An aesthetic trend popularised by Apple’s iPhone Air and followed by many may well be abandoned altogether. The ‘air’ category of phones – defined by an ultra-thin body – is not taking off in China the way brands hoped. Why? Trade-offs. Slimming a phone down cuts features. Battery life is reduced, camera features watered down. And for what? A phone thats aesthetic value is then to make already suitably thin phones look fat?
Consumers understandably balked at the product. Apple is reportedly scaling back production lines for its 5.6 mm-thin iPhone Air. Chinese phone brands are following suit. Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have reportedly put their own plans for ‘air’ phones on hold. In some cases, the only redeeming features of razor-thin handsets – eSIM capability – can, and will, be repackaged into standard models, further reducing the need for ‘air’ models.
Only one Chinese brand is holding out. That’s Huawei. They released an air model in November 2025. The Huawei Mate 70 Air boasts a 6.6mm profile. That’s slim, but not over the top. In fact it may even be the Goldilocks number. Their phone has a large battery, super-fast charging, and the triple camera setup – useful for high-quality photography – that the iPhone Air had to cut back on.
So what’s the news here? Well, when it comes to air phones, China is voting with its feet, or perhaps thumbs. The message is one of substance over style. No one wants a fancy looking phone if it doesn’t perform as well as other models. Especially in a country where phones are the gateway to an app ecosystem that is essential for modern living. And not when they come with a price tag like the iPhone Air’s: RMB 7,999 for a basic model (about US $1,130).
Ultra-thin tech was once the mark of cool, but that look has, it seems, hit a point of diminishing returns. In China, it has proved too shallow in a market that demands more than just skin-deep appeal.
