iPhone Air Coming to Nepal? When? What? And, Why?

Every year, the new iPhones were being memed and laughed at for their “rinse and repeat” strategy. After all, when was the last time Apple tried something new with the iPhone?

There have been tiny little things here and there. Last year, it was pretty much “we have a new button just for the camera” and half-baked AI. Then, the year before, it was Dynamic Island, Titanium, and USB-C. The iPhones haven’t looked different since the iPhone 11, launched back in 2019. That was over half a decade ago!

To Apple’s credit, they did try their hand with the compact iPhone minis. But the phone did not do the numbers, I suppose, and was dropped just two years later. Then Apple reverted to the larger “Plus” model, and that’s how it has been ever since.

But this year, Apple is finally experimenting, trying something new. They have launched a phone that looks different in a long time. It’s a breath of fresh “air”.

What is the Price of the iPhone Air in Nepal?

The price of iPhone Air in Nepal could be around Rs. 1,90,000 for the base 256GB model. This phone is priced at USD 999 in the US, the same as the iPhone 16 Plus (256GB) and the iPhone 16 Pro (128GB).

And those phones launched at Rs. 1,89,000 and Rs. 1,95,000, respectively. Hence, launching the iPhone Air at a similar ballpark sounds about right.

Now, the question is whether the iPhone Air will launch in Nepal. And the answer to that is yes. Evostore posted that the iPhone Air is coming soon.

Not really surprising, considering that even the rather underwhelming iPhone 16e made its way to Nepal.

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So, it’s just a matter of when, and if we are to judge by the past. The iPhone Air should arrive a month later from its international release, so October it is. We can expect it to tag alongside the iPhone 17 and the 17 Pros.

The main thing about the iPhone Air is that it’s super slim and looks different. But like any phone, it has its good, bad, and ugly sides. Before I dive into those, let me stress one thing: this isn’t the “iPhone 17 Air” like I initially thought — it’s just iPhone Air.

It launched alongside the 17 series and shares quite a bit of hardware with them. So why not call it the iPhone 17 Air? Maybe Apple sees it as a special edition, like the iPhone X. Or maybe it’s a test run for a spin-off series. Or perhaps Apple simply doesn’t want to risk tainting the main line if the Air doesn’t stick the landing.

Whatever the case, it’s just iPhone Air for now, and let’s talk about it:

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IPhone Air Overview

THIN and Tough

I have already mentioned how the iPhone Air differs from other iPhones launched so far. It’s apparently the thinnest iPhone ever, at just 5.6mm! This also means that it is thinner than the competition, i.e. the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge by an additional 0.2mm.

When the Infinix Hot 60 Pro+ arrived at our office, we surrounded it and admired its unbelievable 5.95mm thinness. Given that the iPhone Air is even thinner than that, I am sure it is quite a sight to behold.

Apart from the thinness, the iPhone Air comes with a grade 5 titanium frame, even though the iPhone 17s reverted to aluminium this year. This is likely because Apple wants the iPhone Air to be as tough as possible and not be embarrassed by another “bendgate“.

Likewise, Apple has sandwiched the iPhone Air with Ceramic Shield. Here, the back panel has the standard Ceramic Shield, while the screen has the Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple claims is three times more scratch-resistant.

The “Redesign”

As I stated earlier, iPhones haven’t really looked different since 2019 (iPhone 11). The base model has switched the camera’s layout here and there, but that’s about it.

This year, Apple says they have redesigned its internals. At least for the Air and Pros, because the base model looks pretty much the same, and does not have what Apple is calling the “Plateau”. So what Apple did here is, they fit various components on the top of the phone right beside the camera instead of spreading them out as they traditionally would.

As a result, this creates a bump on the top while also making space for a larger battery, which the iPhone Air very much needs. More on that later.

As for the shades, the iPhone Air comes in Sky Blue, Cloud White, Space Black, and… Light Gold. Might as well have named it “Dawn Gold” or something and properly stuck with the theme. I guess “Light” is still sky/space-related, if you think about it. But, Dawn Gold would still have been a better name in my opinion.

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Cameras… are interesting

The camera is one aspect where you can expect Apple to improve consistently. And the selfie camera got the most love this year.

The iPhone Air, just like all of the iPhone 17s, is getting something called “18MP Center Stage front camera“. What’s that? A clever Apple genius, I guess. Instead of the traditional rectangular sensor, Apple equipped its front-facing camera with a square one.

So, the camera sees more. As such, it allows you to take wider selfies without having to rotate the phone. It’s not like fit an extra person wide. We are looking at a full-fledged “groufie” while you’re still holding your phone vertically.

Not only that, this square sensor makes the EIS on the front camera even better, as it has more information to crop off in pursuit of a more stable footage! I am a fan! But that’s not the same case for the rare camera.

I don’t doubt the image quality of the iPhone Air’s 48MP Fusion Camera. You may be able to take high-quality 2x photos with it as if it has a dedicated telephoto lens, but it’s still a single-camera system on the back. It’s “the bad”, if you ask me.

Add to the fact that its Edge-y rival in thinness was kind enough to pair the main snapper with an ultrawide lens, making the matter even more bitter.

“Pro” Chip

The iPhone Air has the A19 Pro chip under its helm, and Apple talks about how amazingly powerful it is. It’s the same silicon the 17 Pros are rocking, so it must be powerful after all. But once you scroll past the marketing fluff of the phone on the official site, you’ll see a side-by-side comparison between the iPhone Air and 17 Pros.

Then you realise, the chip the Air and Pros have, isn’t really the same. The A19 Pro on the iPhone Air has a 5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, while the actual Pro models get an extra GPU core!

Likewise, because of how thin the iPhone Air is, it doesn’t have much area to dissipate heat through either. So, some level of performance throttling is to be expected on this phone. And that indeed seems to be the case, as Mrwhosetheboss highlights in his video.

No Battery, No SIM, No Speaker either

Well, not really, as you could have guessed. I was just exaggerating. The iPhone Air does have a battery, a SIM, and a speaker. How would it be a phone otherwise?

But the problem is, it’s not up to the standards. The battery is the obvious one. While Apple did shuffle around the internals to make room for a larger battery, it’s still not enough to fit a decently powered cell, given how thin the phone is.

Apple still claims all-day battery life and up to 27 hours of video playback, but I’d like to press X for doubt. The charging on the iPhone Air is slower, too.

It supports the PD 2.0 charging protocol that will fill the battery up to 50% in 30 minutes. Meanwhile, the cheaper iPhone 17 has moved up to PD 3.2, juicing up a larger battery by half in just 20 minutes. Similarly, the wireless charging speed on the iPhone Air is 20W, while the standard iPhones enjoy 25% faster MagSafe charging.

As for the “no SIM” part of the heading, the iPhone Air really doesn’t have a SIM slot; it didn’t have space for a physical one. It’s eSIM only. Meanwhile, “no speaker” is actually “no stereo speaker“.

The Looks

Lastly, let’s look at it. The iPhone Air has a 6.5″ Super Retina XDR display. Meaning, it has a larger panel than the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro, but isn’t quite the size of 17 Pro Max. So, screen size-wise, it’s somewhere in the middle of the road, just like the “Plus” model before it.

If we are to really compare, it is actually a tad bit smaller screen than the Plus model. It’s 120Hz, though, like all other iPhones this year. No more “still 60Hz” shunning for me, but I’m happy for the people. It was about time, really.

It also has an anti-reflective coating on top. But the word on the market is, it still isn’t on the same level as the Galaxy S25 Ultra. But the 25 Edge did not have any such coating, so it’s a win for Apple in my books.

Apart from the thing you’ll be looking at, there are a few more things I wanted to add in this “the looks” section — accessories. Well, because they add to the look of the iPhone Air.

We have a “Bumper” — a weird-looking protective case that protects just the phone’s frame and leaves the whole back exposed. Exposed, for you to attach the “iPhone Air MagSafe Battery“. This one is a magnetic power bank specifically designed for the iPhone Air, almost as if Apple is sure that you would want to get it alongside the phone.

You kind of have to, I guess, if you want to use your brand new iPhone Air “all day”. This is almost as if the whole idea was to remove a lot of the battery to sell it separately. Are we seeing a different version of the removing headphone jack to sell AirPods situation unfolding right now? *Tinfoil hat moment*

iPhone Air Price in Nepal and Availability

The iPhone Air price in Nepal could be around Rs. 1,90,000 for the base 256GB variant. It may arrive sometime in October, after which it will be available to purchase through all official mediums.

The iPhone Air is a separate version of the iPhone 17 with a super-slim frame and a fair share of compromises due to its form factor.

Despite having an A19 Pro chip, it has one less GPU core and is reported to not perform on the same level as other iPhones due to the heat management limitations. While the newly introduced front camera innovation is amazing, it isn’t unique to the iPhone Air, making the single camera on the back hard to overlook.

While those are bad, the battery is definitely the ugliest. The iPhone Air might be the thinnest iPhone ever, but it comes at a cost of heavily trimming the battery down. Apple may claim that the phone offers an all-day battery, but selling a battery pack specifically for the phone makes the claim questionable.

All in all, iPhone Air is the true definition of form over function. You get it to stand out from the crowd, not to get your money’s worth. It’s pure eye candy.

What do you think about the iPhone Air? Do let us know in the comments!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Where can I buy the iPhone Air?
You can buy the iPhone Air at all the company-authorised stores across Nepal once it launches.

What is the price of the iPhone Air in Nepal? 
We expect the price of the iPhone Air to be around Rs. 1,90,000. (256GB).

Is the iPhone Air the thinnest phone ever?
While the iPhone Air is the thinnest iPhone to date, many book-style foldables are thinner than it. Even if we just consider bar phones, phones like the Micromax Canvas Sliver 5 (5.1mm), Oppo R5 (4.9mm), and Vivo X5 Max (4.8mm) were still thinner than it.

How many cameras does the iPhone Air have? 
While Apple’s naming scheme may have you believe the iPhone Air has multiple cameras, it only has one camera each, on the front and the back.

Do we recommend the iPhone Air?
If you’re getting a phone as a fashion statement, sure. But on a purely value perspective, iPhone Air isn’t really a recommendable phone.