Apple will launch a second-generation iPhone Air this year, despite reports that it has been delayed until 2027, according to the Weibo leaker known as Fixed Focus Digital.
Doubling down on a similar claim they made late last year, the leaker says feedback coming from the production line still suggests that the iPhone Air 2 will launch in the fall – presumably alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models and a rumored foldable iPhone.
The second-generation device will have "very minor changes," making it "basically a routine upgrade," the leaker said in comments machine-translated from Chinese.
The rumor comes in contrast to a November report from The Information that said Apple had decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air until 2027 as a result of poor sales. A second report from the same outlet claimed Apple will use the delay to work on a redesign of the device that could include a second rear camera, as well as a lighter weight, vapor chamber cooling, and a larger battery capacity.
Notably, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman responded to these reports shortly after they were published, claiming his sources indicated that the iPhone Air 2 was not in fact delayed, because it had never been earmarked for 2026 in the first place. "The fact that Apple named the device the iPhone Air (rather than the iPhone 17 Air) signaled that it didn't want to tie the product to an annual release schedule," said Gurman at the time.
Gurman believes a refreshed Air could potentially roll out in spring 2027 alongside the standard iPhone 18 and the iPhone 18e, as part of Apple's new split-launch strategy. In addition, Gurman's sources said the main focus of the second Air will be a move to a 2-nanometer chip that will improve the device's battery life, rather than introducing major structural changes.
It is still possible that a new iPhone Air could launch this coming fall, but the previous reports cast doubt on the Chinese leaker's claim. Fixed Focus Digital previously broke the news ahead of launch about the iPhone 16e name.
