Apple iPhone 4 vs Apple iPhone Air

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

iPhone 4 compared with iPhone Air
AppleiPhone 4AppleiPhone Air
Overview
ReleasedJune 2010September 2025
Display
Screen size3.5″6.5″
Resolution960 × 6402736 × 1260 (better)
Sharpness330 pixels per inch463 pixels per inch (better)
PanelLCDLTPO OLED
Refresh rate60 Hz120 Hz (better)
Peak brightness500 nits3,000 nits (better)
Display typeRetina display; 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch displaySuper Retina XDR OLED display with Dynamic Island
Pixel density326 ppi460 ppi
Brightness detail500 cd/m² max brightness (typical)1,000 nits max (typical); 1,600 nits peak (HDR); 1 nit minimum
Always-on display–Yes
Screen protectionAluminosilicate glass front and back; fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front and backCeramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back
Display features800:1 contrast ratio (typical)ProMotion adaptive refresh; HDR; True Tone; Wide colour (P3); Haptic Touch; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical); anti-reflective coating
Performance
ChipA4A19 Pro
Memory512 MB12 GB (better)
Storage8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB (better)
CPU1.0 GHz Cortex-A8 (GSMArena); 512 MB of RAM (iFixit)6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores
GPUPowerVR SGX535 (GSMArena)5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine–16-core Neural Engine
Cameras
Main camera5 MP48 MP (better)
Ultra wide cameraNoneNone
Telephoto cameraNoneNone
Optical zoomNoneNone
Front camera0.3 MP18 MP (better)
Main camera5-megapixel still camera with LED flash and tap to focus48MP Fusion Main, 26 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, 100% Focus Pixels; 24MP and 48MP photos
Front cameraVGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 fps18MP 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 recordingHD (720p) 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 featuresTap to focus video or still images; photo 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
Battery1,420 mAh3,149 mAh (better)
Video playback (maker's claim)Up to 10 hoursUp to 27 hours
Wireless chargingNoneUp to 20 W (better)
Battery life detailTalk time up to 7 hours on 3G or 14 hours on 2G; standby up to 300 hours; internet use up to 6 hours on 3G or 10 hours on Wi-Fi; video playback up to 10 hours; audio playback up to 40 hours; 3.7 V, 1,420 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
Weight137 g (better)165 g
Thickness9.3 mm5.64 mm (better)
Height × width115.2 × 58.6 mm156.2 × 74.7 mm
Water and dust resistance–IP68
MaterialsAluminosilicate glass front and back with a stainless steel bandGrade 5 titanium frame with a polished mirror finish; 3D-printed titanium USB-C port
ColoursBlack, whiteSpace Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue
ButtonsOn/off, sleep/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
SensorsThree-axis gyro; accelerometer; 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 launchiOS 4iOS 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 networkGSM model: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz) and GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); CDMA model: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)Apple C1X modem; 5G (sub-6GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO; UK model A3517
SIMMicro-SIM (GSMArena)Dual eSIM (two active, stores eight or more); no physical SIM card
Wi-FiWi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (802.11n 2.4GHz only)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; video out up to 1024 × 768 with the Dock Connector to VGA Adapter (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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