The iPhone Air 2 could slim down to just 5.2mm next year while packing a bigger battery and a second rear camera, according to a fresh leak from Korea. If accurate, Apple’s next ultra-thin iPhone would match the unfolded iPhone Duo for thinness, extending a design race between the company’s two most radical form factors.
Apple’s original iPhone Air, launched in 2025, is already the slimmest smartphone the company has ever made at 5.6mm. The new claim, from the Naver blog account yeux1122, suggests Apple is not done chasing thinness, even as it tries to fix the first Air’s two biggest criticisms: mediocre battery life and a single rear camera.
The iPhone Air 2 leak: 5.2mm and 7% thinner
The numbers are precise. A reduction of around 0.4mm would take the iPhone Air 2 from 5.6mm to approximately 5.2mm, making it roughly 7% thinner than the current model. That is a small change on paper, but at this extreme of the design envelope, shaving another four-tenths of a millimetre is an engineering feat.
It also sets up a neat symmetry. The iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable, measures 5.2mm when unfolded. A 5.2mm iPhone Air 2 would match the Duo’s slim profile while costing far less, since the Duo starts at £1,999 in the UK. Two very different iPhones, one identical measurement.
As always with supply chain leaks, treat the claim with healthy scepticism. yeux1122 has a mixed track record, and Apple is still a long way from finalising next year’s hardware. But the report lines up with Apple’s direction of travel, which has been firmly toward thinner devices.
A bigger battery in a thinner iPhone Air 2
The more surprising part of the leak is what goes inside that slimmer body. A previous rumour claimed the iPhone Air 2 will carry a 3,500mAh battery, up from 3,149mAh in the current model, an increase of around 11% in raw capacity.
Larger capacity in a thinner phone sounds contradictory, but it does not have to be. Apple can improve internal packaging, use denser battery chemistry, or make other components smaller to free up space. Either way, it will be a tight squeeze, and fitting more milliamp-hours into less millimetres is exactly the kind of problem Apple’s hardware engineers enjoy.
Battery life was the original iPhone Air’s most consistent complaint. The first model traded endurance for thinness, and reviewers noticed. If the iPhone Air 2 can deliver both better stamina and a slimmer body, Apple will have solved the exact compromise that held the first generation back.
iPhone Air 2 cameras: the second lens Apple needs
Multiple reports have suggested Apple will add a second rear camera to the iPhone Air 2, addressing the other main criticism of the device. The current model has a single Wide lens, which makes it less versatile for photography than even the cheaper iPhone 17.
The expectation is that an Ultra Wide lens will join the main camera, giving the Air 2 a dual-camera system that can handle landscapes, architecture and group shots with the flexibility buyers now take for granted. It would also close the value gap with the iPhone 17, which currently outguns the Air on cameras despite costing less.
When is the iPhone Air 2 coming out?
The iPhone Air 2 is expected to launch in the first half of 2027, alongside the regular iPhone 18 and the lower-cost iPhone 18e. That puts it well after the current wave of Apple launches, which is dominated by the iPhone Duo’s pre-orders and October 23 release, and the smart home announcements expected at Apple’s October 13 event.
That timing also means Apple has months to finalise the design. Today’s leak is an early signal, not a blueprint, and plenty could change between now and the first half of 2027.
What the iPhone Air 2 rumours mean for UK buyers
For anyone considering the current iPhone Air, the rumour raises the familiar question: buy now or wait? The first Air remains a striking piece of industrial design, but a thinner sequel with better battery life and a second camera would address almost every reservation about it.
The honest answer is that Apple has not confirmed anything, and the leak trail is still thin. But if even half of the iPhone Air 2 rumours prove true, next year’s model will be the version that finally makes the ultra-thin iPhone feel complete, and at a price far below the iPhone Duo it would match for thinness.
