India, Sept. 10 -- Apple's September 2026 iPhone launch left a conspicuous gap. New Pro models arrived, but the ultra-thin iPhone Air introduced a year earlier did not get a successor. For Indian buyers, that absence raises a bigger question than when the next Air might arrive. Apple still has to prove that an ultra-thin premium iPhone can justify the compromises needed to make it dramatically lighter.

The first iPhone Air arrived while Apple was gaining ground in India. Apple's smartphone shipments in the country grew 28% in 2025, while premium devices continued to claim a larger share of the market.

The Air did not appear to benefit from that momentum. Retail estimates placed the model at a relatively small share of new-generation iPh...