Alongside the iPhone 17 lineup, Apple released an all-new, ultra-thin iPhone Air this year to take the place of the Plus model. While many reviewers praised the iPhone Air for its sleek design, they also pointed out that it didn’t have great battery life compared to the iPhone 17 models. There were also complaints about the lack of a second main camera on a $999 phone.
With rumors suggesting that Apple will release a second-generation iPhone Air in 2026, Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station claims the company might fix one of its biggest flaws by adding a second main camera. According to the leaker, Apple will add a 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide camera to sit alongside the existing 48MP Fusion Main camera. What’s interesting about this rumor is that the company apparently doesn’t plan to add a plateau like the iPhone 17 Pro models, as it would continue to offer the horizontal alignment of the Air version.
What to expect from the 2026 iPhone lineup
Since reports suggest Apple will continue to focus on having an ultra-thin and lightweight iPhone Air in the lineup, the company would have to reengineer the camera plateau for the second camera and therefore shrink the battery, or leave it the way it is but with an extra camera. While we’ll have to wait for more reports to corroborate this leak, other online chatter suggests that the 2026 iPhone lineup will be made of the iPhone 17e at the beginning of the year, followed by the iPhone Air 2, iPhone 18 Pro models, and Apple’s first iPhone Fold later in the year (unless it gets delayed).
If that turns out to be accurate, the company would release the iPhone 18 by the beginning of 2027 alongside the iPhone 18e, marking a new strategy for the company’s smartphones. Rumors so far point to general improvements to the specifications, but little is known about the potential design changes expected for these devices.
