The iPhone Air paves the way for Apple's foldable screen devices.

Cover | Apple's official website

For the iPhone series, which finally underwent a major design overhaul after six years, Apple's fall product launch event early on September 10th ended rather abruptly. The entire event lasted only about one hour and ten minutes, making it the shortest Apple event in recent years.

Part of the reason might be the limited number of new products introduced at the event. Apple Intelligence, which was the highlight of last year's event, was only briefly mentioned this time and could almost be ignored. Not to mention its long - awaited launch in the Chinese market. The Vision Pro, released two years ago, did not get an upgrade as expected. Previously, the outside world predicted that the second - generation Vision Pro would be launched in the second half of 2025.

The real star of the show was the iPhone itself. Whether it was the redesigned iPhone 17 Pro, the iPhone 17 that finally got a high - refresh - rate screen, or the brand - new ultra - thin and light iPhone Air, all of them caught the public's attention. After the event, there were rare praises for Apple's new products on social media, and tech bloggers exclaimed that Apple had "squeezed out a lot of toothpaste."

iPhone 17 Pro

Starting with the iPhone 17, Apple is entering an unprecedented product cycle. The ultra - thin and light iPhone Air is not destined to be a high - volume model. Its more important role is to conduct technical verification for next year's foldable iPhone. The year after next will mark the 20th anniversary of the iPhone's launch. Bloomberg reported that Apple also plans to launch a 20th - anniversary limited - edition iPhone made of glass. A more affordable version of the Vision Pro is also in the works and may be launched after the second - generation update.

As for Apple Intelligence, which is still in its infancy, it's better to forget about it for now. Apple is lagging behind in the AI field. Instead of getting involved in a costly AI arms race with its competitors, betting on hardware might be a more practical choice. As long as the iPhone maintains its leading position in the smartphone market, Apple will have bargaining power in external negotiations. With its large hardware user base, there will always be established AI companies approaching Apple for cooperation.

Just like the $20 billion that Apple easily earns from Google every year. This money is simply for Google to maintain its position as the default search engine on Safari. Even in the AI era, the cooperation between Apple and Google continues. The latest news shows that Google is providing model support for Apple to develop a new version of Siri.

This, of course, doesn't meet market expectations. At the close of U.S. stocks this morning, Apple's stock price fell 1.48%. The period with the largest intraday decline coincided with the launch of the new iPhones. Among the seven major U.S. tech stocks, Apple's stock performance this year is only better than Tesla's.

iPhone Air and the Foldable iPhone

"This is a product that has been reinvented in every aspect... It is also the lightest and thinnest to date... Every component has been meticulously designed... The thinnest ever... Significantly thinner than before... Making the most of every millimeter of space..." - Excerpted from Apple's official website.

This passage was not used to describe the iPhone Air. Instead, it was Apple's introduction of a "brand - new MacBook" that also emphasized extreme thinness and lightness 10 years ago.

In 2015, Apple introduced the 12 - inch MacBook, the most radically designed Mac in the history of the Mac series. This MacBook weighed only 0.92 kilograms and was only 13.1 millimeters thick. Even today, it remains the thinnest and lightest MacBook product.

The New MacBook

To achieve extreme thinness, Apple made many radical attempts with this MacBook. It was the first Mac to use only a USB - C port for power and data transfer, the first to adopt a fanless design, and the first to use a butterfly keyboard.

However, the sales of this ultra - thin and light MacBook after its launch were disappointing. The device overheated easily, had weak chip performance, and poor battery life. Just two years later, the new MacBook was discontinued and has not been revived to this day.

Many technologies used in the 12 - inch MacBook were later applied to subsequent Mac products, such as the unified USB - C port, the fanless design, and the butterfly keyboard (some of these designs were later abandoned in the M - chip era). From this perspective, this MacBook was more like a product for Apple to explore and verify new technologies. Its purpose was to implement and verify Apple's hardware concepts for the next few years and provide a reference for the development of the next - generation products.

The newly launched iPhone Air has a similar mission to the MacBook 10 years ago, which is to conduct technical verification for the next - generation hardware products.

Just from its name, we can tell that it's different. From last night to today, many media outlets mistakenly referred to this new model as the "iPhone 17 Air" in their reports. However, it does not belong to the iPhone 17 product line. Apple simply named it the "iPhone Air," which is independent of the regular product line.

iPhone Air

The iPhone Air may attract more attention in the early stage, but it's difficult for it to be a best - selling model, even though it has a highly recognizable appearance and forward - thinking design. Just like the MacBook 10 years ago, due to the pursuit of extreme thinness and lightness, it has to make compromises in many aspects.

Its video playback time is only 27 hours, the shortest among the three iPhone models. Even though Apple claims that the iPhone Air can meet all - day use, they still had to specially launch a rear magnetic battery for the iPhone Air, which costs 799 yuan. It has only one rear camera, while the iPhone 17, which is 2000 yuan cheaper, has two, and the iPhone 17 Pro, which is only 1000 yuan more expensive, has three. Due to its ultra - thin body, the charging port of the iPhone Air cannot be centered. It completely eliminates the physical SIM card slot, and currently only China Unicom users in China can activate the eSIM function.

For most ordinary consumers, the iPhone Air has little cost - effectiveness. Even Mark Gurman, a Bloomberg journalist who has long followed Apple, wrote an article pointing out that although the iPhone Air is Apple's first major redesign in years, it is not suitable for most people.

The smartphone market has long given up the pursuit of extreme thinness and lightness. Most flagship models are seeking higher performance, better battery life, and stronger imaging capabilities. The only segment in the market that still adheres to the pursuit of thinness and lightness is the foldable - phone market. The iPhone Air's 5.6 - millimeter thickness is quite eye - catching among straight - screen phones, but most foldable phones have a thickness of less than 5 millimeters when unfolded.

Considering that Apple will launch a foldable iPhone next year, this year's iPhone Air is more likely to provide technical verification for the foldable phone. The internal structure of the iPhone Air has been redesigned. The motherboard, chips, and camera are all concentrated in a small area at the top of the device, leaving more space for the battery. This is similar to the design concept of most current foldable phones.

Many technologies on the iPhone Air are being used for the first time. It is the iPhone with the most Apple - designed chips to date. In addition to the A19 Pro, which is the same as the flagship model, it also includes Apple's newly developed network wireless chip N1 and the new cellular modem C1X. Previously, Apple mostly used Qualcomm's solutions. These technologies may be applied to Apple's mainstream models in the future.

Guo Ming - chi, an analyst at TF International Securities, previously revealed that the foldable iPhone will also use the same high - density battery cells as the iPhone Air. He said that Apple positions the foldable iPhone as the highest - end iPhone model, and the first - generation model is expected to be priced at over $2000 - $2500. Due to Apple's strong brand value, as long as the product quality is good, the replacement demand for the first - generation foldable iPhone is expected to be strong, even with a high price tag.

Shortly before the launch of the iPhone 17, Guo Ming - chi reported again that in order to ensure the mass production of the foldable iPhone in the second half of 2026, Apple has abandoned its self - developed solution and instead adopted Samsung Display's crease - free screen solution.

Apple is currently the only major smartphone brand that has not launched a foldable phone. Most Android brands have regarded foldable phones as their super - flagship models to target the high - end market. Huawei has even launched a triple - foldable phone with a starting price of up to 20,000 yuan.

The Long - awaited Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence, which took up a large part of last year's Apple event, was almost absent this year. During the entire event, except for a brief mention when Apple introduced the chip performance, there was hardly any mention of Apple Intelligence.

One year has passed, and Apple Intelligence is still in its infancy. The updates in the entire iOS 18 cycle have been lackluster, only including basic functions such as translation, information recognition, and text expansion. The slogan "Designed specifically for Apple Intelligence" that Tim Cook shouted at the iPhone 16 launch last year now seems like an empty promise.

Especially when compared with Google, which recently launched the Pixel 10 series, Apple Intelligence appears to be even more backward. Google demonstrated a series of AI innovations at the Pixel 10 launch event, which seem to be more AI - centric than Apple Intelligence.

For example, an AI photography function called "Camera Coach" can intelligently recommend the best composition and lighting angles when you take a photo. Another AI function called "Magic Cue" can actively push relevant information and shortcut operations based on the real - time situation. For example, when a friend asks you about your flight's arrival time, Magic Cue will directly refer to your personal schedule and provide suggestions.

Google even made a Pixel advertisement specifically mocking the iPhone, saying, "If you buy a new phone because of a feature that's 'coming soon,' and it's been 'coming soon' for a whole year. You can either redefine 'coming soon,' or you can just get a different phone."

Apple is not unaware of its lag in the AI field. The latest news shows that Apple is planning to build a new version of Siri, trying to transform it into a real AI - powered smart assistant. Bloomberg reported that multiple internal teams at Apple are involved in the transformation of the new Siri, including the original Siri team, the artificial - intelligence team, and the Apple Services team. Apple plans to launch the update as early as next March.

The new Siri will be fully AI - driven, but Apple lacks self - developed technology support. Apple initially tried to acquire AI startups Perplexity or Mistral but failed.

In July, there was a large - scale exodus of employees from Apple's foundational - model team. The team leader, Ruoming Pang, was poached by Meta with a total compensation package of over $200 million. Some employees also switched to AI giants such as OpenAI or Anthropic.

Apple's latest plan is to cooperate with Google, and Google will provide the underlying model support. Even though Google and Apple are competitors in the smartphone market, they have been cooperating for many years. To maintain its position as the default search engine on Safari, Google pays Apple $20 billion every year.

In the Chinese market, Apple has chosen to cooperate with Alibaba and Baidu. Previously, market rumors said that Alibaba will provide on - device model support for Apple, and Baidu will provide support for Siri and visual - intelligence functions, playing a role similar to OpenAI and Google. Considering the slow roll - out of Apple Intelligence in the U.S. market, it may still take a long time for Apple Intelligence to be launched in the Chinese market.

Apple Intelligence has not been launched in China yet

Looking for reliable alternative solutions in the market has been Apple's common practice over the years. When its own capabilities are insufficient, Apple tends to cooperate with external partners until its self - developed solutions can replace the external supply. For example, the first three generations of iPhones used external chips, and it wasn't until the iPhone 4 that Apple started using its self - developed A4 chip. The replacement of desktop - computer chips came even later. Apple ended its cooperation with Intel only after launching the M1 chip in 2020.

However, the AI era is different from other fields. The iteration and competition in AI technology are more rapid and intense than at any time in the history of the Internet. Many of the companies in this field are also Apple's competitors to some extent. Especially in the current situation where AI is trying to reshape everything, the entire market is eagerly looking for the next - generation hardware to replace smartphones. Apple may not have much time to develop its own AI capabilities.

In addition to internal and external challenges, Tim Cook also has to deal with the Trump administration's tariff issues. Just moving the production of iPhones sold in the U.S. to India is not enough. His latest move is to increase the previous $500 billion investment plan in the U.S. over four years to $600 billion in order to get tariff exemptions from the Trump administration.

This year marks Tim Cook's 14th year at the helm of Apple. In August this year, his tenure officially exceeded that of Steve Jobs, making him the longest - serving CEO in Apple's history.

Time is running out for Cook to make adjustments.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Shangshan". Author: Xue Xingxing. Republished by 36Kr with permission.