In the original announcement thread there was some speculation that the air is a precursor to folding models down the line. I hope that’s true.

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layer8 13 hours ago | parent | next [-]

A foldable iPhone has been pretty firmly rumored for fall 2026 for a while now, I think you can take it as virtually certain: https://www.macrumors.com/guide/foldable-iphone/

I don't think the Air is merely a precursor to the foldable, however. It's rather that the technological evolution that allowed for the 5mm thin iPad Pro last year allows for the Air this year and helps with the foldable next year (and thinner MacBooks are rumored as well). But the Air is probably there to stay as a separate form factor, assuming that it doesn't flop in terms of sales. The foldable will be much heavier and bulkier, more resembling a Pro Max.

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avidiax 14 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I want that speculation to be true, but I also don't think that the Air is a stepping stone towards that. The risky parts on a folding phone are the bending screen and the hinge and the software features.

The iPhone Air tests none of those things.

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hedora 13 hours ago | parent [-]

It tests their assembly lines and supply chain by producing 100 million titanium cases.

They did something similar when they transitioned the product line to aluminum.

(As a product, it’s the opposite of what I’d want — worse battery, bigger screen, worse camera, but they’ll certainly sell enough to debug the assembly lines.)

	▲	MisterSandman 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		That doesn’t make sense, the 15pro and 16pro were already titanium, and they moved AWAY from titanium for those phones in the 17pro. I don’t disagree that it has something to do with supply chain, but it’s not the titanium cases.

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altern8tif 14 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Seems a possibility for the medium term.

I've also seen speculation that it's an engineering experiment to see if they can squeeze all the essential components of a high-powered computer into a space the size of the camera plateau. Which may eventually lead to viable AR Glasses (or a cheaper Vision).