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Apple iPhone 3GS vs Apple iPhone Air

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleiPhone 3GSAppleiPhone Air
Overview
ReleasedJune 2009September 2025
Display
Screen size3.5″6.5″
Resolution480 × 3202736 × 1260
Sharpness165 pixels per inch463 pixels per inch
PanelLCDLTPO OLED
Refresh rate60 Hz120 Hz
Peak brightness–3,000 nits
Display type3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch displaySuper Retina XDR OLED display with Dynamic Island
Pixel density163 ppi460 ppi
Brightness detail–1,000 nits max (typical); 1,600 nits peak (HDR); 1 nit minimum
Always-on display–Yes
Screen protectionFingerprint-resistant oleophobic coatingCeramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back
Display features–ProMotion adaptive refresh; HDR; True Tone; Wide colour (P3); Haptic Touch; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical); anti-reflective coating
Performance
ChipSamsung S5PC100A19 Pro
Memory256 MB12 GB
Storage8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
CPU600 MHz Cortex-A8 in Samsung S5PC100; 256 MB of RAM (Wired's 2009 teardown report)6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores
GPUPowerVR SGX535 (Apple developer documentation)5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine–16-core Neural Engine
Cameras
Main camera3 MP48 MP
Ultra wide cameraNoneNone
Telephoto cameraNoneNone
Optical zoomNoneNone
Front camera–18 MP
Main camera3-megapixel still camera with tap to focus48MP Fusion Main, 26 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, 100% Focus Pixels; 24MP and 48MP photos
Front camera–18MP Center Stage camera, ƒ/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus Pixels
Zoom–12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto (52 mm) from the Main camera; digital zoom up to 10x
Video recordingVGA up to 30 fps with audio4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; 1080p Dolby Vision at 25, 30 or 60 fps; Action mode up to 2.8K Dolby Vision at 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; Dual Capture up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps; HEVC and H.264
Front video–4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 fps; ultra-stabilised video; Centre Stage for video calls
Camera featuresPhoto and video geotaggingPhotonic Engine; Deep Fusion; Smart HDR 5; next-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control; Night mode; Photographic Styles; customisable default lens; Camera Control
Battery and charging
Battery1,219 mAh3,149 mAh
Video playback (maker's claim)Up to 10 hoursUp to 27 hours
Wireless chargingNoneUp to 20 W
Battery life detailTalk time up to 5 hours on 3G or 12 hours on 2G; standby up to 300 hours; internet use up to 5 hours on 3G or 9 hours on Wi-Fi; video playback up to 10 hours; audio playback up to 30 hours; 3.7 V, 4.51 Wh, 1,219 mAh (iFixit)Up to 22 hours streamed video playback; up to 40 hours video playback with the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery (sold separately); EU energy label class A, 40 hours per charge, at least 1,000 charge cycles
Wired chargingCharging via USB to a computer or power adapterUp to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter or higher (sold separately)
Wireless charging–MagSafe and Qi2 up to 20W with a 30W adapter or higher; up to 50% in 30 minutes
Design
TypeStandardStandard
Weight135 g165 g
Thickness12.3 mm5.64 mm
Height × width115.5 × 62.1 mm156.2 × 74.7 mm
Water and dust resistance–IP68
Materials–Grade 5 titanium frame with a polished mirror finish; 3D-printed titanium USB-C port
ColoursBlack (8GB)Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue
ButtonsSleep/wake; ring/silent; volume up/down; HomeAction button; Camera Control; side button; volume up/down
Water resistance detail–IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529
Biometrics–Face ID
SensorsAccelerometer; proximity sensor; ambient light sensorBarometer; high dynamic range gyro; high-g accelerometer; proximity sensor; dual ambient light sensors
Speakers–Built-in speaker (one, not stereo)
Microphones–Built-in microphones; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Software
Operating systemiOSiOS
Software at launchiPhone OS 3.0iOS 26
Software updates–Security, corrective and functionality updates for at least 5 years after it stops being sold (EU product information sheet)
AI features–Apple Intelligence; Visual Intelligence
Safety features–Crash Detection
In the box–iPhone Air, USB-C Charge Cable (1 m), documentation; no power adapter
Connectivity
Satellite messaging–Yes
Mobile networkUMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)Apple C1X modem; 5G (sub-6GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO; UK model A3517
SIM–Dual eSIM (two active, stores eight or more); no physical SIM card
Wi-FiWi-Fi (802.11b/g)Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO; Apple N1 wireless networking chip
BluetoothBluetooth 2.1 + EDRBluetooth 6; Thread
Ultra Wideband–Apple second-generation Ultra Wideband chip
NFC–NFC with reader mode; Express Cards with Power Reserve
Satellite features–Emergency SOS via satellite; Roadside Assistance via satellite
USB30-pin dock connector; 3.5 mm stereo headphone minijack; 576p and 480p video out with Apple Component AV Cable (sold separately)USB-C with charging and USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s)
PositioningAssisted GPS; digital compass; Wi-Fi; cellularPrecision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC); digital compass; iBeacon micro-location

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