Apple might have made the iPhone Air just for the foldable iPhone. Wait, what?

The iPhone Air, though stunning in its own right, hasn’t sold all too well due to the myriad of compromises that it has had to make. Apple insider Mark Gurman, in his newsletter Power On, claims that this is because the company always intended to use the Air as a “technology exercise” in anticipation of the foldable iPhone.

iPhone Air a “technology exercise”

Gurman alleges that Apple was aware that the iPhone Air, especially the first generation, wouldn’t sell any better than the iPhone Plus models that it is replacing. Instead, Apple timed the release of the iPhone Air to be one year before the foldable iPhone comes out, just so the latter can have its launch go smoothly without any problems.

Getting ready for the foldable iPhone

But it’s not the consumers that Apple is preparing with the help of the iPhone Air: it’s the supply chain.

According to Gurman, the foldable iPhone will have to use a lot of the same materials, internal components, battery technology, and “miniaturization techniques” as the iPhone Air. With the Air now out, the supply chain will be able to get these parts ready a lot faster next year for the release of the foldable iPhone.

The foldable iPhone will, naturally, have to be a pretty slim device when unfolded, just so that it doesn’t become an unwieldy brick when it’s not. This is also why there have been reports of Apple ditching Face ID on the foldable iPhone because of the size of the sensors, and replacing it with Touch ID instead.

In essence, what Gurman is saying is that the iPhone Air walked so that the foldable iPhone can run. But will it run?

A lot of unknowns with the foldable iPhone

Along with the excitement for the foldable iPhone, there are also a lot of unknowns. Leaked foldable iPhone specs show a device that already falls behind the Galaxy Z Fold 7, let alone the Galaxy Z Fold 8 which it will be competing with. The phone will also be very expensive, and it remains to be seen if Apple will be able to capture a significant amount of the market share.

Thanks to the excellent Fold 7, the foldable market has seen a renewed interest in recent months. The red carpet is laid out for Apple, and all it needs to do is not stumble when it’s time to shine.

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