried away with bigger screens, bigger cameras, bigger batteries, bigger price tags… Well, 2025 might just be the year we restart the cycle.
Samsung fired the starter pistol with the Galaxy S25 Edge — a 5.8 mm titanium-framed slip of a phone — and now Apple has shaved even more metal off with the iPhone Air at 5.6 mm. It’s not just thin; it’s “is this thing even real?” thin. Even folding phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and HONOR Magic V5 have been playing the slimness game, pushing that yardstick just shy of the 4 mm realm.
Thinness was always going to make a comeback — not everyone wanted to carry pocket bricks; materials like titanium frames and Ceramic Shield 2 enabled Apple to go skinny without going fragile. Inside, components like the A19 Pro, N1 wireless, and C1X modem are built on 3 nm processes, so they take up less room while running cooler and faster. The result is an iPhone Air that still manages up to 27 hours of video playback on its own (and up to 40 hours with the MagSafe Battery).
The lifestyle equation: sleek vs practical
Here’s the rub: thinness is intoxicating, but it comes at a price. Apple skipped an Ultra Wide camera, and you’re left with a simulated 2x crop. The eSIM-only design looks futuristic on a spec sheet, but if you’re a frequent traveller juggling prepaid SIMs, you’ll be cursing at airport kiosks.
The iPhone Air is a sign that “thin” is back, not as a gimmick, but as a premium in itself. It’s for the style-driven crowd who want a feather-light phone that looks good on the café table and doesn’t bulge a jacket pocket. Between Samsung’s Edge and Apple’s Air, 2025 feels like a throwback to the RAZR era, but with titanium and ProMotion. Whether it becomes the new normal or stays a lifestyle side-branch depends on how much people are willing to sacrifice for that extra millimetre.
The iPhone Air is available for pre-order and lands in Singapore on 19 September.
Specs snapshot
Display: 6.5″, 120 Hz ProMotion, Always-On, 3000 nits
Cameras: 48 MP Fusion Main (quad-pixel, 2× Tele crop), no Ultra Wide, 18 MP Centre Stage selfie
Chip: A19 Pro (6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, Neural Accelerators), N1 wireless (Wi-Fi 7/Bluetooth 6/Thread), C1X modem
- Connectivity: eSIM-only (no physical slot)
Battery: “All-day” with Adaptive Power Mode (up to 27 hours video playback); 50% charge in 20 min with new 40 W Dynamic Power Adapter
Storage: 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
Price: From SGD 1,599
Colours: Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue
