Apple iPhone 6 vs Apple iPhone Air

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

iPhone 6 compared with iPhone Air
AppleiPhone 6AppleiPhone Air
Overview
ReleasedSeptember 2014September 2025
Display
Screen size4.7″6.5″
Resolution1334 × 7502736 × 1260 (better)
Sharpness326 pixels per inch463 pixels per inch (better)
PanelLCDLTPO OLED
Refresh rate60 Hz120 Hz (better)
Peak brightness500 nits3,000 nits (better)
Display typeRetina HD display; 4.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technologySuper 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 protectionFingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on frontCeramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back
Display features1400:1 contrast ratio (typical); full sRGB standard; dual-domain pixels for wide viewing angles; Display Zoom; ReachabilityProMotion adaptive refresh; HDR; True Tone; Wide colour (P3); Haptic Touch; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical); anti-reflective coating
Performance
ChipA8A19 Pro
Memory1 GB12 GB (better)
Storage16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB (better)
CPUA8 chip with 64-bit architecture and M8 motion coprocessor; dual-core 1.4 GHz Typhoon (GSMArena); 1 GB of RAM (GSMArena)6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores
GPUPowerVR GX6450 (GSMArena)5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine–16-core Neural Engine
Cameras
Main camera8 MP48 MP (better)
Ultra wide cameraNoneNone
Telephoto cameraNoneNone
Optical zoomNoneNone
Front camera1.2 MP18 MP (better)
Main camera8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, autofocus with Focus Pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture, True Tone flash, five-element lens, hybrid IR filter, backside illumination sensor, sapphire crystal lens cover48MP Fusion Main, 26 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, 100% Focus Pixels; 24MP and 48MP photos
Front cameraFaceTime HD camera with 1.2-megapixel photos, ƒ/2.2 aperture, backside illumination sensor18MP Center Stage camera, ƒ/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus Pixels
Zoom3x video zoom12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto (52 mm) from the Main camera; digital zoom up to 10x
Video recording1080p HD at 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo at 120 or 240 fps; time-lapse with stabilisation; cinematic video stabilisation; continuous autofocus4K 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 video720p HD4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 fps; ultra-stabilised video; Centre Stage for video calls
Camera featuresAuto image stabilisation; auto HDR; panorama (up to 43 megapixels); burst mode; face detection; timer modePhotonic 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
Battery1,810 mAh3,149 mAh (better)
Video playback (maker's claim)Up to 11 hoursUp to 27 hours
Wireless chargingNoneUp to 20 W (better)
Battery life detailTalk time up to 14 hours on 3G; standby up to 10 days; internet use up to 10 hours on 3G or LTE and 11 hours on Wi-Fi; HD video playback up to 11 hours; audio playback up to 50 hours; 3.82 V, 6.91 Wh, 1,810 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
Weight129 g (better)165 g
Thickness6.9 mm5.64 mm (better)
Height × width138.1 × 67 mm156.2 × 74.7 mm
Water and dust resistance–IP68
MaterialsAnodised aluminium unibody enclosure with shaped glass displayGrade 5 titanium frame with a polished mirror finish; 3D-printed titanium USB-C port
ColoursSilver, Gold, Space GreySpace Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue
ButtonsHome/Touch ID sensor; volume up/down; ring/silent; on/off, sleep/wakeAction 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
BiometricsTouch ID fingerprint identity sensor built into the Home buttonFace ID
SensorsTouch ID; barometer; three-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 8iOS 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/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA; GSM/EDGE; LTE (bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29); VoLTE; Wi-Fi callingApple C1X modem; 5G (sub-6GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO; UK model A3517
SIMNano-SIMDual eSIM (two active, stores eight or more); no physical SIM card
Wi-FiWi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/acWi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO; Apple N1 wireless networking chip
BluetoothBluetooth 4.2 (Bluetooth 4.0 at launch)Bluetooth 6; Thread
Ultra Wideband–Apple second-generation Ultra Wideband chip
NFCNFC for Apple PayNFC with reader mode; Express Cards with Power Reserve
Satellite features–Emergency SOS via satellite; Roadside Assistance via satellite
USBLightning connector; 3.5 mm headphone jack; video mirroring and video out up to 1080p through the Lightning Digital AV Adapter and Lightning to VGA Adapter (sold separately)USB-C with charging and USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s)
PositioningAssisted GPS and GLONASS; digital compass; Wi-Fi; cellular; iBeacon microlocationPrecision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC); digital compass; iBeacon micro-location

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