[Source: Reuters]

Apple CEO Tim Cook channelled his predecessor and design genius Steve Jobs on Tuesday when he unveiled the iPhone Air, the company’s slimmest handset yet, and the biggest change in eight years to a lineup fans and analysts complained was stagnating.

Cook kicked off the company’s (AAPL.O), opens new tab annual product launch event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters with a Jobs quote: “For us, design goes beyond just how something looks or feels. Design is also how it works.”

Inside its 5.6-mm (0.22-inch) slim frame – thinner than Samsung Electronics’ (005930.KS), opens new tab S25 Edge at 5.8 mm – the iPhone Air’s circuitry has been shrunk to the size of a few postage stamps to deliver on Apple’s claim of “all-day battery life”.

Many analysts had predicted a ho-hum reception ahead of the event, but some said after the event that four new iPhones – Air, 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max – were a lineup likely to appeal to customers with varied budgets.

Apple shares dropped more than 3% on Wednesday as the company held the line on price increases, worrying investors about a further hit to profits from the Trump administration’s tariffs. Doubts lingered, too, about whether the new smartphone would match its promised battery capacity.

Tuesday’s event was also light on evidence of how Apple – a laggard in the AI race – aimed to close the gap with the likes of Google, which showcased the capabilities of its Gemini AI model in its latest flagship phones.

The company’s stock has stagnated, losing 6.4% this year excluding Wednesday’s losses, while other tech giants like Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab have posted double-digit gains. Its market value of $3.5 trillion makes it the S&P 500’s third-most valuable company behind those two companies.

But fans and gadget experts at the event were enthused about the iPhone Air, which will incorporate Apple’s newest A19 Pro processor chip, tuned for artificial intelligence tasks, and two new custom communications chips.

Chaudhary praised the Air’s titanium frame and ceramic shield glass, which Apple said makes the device more durable. Despite numerous leaks before the launch, he said that he was still impressed with the device, although he wants to see if the battery life claim holds up.

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