iPhone Air is Apple admitting that iPhone Plus won’t sell

The hard sell of the iPhone Plus

The reason for the eventual iPhone Plus demise would be the same ass for the iPhone mini line before it, it simply doesn’t sell. All the other iPhones sell, and so much so that they are the bestselling handsets in the world, but the Plus models aren’t even in the top 10, according to Counterpoint Research‘s latest breakdown of the most popular phone models

All other iPhones are the world’s most popular phones, but the Plus series | Image credit – Counterpoint

This is a pretty remarkable top 10 chart that only comes to show how unpopular the iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 15 Plus, and, most likely, the iPhone 16 Plus are and will be. Granted, they offer a larger screen, but slower chipsets, less memory, puny display refresh rates, and weaker cameras. That’s not to mention the smaller street cred that comes with a larger screen but not three camera lenses at the rear to indicate that this is the expensive Pro Max model. 

Since its sales and marketing team has most likely been looking at the same charts, what’s Apple to do now? Why, completely reinvent the Plus line instead of offering simply a bigger iPhone, find a unique selling point, and sell it for even more than the Pro Max series, if it could. Enter the impossibly thin iPhone that has been up in the air for a good while now.

iPhone Air beats iPhone Plus

Apple iPhone Air render based on design rumors | Image credit – FPT

First off, Apple has imprinted in the mind of consumers the association of incredibly thin, elegant, and light devices with the Air moniker. This happened ever since the first MacBook Air appeared, and continued with the iPad Air, so it is only logical that Apple would want to transfer the association to the iPhone line.

The rumored iPhone Air specs are nothing to write home about. | Image credit – Ice Universe

When it comes to specs, the iPhone Air will very much resemble the iPhone Plus line, as it will reportedly ship with an Apple A19 instead of the A19 Pro chipset, and will also offer a camera set that is much less capable than what will be on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The biggest disappointment about the iPhone Air, however, may turn out to be its price, though. At the rumored $1,299 starting tag, the first iPhone Air may cost as much or more than the eventual iPhone 17 Pro Max. 

Thus, what Apple may replace the Plus line with could very well follow its unenviable sales fate, especially if Apple fans would rather go for power than elegance.