iPhone Air Outperforms Predecessor, Shows Promising Market Reception

The iPhone Air has achieved approximately twice the popularity of the iPhone 16 Plus during comparable launch periods, signaling a relative success for Apple.
Cellular network data from Ookla indicates that while the Air appears to be the least popular model within the iPhone 17 generation, its sales performance has surpassed that of the outgoing Plus model. This suggests a positive market reception for Apple's new offering.

Ookla's Crowdsourced Insights

Ookla's data is derived from crowdsourced cellular network analytics, leveraging real-world usage statistics from the Speedtest app on iPhones. The popularity of iPhone Air and iPhone Plus models is estimated by comparing the volume of Speedtest samples for each device, providing a robust measure of real-world adoption.

iPhone Air's Gains Amidst Shifting Market Dynamics

During the iPhone 16 launch window in late 2024, the iPhone 16 Plus accounted for less than 3% of usage. This trailed the base iPhone 16 (5.9%), and was significantly behind the iPhone 16 Pro (34%) and Pro Max (56%).

For the corresponding period in 2026, the base iPhone 17 and 17 Pro Max maintained largely similar usage shares compared to their predecessors. The iPhone Air, however, achieved 6.8% of usage, nearly triple the percentage of the iPhone 16 Plus. This notable gain appears to coincide with a decrease in the iPhone 17 Pro's share, which dropped from 34.9% to 30.6%.

Establishing a New Market Segment

The Air's usage places it in a similar range to the base iPhone 17. While it is possible that Air buyers are primarily early adopters, which might lead to a widening gap with the base model over time, the figures suggest positive market reception for the Air.

Apple has previously experimented with differentiated iPhone models like the Mini and Plus, which exhibited lower market performance. In contrast, the Air appears to have successfully established a distinct market segment, demonstrating greater success than its predecessors in carving out its niche.

Strong International Performance and Rivalry

Ookla's data also highlights regional variations in demand for the iPhone Air. While the stated percentages pertain to the domestic United States market, the Air recorded substantially higher shares in other countries, reaching an impressive 11.2% in South Korea. It also showed notable popularity in Japan, Sweden, and Singapore.

Additionally, the iPhone Air has outperformed the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge in popularity, recording over three times the samples domestically.

Advanced Connectivity with Apple C1X

Separate findings from Ookla indicate that the Apple C1X modem in the iPhone Air represents a notable improvement over the original C1 modem. The Air's 5G download speeds are comparable to those achieved by the Qualcomm modem in the iPhone 17 Pro models and surpass the C1's performance in the iPhone 16e. While download speeds approach performance parity in typical real-world conditions, upload speeds continue to lag.