In summary:
- Macworld reports conflicting information about the iPhone Air 2’s future, with some experts predicting delays or cancellation while leaker Fixed Focus Digital suggests a Fall 2026 release.
- The original iPhone Air’s disappointing sales performance has significantly disrupted Apple’s plans for developing a second-generation model.
- If released, the iPhone Air 2 is expected to be merely an iterative upgrade with minor improvements rather than major innovations.
The iPhone Air came out late last year and didn’t exactly set the world alight. Most pundits believe that the phone’s seemingly low sales have disrupted Apple’s plans to release a 2nd-gen Air, either pushing it back to 2027 so it can concentrate more fully on the iPhone Fold, or canceling it entirely. But one source is still holding out hope for an Air 2 launch in 2026.
A leaker on Chinese social media who goes by the name Fixed Focus Digital claims the iPhone Air 2 will launch in fall 2026, a year on from its predecessor. They base this prediction on information from Apple’s manufacturing supply chain, and specifically acknowledge that most other sources don’t agree.
“The topic [consensus?] is saying it will be in the fall of 2027??” writes the leaker on Weibo, via Google Translate. “No, feedback from the production line indicates that the iPhone Air 2 will be released this fall.”
But don’t get too excited. FFD goes on to warn that the Air 2 will be merely an iterative upgrade. “Minor changes, a routine upgrade, and no significant specification cuts as mentioned in the topic,” they write. The Air, with its single rear camera lens and smaller battery capacity than the rest of its generation, could scarcely stand to be given any cuts to its specs list, so I would tend to assume this means upgrades. Or possibly a price cut, although that was never very likely so soon after the first model.
At any rate, it’s worth acknowledging, like FFD, that most pundits think 2026 will be an iPhone Air-free year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says not only is a late-2026 Air unlikely, but that Apple never intended to release it that soon anyway. The Information, meanwhile, has reported that production was drastically scaled back a couple of months after the Air came out and that Apple has decided not to launch a new model in 2026.
Still, look on the bright side. If the Air 2 is delayed until 2027, it might be more of a worthwhile update. And if anything needs a proper rethink, it’s the iPhone Air.
Author: David Price, Editor, Macworld
David has been writing about technology for well over two decades, and got on board the Apple hype train when covering the original iPhone launch in 2007. He is an enthusiastic Apple Watch evangelist and feels that the HomePod is misunderstood.