- The iPhone 17 series is seeing stronger demand than Morgan Stanley expected
- But the iPhone Air is a weak link, with lower demand
- It's unclear what this will mean for potential future Air models
While Apple hasn’t revealed how well the iPhone 17 series is selling, it seems that, broadly speaking, it’s a hit, which is perhaps no surprise given that the company has freshened up the design and introduced a whole new model in the form of the iPhone Air.
But in fact, it’s the iPhone Air that’s seemingly the weak link in this year's lineup, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley (via MacRumors).
The firm claims that current demand for the iPhone 17 series as a whole has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of information gathered from Apple’s supply chain and the shipping date estimates on Apple's online store.
However, while the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seemingly in high demand, there’s apparently "relative weakness" in demand for the iPhone Air so far.
Now, it’s worth noting that the iPhone Air isn’t yet out in China, which is a major market for Apple, so that could be a factor. But that’s unlikely to affect shipping delays – or the lack thereof – for the phone, since models that were intended for China – if they’ve even been produced yet – presumably wouldn’t be sold elsewhere.
A challenging handset
Even without the China factor, it’s no great surprise that the iPhone Air might be the weak link sales-wise. While some people clearly love it, this is a phone that you really need to try for yourself to be sold on, since the specs – including a single-lens camera and a lower capacity battery – leave a little to be desired.
And even having tried it, those specs compromises are likely to be too much of a loss for a lot of would-be buyers. So, this was always going to be a tough sell.
What this means for the future of the iPhone Air line – and whether there will be any more of them – is unclear, but with Apple reportedly launching the first foldable iPhone next year, it’s believable that the company could ditch the Air and focus on the foldable as its fourth mainline model.
Then again, the iPhone mini and iPhone Plus both got multiple outings despite similar sales struggles, so Apple may well give the Air at least one more try.
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