The iPhone Air Appears Like a Wild Preview for Apple AR Glasses

Apple had a lot of announcements this week, however arguably none was greater (and paradoxically thinner) than the iPhone Air. For one, there’s the truth that that is Apple’s first-ever telephone with “Air” branding, marking a uncommon new class of iPhone, each current and future. Then, there’s the truth that the iPhone Air is very slim—5.64mm to be actual. Gizmodo’s Senior Editor, Client Tech, Raymond Wong, obtained some hands-on time with the iPhone Air, and he says it feels as skinny because it appears—even thinner than Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, to be actual. Suppose Ozempic, however for iPhones.

However as thrilling as all of that’s, it’s not the novelty and even the thinness that turned my head—it’s what the iPhone Air says concerning the future. And to see that, it’s a must to have a look at what’s occurring inside.

That is HIGH sign of the long run to return.

For context, the complete pc. Modems, Antennas, every little thing wanted to compute on the iPhone Air suits contained in the digital camera bump.

The remainder of the telephone is display and battery.

My ideas.

Ever since Apple made the primary watch, they… pic.twitter.com/UfjAVNA52p

— Linus Ekenstam (@LinusEkenstam) September 10, 2025

If you happen to’ve been being attentive to X, you will have seen this image in your feed. That’s the within of the iPhone Air you’re , and it’s vital for one motive. You see all of that stuff on the prime? That’s mainly the entire telephone—or the entire computing energy, a minimum of. Apple managed to stuff mainly every little thing that makes its iPhone an iPhone (digital camera and compute) into one tiny part on the prime of the chassis. The remainder of the telephone? One massive and really skinny battery. It’s a feat of engineering, actually, however past that, additionally a template for what Apple may do subsequent.

There are quite a lot of implications of having the ability to cram a robust pc in an area that small, however the one which intrigues me probably the most is a pair of AR glasses. Why AR glasses, particularly? Effectively, they’re an ideal case of miniaturization getting in the best way of a brilliant new future. It’s not that we don’t have the tech (in idea) to make AR glasses work—we will put screens in a glasses show, we’ve got apps and UI, and digital camera sensors are smaller than ever—nevertheless it’s doing all of that in a type issue that persons are prepared and prepared to put on on their faces that throws a wrench in issues. We have to make issues smaller if we’re going to suppose greater. Write that down, Apple advertising and marketing.

It simply so occurs that’s precisely what the iPhone Air does. It crams a robust pc into an area that previously felt too confining. And what makes me much more excited concerning the miniaturization contained in the iPhone Air is the truth that Apple has lengthy been rumored to be growing a pair of AR glasses.

In February, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revised earlier claims that Apple stopped growing AR glasses, reporting as an alternative that it killed a “stopgap product” that will have competed with Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses. To me, that claims Apple isn’t disinterested in AR, solely that it’s ready till it has a product that really strikes the needle—maybe a pair of AR glasses that resemble common glasses in measurement and weight however can nonetheless run apps and act as secondary screens for messaging, calls, and navigation. You realize, the best pair of smart glasses. With the miniaturization of iPhones and the pc inside them, it feels prefer it’s one step nearer to that aim, although there are different considerations with making a gadget of that caliber that the iPhone Air doesn’t essentially handle.

A type of hurdles is the battery. Apple did job of (a minimum of on paper) making the iPhone Air battery appropriate for most individuals, claiming that it lasts “all day,” which on this case means about 27 hours of offline video playback and 22 hours of streaming playback. That being mentioned, it nonetheless bothered to launch the iPhone Air alongside a MagSafe Battery pack that extends the telephone’s battery. Possibly I’m studying into that an excessive amount of, nevertheless it appears to me that Apple may very well be getting out forward of one thing. That very same challenge may prolong to a pair of AR glasses, too.

Even when Apple may cram a complete pc inside a pair of light-weight glasses, operating every little thing would nonetheless should be very environment friendly, particularly if there’s a display inside with excessive brightness, audio capabilities, and the power to run apps. All of that stuff eats up battery—and quick. That’s all to say that shrinking down a pc is large, however powering the rattling factor is equally essential. Even with that piece of the puzzle probably unsolved, it’s arduous to not consider that Apple may make it work… ultimately.

Only a few years in the past, we’d have regarded on the thought of an iPhone Air and mentioned, “No method.” It’s not sturdy sufficient; there’s not sufficient battery; Moore’s Regulation is useless; yadda, yadda. However right here it’s. An iPhone that’s skinny and lightweight and even has Apple’s strongest A19 Professional chip. If I have been a betting man, I’d wager that Apple is already methods to up that ante, bettering battery life, cameras, and making its Air simply as succesful as its base mannequin iPhone. And who am I to wager in opposition to them at this level? Name me loopy, but when the iPhone Air is any indication, my cash is on a pair of Apple AR glasses that do all of it—and perhaps earlier than you suppose.