Apple had quite a lot of bulletins this week, however arguably none was greater (and paradoxically thinner) than the iPhone Air. For one, there’s the truth that that is Apple’s first-ever cellphone with “Air” branding, marking a uncommon new class of iPhone, each current and future. Then, there’s the truth that the iPhone Air may be very slim—5.64mm to be precise. Gizmodo’s Senior Editor, Shopper Tech, Raymond Wong, bought some hands-on time with the iPhone Air, and he says it feels as skinny because it appears—even thinner than Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, to be precise. Suppose Ozempic, however for iPhones.
However as thrilling as all of that’s, it’s not the novelty and even the thinness that turned my head—it’s what the iPhone Air says concerning the future. And to see that, it’s a must to have a look at what’s happening inside. That is HIGH sign of the long run to come back. For context, the complete laptop. Modems, Antennas, all the pieces wanted to compute on the iPhone Air matches contained in the digicam bump. The remainder of the cellphone is display and battery. My ideas. Ever since Apple made the primary watch, they… pic.twitter.com/UfjAVNA52p — Linus Ekenstam (@LinusEkenstam) September 10, 2025 In case you’ve been taking note of X, you’ll have seen this image in your feed. That’s the within of the iPhone Air you’re taking a look at, and it’s vital for one cause. You see all of that stuff on the high? That’s mainly the entire cellphone—or the entire computing energy, at the very least. Apple managed to stuff mainly all the pieces that makes its iPhone an iPhone (digicam and compute) into one tiny part on the high of the chassis. The remainder of the cellphone? One large and really skinny battery. It’s a feat of engineering, actually, however past that, additionally a template for what Apple might do subsequent. There are quite a lot of implications of having the ability to cram a strong laptop in an area that small, however the one which intrigues me probably the most is a pair of AR glasses. Why AR glasses, particularly? Effectively, they’re an ideal case of miniaturization getting in the best way of a vibrant new future. It’s not that we don’t have the tech (in idea) to make AR glasses work—we are able to put screens in a glasses show, now we have apps and UI, and digicam sensors are smaller than ever—but it surely’s doing all of that in a type issue that individuals are prepared and keen to put on on their faces that throws a wrench in issues. We have to make issues smaller if we’re going to suppose greater. Write that down, Apple advertising and marketing. It simply so occurs that’s precisely what the iPhone Air does. It crams a strong laptop into an area that previously felt too confining. And what makes me much more excited concerning the miniaturization contained in the iPhone Air is the truth that Apple has lengthy been rumored to be growing a pair of AR glasses. In February, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revised earlier claims that Apple stopped growing AR glasses, reporting as an alternative that it killed a “stopgap product” that might have competed with Meta’s Ray-Ban sensible glasses. To me, that claims Apple isn’t disinterested in AR, solely that it’s ready till it has a product that really strikes the needle—maybe a pair of AR glasses that resemble common glasses in dimension and weight however can nonetheless run apps and act as secondary screens for messaging, calls, and navigation. You already know, the best pair of sensible glasses. With the miniaturization of iPhones and the pc inside them, it feels prefer it’s one step nearer to that aim, although there are different considerations with making a gadget of that caliber that the iPhone Air doesn’t essentially handle.
They name this an “Air Drop” within the business. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo A kind of hurdles is the battery. Apple did a very good job of (at the very least on paper) making the iPhone Air battery appropriate for most individuals, claiming that it lasts “all day,” which on this case means about 27 hours of offline video playback and 22 hours of streaming playback. That being mentioned, it nonetheless bothered to launch the iPhone Air alongside a MagSafe Battery pack that extends the cellphone’s battery. Possibly I’m studying into that an excessive amount of, but it surely appears to me that Apple might be getting out forward of one thing. That very same subject might lengthen to a pair of AR glasses, too. Even when Apple might cram a complete laptop inside a pair of light-weight glasses, operating all the pieces would nonetheless should be very environment friendly, particularly if there’s a display inside with excessive brightness, audio capabilities, and the flexibility to run apps. All of that stuff eats up battery—and quick. That’s all to say that shrinking down a pc is big, however powering the rattling factor is equally essential. Even with that piece of the puzzle probably unsolved, it’s arduous to not consider that Apple might make it work… finally.
Just some years in the past, we’d have seemed on the thought of an iPhone Air and mentioned, “No method.” It’s not sturdy sufficient; there’s not sufficient battery; Moore’s Regulation is lifeless; yadda, yadda. However right here it’s. An iPhone that’s skinny and light-weight and even has Apple’s strongest A19 Professional chip. If I have been a betting man, I’d wager that Apple is already taking a look at methods to up that ante, enhancing battery life, cameras, and making its Air simply as succesful as its base mannequin iPhone. And who am I to wager in opposition to them at this level? Name me loopy, but when the iPhone Air is any indication, my cash is on a pair of Apple AR glasses that do all of it—and perhaps before you suppose.
