When it comes to Apple hardware, one constant remains true: it is rarely discounted. The iPhone 17 series, for example, remains resolutely at full price. The sole exception is the iPhone Air, which has seen its price slashed this weekend across several countries. The ultra-slim phone’s struggles are well-documented, and that is now reflected in its price.
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iPhone Air Price Slashed As Apple Phone Struggles
The iPhone Air (unlocked) price has been discounted by £150 ($204) at Amazon U.K., dropping from its £999 launch price (also $999 in the U.S.) to £849 ($1157). Make no mistake, this is a significant price drop; Amazon iPhone discounts rarely add up to more than £100 ($136), more often hovering around £50 ($68).
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It’s not just Amazon U.K. that has a good iPhone Air deal right now. Chinese retailer JD.com is running a promotion that slahses the iPhone Air’s price to ¥5,099 ($731), down from $1,115 for the 256GB model. Now, there’s a bit of rigmarole in getting that price, which includes (according to Google Translate) nabbing a time-specific coupon worth $286 and trading in your old phone.
Beyond the U.K. and China, the iPhone Air has also seen price drops of up to $302 AUD ($206) in Australian shops such as The Good Guys and Amazon Australia, according to TechRadar.
The phone’s steep discounts reflect reported poor sales and a lukewarm reception from users. Recent research from Counterpoint shows that while Apple’s sales are growing in China—increasing the company’s market share to 22%—that growth is mostly driven by the iPhone 17 series, with iPhone Air shipments at “low single-digit” numbers.
What Went Wrong With the iPhone Air?
Despite the Apple iPhone Air’s premium design, rare discounts on the iPhone Air have recently appeared at major retailers like Amazon and JD.com due to slower-than-expected sales Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg
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If you’ve been around the block a few times, you’ll know it’s the same issues that plagued previous slim phones between the iPhone 6 and iPhone 12: battery life, price, features, and design realities.
Across dozens of surveys, studies, and reports, battery life remains the number one issue for smartphone buyers, often followed by price. In fact, device size sat at the second-bottom of user wants in a 2022 YouGov survey.
Despite the ultra-slim titanium design, the iPhone Air’s challenges were obvious from the outset. Complaints trickled in soon after launch, with Redditors posting that they planned to return the phone because the battery didn’t last long enough. Combined with a single camera sensor and a premium $999 price point, the device struggled to sell, much like Samsung’s similarly slim Galaxy S25 Edge.
The phone’s poor reception is impacting the resale market, too. Smartphone comparison site SellCell compiled recent Apple resale value data showing that within 10 weeks of launch, the iPhone Air lost an average of 44.3% of its original retail price. The most affected is the 1TB version, which has dropped 47.7%. This was the steepest loss of value recorded by SellCell for any iPhone model since 2022.