The best iPhone Air preorder deals in Australia – outright and on-plan options to grab Apple’s skinny-yet-powerful new handset

Usually, you have to weigh up the opportunity to own a thinner, lighter phone against the performance limits of a handset that size. However, Apple‘s all-new iPhone Air promises the MacBook Pro-level performance of the iPhone 17 Pro, stuffed into a 5.6 mm and 165g frame. With preorders officially opening at 10PM AEST on Friday, September 12, we’ve collected all the best preorder deals available to help keep your wallet as fat as possible while buying Apple’s new skinny iPhone.

The iPhone Air starts at AU$1,799, filling the hole left by the oft-overlooked iPhone 16 Plus between the standard iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro. That said, it’s very much its own model – ditching the ’17’ moniker, sporting the powerful A19 Pro chipset and a gorgeous new slimline body that’s different to any other iPhone.

You can check out all the best iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro preorder deals, with all of Apple’s new lineup shipping on Friday, September 19. However, if you’re enticed by Apple’s new, ultra-thin smartphone, you can see the various iPhone Air preorder deals that are available right now below.

We’ve just published our hands-on experience with the iPhone Air, and so far, we’re definitely impressed with it. In terms of design, Apple has absolutely nailed both the weight and size of the device – and we love the smooth and sleek camera housing.

Right now, our main observations are that it looks incredible, but we are withholding judgment until we can really test this model. Questions remain over the various compromises that Apple has potentially taken to squeeze everything into that tiny chassis.

For example, while the iPhone Air features the same A19 Pro chipset as the iPhone 17 Pro, it lacks the latter’s new ‘vapour chamber’ cooling setup, which will likely mean its actual performance slots somewhere between the standard iPhone 17 and the 17 Pro.

Other potential issues could be the battery life and the single camera. The iPhone Air doesn’t have a separate ultra-wide camera or 8x telephoto like the Pro models, instead opting for a two-in-one ‘Fusion’ camera with three focal lengths and a 2x zoom. It’s definitely a little more limited in that regard, but the single camera housing does look much cleaner and neater versus the three huge lenses that Apple has crammed onto the back of the Pro models.