Is the thinnest iPhone in history not selling well?

The iPhone Air was officially launched in the Chinese market on October 22. According to interviews conducted by reporters from Star Market Daily, the market performance of the iPhone Air both offline and online has been relatively lackluster.

Can the thinnest iPhone in history gain market recognition?

After a delay of nearly a week, the iPhone Air was officially launched in the Chinese market on October 22. Previously, due to issues with the commercial approval of eSIM technology, this new product was not launched simultaneously with the global market.

However, in contrast to the iPhone 17 series, which quickly won market favor after its launch, reporters from Star Market Daily observed that the market performance of the iPhone Air both offline and online has been relatively lackluster.

Is the iPhone Air's cold reception at launch a sign that it can only serve as a backup phone?

On October 22, the so - called "thinnest iPhone in history," the iPhone Air, was officially launched.

According to available information, the starting price of the iPhone Air is 7,999 yuan. It is equipped with an A19 Pro chip, a 6.5 - inch Super Retina XDR display, weighs 165g, and is only 5.6mm thick. Different from the iPhone 17 series, which uses an aluminum manufacturing process, the iPhone Air features a titanium frame and only supports eSIM, not being compatible with physical SIM cards.

Recently, reporters from Star Market Daily visited several Apple - authorized self - operated stores and authorized dealerships in downtown Shanghai and saw the actual iPhone Air on display. It can be seen that this model is exquisitely crafted, feels light in hand, and its thickness is visually estimated to be about the stack of two one - yuan coins.

Meanwhile, reporters observed that, unlike the "hard - to - find" situation during the launch of the iPhone 17 series, the stores selling the iPhone Air were rather deserted, with few inquiring customers.

"Currently, there is only one black model in stock," a salesperson in the store told reporters. "On the day of the launch, we received about six or seven units in the morning, and most of them were purchased by those who pre - ordered online. If you place an order now, it will probably arrive in about a week if everything goes smoothly."

When asked by reporters from Star Market Daily whether they would recommend purchasing the iPhone Air, the salesperson straightforwardly said, "It can't serve as a primary phone; it's more suitable as a backup phone."

"Basically, people who buy the iPhone Air mainly use it as a backup phone or because they like the body design and the feel in hand. The battery life of this model is quite average, and it only has one camera, which can only meet the daily shooting needs," the salesperson told reporters. "An ultra - thin model is destined to sacrifice some performance. There's no way around it."

According to official Apple data, the iPhone Air's video playback battery life is mediocre, only lasting 27 hours, far less than the 37 - hour battery life of the iPhone 17 Pro Max and also behind the 30 - hour battery life of the standard iPhone 17.

"If you usually have many places to charge at the office or at home, you can use it as a primary phone. The battery life is the biggest problem with this model," a salesperson at an Apple offline store emphasized to reporters from Star Market Daily.

The supply situation of the iPhone Air on online channels further confirms the market's lackluster response. Reporters checked on the official Apple website and found that all 256GB versions in all colors are in stock, supporting immediate pick - up or 3 - hour delivery; while the 512GB and 1TB versions need to be queued for delivery between October 31 and November 7.

In the second - hand market, the iPhone Air has not seen the same situation as the iPhone 17 series, which had a premium of thousands of yuan at its launch. Reporters from Star Market Daily noticed that on second - hand platforms such as Xianyu, the iPhone Air not only has no premium but even has a price inversion, with the resale price generally 300 - 700 yuan lower than the official price.

Notably, well - known Apple analyst Ming - Chi Kuo also posted a warning: "The demand for the iPhone Air is lower than expected, and the supply chain has started to reduce shipments and production capacity."

Ming - Chi Kuo analyzed and said: "The production capacity of the supply chain will generally be reduced by more than 80% by Q1 2026. Some components with a longer pre - shipment lead time are expected to stop production by the end of 2025. This means that the existing Pro series and standard models have well covered the needs of most high - end users, and it is difficult to find new market segments and positioning (attempts from mini, Plus to the current Air have all failed)."

Forced eSIM: iPhone Air Drives the Restart of China's eSIM Business

Recently, a digital blogger posted a revelation, claiming that due to poor overseas sales and a delayed launch in China, the iPhone Air is currently in a state of suspended production. The existing inventory is sufficient for now, and production will resume after accumulating more orders. This rumor quickly spread, and the topic "#Breaking: iPhone Air Suspends Production" once topped the Weibo hot - search list.

In response to this rumor, reporters from Star Market Daily consulted Apple offline stores and the online official customer service respectively. Relevant staff members clearly responded that they have not received any notice about the suspension of iPhone Air production. "This model has just been launched, so it's unlikely (to suspend production)," a staff member at an offline store told reporters.

Notably, the staff member also hinted that the rumor might come true in the future. The staff member believes that the iPhone Air forces the use of eSIM, but Chinese consumers' awareness and acceptance of it have not kept up, which has dissuaded a large number of users at the networking threshold. This is also a major challenge for the iPhone Air in the Chinese market.

Actually, the eSIM business is not new in the Chinese market. In October 2020, China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom all received approvals from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to carry out eSIM technology application services in the Internet of Things field. However, in 2023, the three major operators suspended eSIM services on the grounds of "business maintenance and upgrade."

This time, Apple adopted a globally unified eSIM configuration for the iPhone Air, abandoning the traditional practice of providing a physical SIM card version for the Chinese market. This "one - size - fits - all" product strategy has forced domestic operators to face a binary choice: either fully support eSIM or give up selling the iPhone Air.

On October 13, China's eSIM industry officially restarted. China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom successively announced that they had officially obtained approvals to conduct commercial trials of eSIM mobile phone operation services and had simultaneously launched eSIM mobile phone services in 31 provincial - level administrative regions across the country.

Meanwhile, the advancement of the eSIM commercialization process is also triggering major changes in the domestic mobile phone market landscape. OPPO has taken the lead in setting a clear schedule, and its Find X9 series (Pro satellite communication version) supporting eSIM will be launched in November. Other brand manufacturers such as Huawei, vivo, and Honor are also intensively planning, and there are reports of relevant eSIM models in the pipeline.

The ripples caused by the launch of the iPhone Air are spreading across the entire industry. On the one hand, it has accelerated the commercialization process of China's eSIM business; on the other hand, its cold market performance also provides an important reference for domestic mobile phone brands that follow. That is, consumers' cognitive threshold and usage habits are still key issues to be faced during the popularization process. As more brands enter the fray, the competition in the eSIM mobile phone market has just begun, and it remains to be continuously observed.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Star Market Daily". Author: Li Jiayi. Republished by 36Kr with permission.