Apple's Sales Hopes Deflated by Tepid iPhone Air Demand
By PYMNTS (https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/) | November 23, 2025
Sales of Apple's iPhone Air have reportedly been lower than anticipated, according to a report by the Financial Times (FT) on Saturday (Nov. 22). The report cited early sales data for the Air, a thinner iPhone, and the largest change to Apple's smartphone design in years.
Consumers have shown a preference for better value and higher specifications, avoiding the Air due to its relatively high price and changes to the camera and speakers, which were necessary to achieve its 5.64 millimeter thickness. Nabila Popal, senior research director at the International Data Corporation (IDC), stated, 'Apple had bigger expectations for the Air, and it has not delivered on them.'
IDC's analysis, which monitors iPhone sales by tracking Apple's supply chain, revealed that production plans were halved within weeks of the launch after the new smartphone sold about a third of its highest expectations. PYMNTS has contacted Apple for comment but has not yet received a reply.
The FT report highlights Apple's search for new strategies to boost iPhone sales, which accounted for $209 billion in revenue for the first nine months of the year, constituting around half of Apple's total sales. Other phones in the iPhone 17 lineup, launched alongside the Air, have sold well, and Apple projects these sales will contribute to a record holiday quarter, surpassing Wall Street estimates.
Analysts from Morgan Stanley predict Apple could produce 90 million units of the iPhone 17 in the second half of the year, approximately 6 million more than initially expected. This figure is 'partially offset by the relative weakness in the iPhone Air.'
Despite the Air's underperformance, demand for the new iPhone 17 model has been credited as a factor in Apple achieving a $4 trillion market capitalization last month. A report from research firm Counterpoint also noted that early sales of the iPhone 17 outperformed those of the iPhone 16 in the U.S. and China.
Counterpoint's Senior Analyst, Mengmeng Zhang, emphasized the iPhone 17's appeal to consumers, offering great value for money with a better chip, improved display, higher base storage, and a selfie camera upgrade, all at the same price as the previous year's iPhone 16.
Additionally, a recent Bloomberg News report suggests that a new version of the iPhone Air could be part of a broader rollout of new smartphones by Apple next fall.
