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iPhone Air is now available to preorder in the UK ahead of its release on September 19.
If you missed the announcement at Apple's packed September event earlier this week, iPhone Air is a brand-new addition to the lineup. As the name suggests, it boasts an ultra-slim new design — just 5.6mm thin and 165g in the hand. Despite this, it still comes equipped with a top-of-the-line A19 Pro system-on-a-chip and a generous 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion for buttery-smooth scrolling and gameplay.
Want to be one of the first people to own this svelte new smartphone? You'll need to preorder.
If you order directly from Apple — either on its website or via the Apple Store app, you'll be able to choose between delivery on the release date (September 19) or collection in your nearest store.
Depending on how popular the iPhone Air proves to be, it's possible that Apple will run out of its initial stock and shipping / collection dates will start to slip to a later point in September.
Preorder iPhone Air from Amazon UK
The super-slim iPhone Air is now available for preorder ahead of its launch on September 19. At the time of writing, Amazon has stock of all four colourways — Sky Blue, Light Gold, Cloud White, and Space Black
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iPhone Air (256GB)
$999
Preorder iPhone Air from Currys
Currys is offering £50 off when you trade-in any working device at checkout. If you've got an older smartphone at home that you don't want to offer to friends or family as a hand-me-down and doesn't hold much value to resell online, this is an easy way to enjoy a discount at launch
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iPhone Air (256GB)
$999
$949
Preorder iPhone Air from Very
Very offers a range of payment options for the new iPhone Air. You can also claim up to £560 back when you trade-in your old device as part of the checkout process. If you're worried about damaging your iPhone, you can screen protection, which means Very will repair the glass display if you accidentally damage the screen and can't use it
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iPhone Air (256GB)
$999
Apple is offering discounts between £30 – £670 when you trade in an existing device at checkout. The price cut will be applied immediately to your iPhone Air preorder, but the exact value of your trade-in will depend on the condition and configuration of your trade‑in device after it's been inspected.
If you're not willing to part with an existing device, Apple Store offers monthly repayment plans on iPhone Air with 0% APR. With no upfront fee, this is an affordable way to pay off the price of the latest iPhone.
Apple Store isn't the only way to preorder the iPhone Air.
Amazon has started taking preorders for the iPhone Air ahead of its September 19 launch. Your order will automatically qualify for free delivery nationwide, with those at the front of the queue for preorders likely to take delivery of their slimline smartphone on launch day.
Amazon offers a "Preorder Price Guarantee" which means that, should the price drop on a not-yet-released item before the release date — Amazon will only charge you the lowest possible price, even if that wasn't the price that was listed when you added it to your basket.
Very has confirmed thatit will offer iPhone Air preorders too, and Currys has also listed the new iPhone Air on its online store ahead of the September 19 launch. It offers home delivery and in-store pickup.
At 5.6mm thick, this is the slimmest iPhone ever built by the teams inside Apple
|APPLE PRESS OFFICE
iPhone Air SIM-free UK prices
iPhone Air is positioned between the entry-level iPhone 17, which starts from £799, and the all-singing, all-dancing iPhone 17 Pro, which'll set you back at least £1,099.
However, Apple has increased the built-in storage included across its iPhone lineup, with the minimum storage doubling from 128GB to 256GB — plenty more room for your iOS apps, photos, and videos. Last year, Apple charged an extra £100 at checkout to move from 128GB on the base models up to 256GB.
iPhone Air is available in 512GB or 1TB. Here's the complete list of models and prices.
- iPhone Air | 256GB | £999
- iPhone Air | 512GB | £1,199
- iPhone Air | 1TB | £1,399
All three storage configurations are available in four colourways:
- Sky Blue
- Light Gold
- Cloud White
- Space Black
EE | iPhone Air
EE isn't the most affordable network, but it was recently named the best mobile network for the twelfth consecutive year. The BT-owned network is one of the few that offers seamless eSIM setup out of the box, so iPhone Air will arrive with your UK mobile number already up-and-running. Nifty, eh?
- Essential Plus Plan: £49.75/month + £30 upfront (36 months), unlimited 5G data, unlimited calls & texts.
- Full Works Plan: £61.76/month + £30 upfront (36 months), unlimited 5G data, plus:
- Apple One (Music, TV+, Arcade, iCloud 50GB)
- Unlimited EU and global roaming
- Unlimited Apple Watch data
- Network Boost for extra speed in busy areas
- Trade-in: Save up to £480 with an eligible iPhone.
- Start shopping the EE deals
O2 | iPhone Air
O2 comes at a higher price than EE, but leans heavily on flexibility and perks. Its biggest draw is O2 Recycle, which can save you up to £794 on trade-in — by far the highest potential saving of the three. It's also one of the few mobile networks in the UK that doesn't charge extra for EU roaming.
- Classic Plan: £61.26/month (+ £30 upfront), unlimited data, EU roaming in 49 countries (25GB cap).
- Plus Plan: £65.25/month (+ £30 upfront), unlimited data, perks include:
- O2 Switch Up (swap to a new phone every 90 days)
- Data Rollover
- 3 months of O2 Extras (Disney+, Amazon, etc.)
- 3-year warranty
- Roaming in 75 destinations
- Ultimate Plan: £73.75/month (+ £30 upfront), unlimited data, all Plus perks plus:
- Unlimited O2 Extras
- McAfee Security
- O2 Insure with same/next-day phone replacement
- Roaming in 123 destinations
- Start shopping the O2 deals
Sky Mobile | iPhone Air
Sky Mobile is clearly going after the best value crown. It undercuts both EE and O2 with aggressive pricing and £0 upfront costs, while still bundling in unlimited data for just £19 extra. Sky also stands out with its Piggybank rollover system, letting you bank unused data for later or share it across family SIMs.
- Handset cost: From £32/month (256GB, no upfront fee)
- Data add-ons:
- Unlimited data: £19/month
- Cheaper tiers available (1GB for £1, 10GB for £10, 60GB for £14)
- Included: Unlimited calls & texts, free Sky app streaming, and award-winning "Best Network for Perks" extras.
- Trade-in: Up to £560 on old devices.
- Start shopping the Sky Mobile deals
Vodafone UK | iPhone Air
Vodafone’s approach is solid, especially if you want good flexibility and add-ons. Their prices are mid-range vs rivals, with “Unlimited” data options available (with speed tiers), and perks via Vodafone Xchange etc.
- Pricing & Costs:
- From £48.98/month with £40 upfront for the iPhone Air (256 GB) on a 36-month Device Plan + 24-month 1GB airtime plan.
- If you go for Unlimited data plans, prices will be higher depending on data speed/unlimited tier.
- Data, Minutes & Texts:
- Unlimited calls & texts are standard in the plan. (Vodafone’s pay monthly Device Plans include standard voice + texting) — while I didn’t find a special cap on minutes/texts, they are inclusive.
- Data: “Unlimited data” is offered but with speed caps depending on which Unlimited plan you choose (e.g. “Unlimited”, “Unlimited Plus”, “Unlimited Max”) with different maximum download/upload speeds.
- Other Perks & Features:
- Vodafone Xchange: lets you upgrade to a new iPhone annually if you hand in your old one.
- “Lifetime service promise”: includes free battery checks, replacements, and a lifetime warranty on the device.
- Unlimited data plan speed tiers: lower speeds on some unlimited plans (so “unlimited” doesn’t always mean full-fibre-fast).
- Start shopping the Vodafone UK deals
Three UK | iPhone Air
Three are more focused on a range of options (from small data pots to unlimited), plus extras. Their “Three Your Way” style gives flexibility
- Pricing & Costs:
- One of the listed prices for iPhone Air shows £28.98/month for a particular configuration (for a 256GB Sky Blue model), though that seems tied to a specific smaller data plan or upfront fee configuration.
- Full pricing for unlimited data, larger storages or low upfront costs will be higher; Three’s site shows plans from smaller allowances up to “Truly Unlimited Data” under “Three Your Way” options.
- Data, Minutes & Texts:
- Data allowance varies: some plans are for small GBs (e.g. 4GB etc.), others are unlimited.
- As is typical, minutes and texts are unlimited in their standard pay monthly device plans. (I couldn’t find a plan with limited texts/minutes that’s promoted for the iPhone Air specifically.)
- Other Perks & Features:
- Three Your Way: choose how much data you want, and you can scale up or pick “Unlimited” if needed.
- Some extras like Paramount+ on certain plans are being advertised (on iPhone 17 line etc.) which likely carry over for device plans including iPhone Air.
- Bundled extras like handset warranty, roaming etc. appear in more premium Three plans.
- Start shopping the Three UK deals
What's new in iPhone Air?
iPhone Air is the most radical redesign of Apple's bestselling smartphone in years. At just 5.6mm thick, this is the thinnest iPhone ever built. To ensure that it remains strong enough to withstand day-to-day life, Apple has turned to Grade 5 titanium, with a high-gloss mirror finish.
On the front and back, Apple is using its latest-generation toughened glass, dubbed Ceramic Shield 2, that's designed to withstand accidental drops and offers 3x better scratch and scuff resistance compared to its predecessor, which has been used to protect the displays on iPhone models since October 2020.
Despite this slimline appearance, iPhone Air uses the same processor as the new Pro-level handsets. The powerhouse A19 Pro packs a six-core CPU to deliver fast performance when editing photos and videos, multitasking between apps, and playing the latest mobile games.
Apple's custom-designed five-core GPU with built-in Neural Accelerators provides triple the peak compute power compared to previous generations, perfect for running AI models directly on the device. The Californian company has compared the performance of its A19 Pro chipset with its MacBooks.
iPhone Air is the thinnest smartphone ever launched by the US company, measuring just 5.6mm | APPLE PRESS OFFICEiPhone Air is the first to ship with the new C1X modem, which runs twice as fast as its predecessor while consuming 30% less power to maximise battery life in this svelte smartphone. The architecture inside the iPhone Air is focused on maximising the size of the lithium-ion battery cell — Apple even removed the physical SIM card tray in favour of eSIM technology to find some extra room.
A new Adaptive Power Mode in iOS 26 is designed to learns iPhone owners' habits and intelligently conserve energy when running low, helping to eke-out a few more hours between charges.
Apple estimates that iPhone Air will endure 27 hours of video playback before it runs out of juice — so you'll be able to watch your favourite blockbusters on the 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display on a flight between London and Sydney and still have some power left in the tank when you arrive.
On the back, iPhone Air is equipped with a single 48MP Fusion camera setup that offers 2x lossless zoom as well as Portrait Mode, Cinematic, and Slow-Motion functionality
|APPLE PRESS OFFICE
On the back of iPhone Air, the single rear camera packs a 48MP Fusion setup that delivers the equivalent of four different lenses, Apple claims. With optical-quality 2x telephoto and enhanced low-light performance, it captures professional-grade images despite the phone's ultra-slim design.
Flip the iPhone Air over, there's a revolutionary 18MP Centre Stage front camera that transforms how people take selfies with its square sensor design. Users can capture photos and videos in both portrait and landscape orientations while holding their phone vertically - no more awkward rotating needed.
Group shots get smarter too. The camera uses AI to automatically widen its field of view and can switch from portrait to landscape to fit everyone in frame. During FaceTime calls, Centre Stage technology keeps you perfectly positioned in the centre — even as you shift and move around.
"The all-new iPhone Air is so powerful, yet impossibly thin and light, that you really have to hold it to believe it's real," said John Ternus, Apple Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering.
As well as the new iPhone, Apple has introduced a range of accessories designed for its slim profile.
The ultra-thin MagSafe case (£49) features a translucent design without compromising the featherweight appearance of the iPhone Air, while the new MagSafe Battery (£99) attaches seamlessly and extends video playback to 40 hours between charges.
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