(Image credit: Future / Britta O'Boyle)

When the iPhone 17 range launched earlier this year, it had an unfamiliar looking cousin sat alongside it. The iPhone Air marked the brand's first foray into the world of slim phones, and was met with a lot of intrigue among fans.

Since then, the device has earned a bag of mixed reviews. While some have enjoyed the slim nature of the handset, others have criticised the lack of battery capacity and the comparative heft of the camera bump.

Now, new reports suggest that the second iteration of that handset won't be coming next year. Previously, some had expected a new variant every year, as is common for the standard iPhone range.

Instead, the report from The Information – shared by The Verge – suggests that the brand has elected not to launch next Autumn. Instead, the iPhone Air 2 could be moved to a spring launch event, while other commentators have pondered a two-year release schedule.

The report also notes that the current iteration has had its production "sharply scaled back". It's not hard to see why, either. The model has failed to ascend to the heights of other models in the range.

(Image credit: Future / Britta O'Boyle)

In fairness, it has been a strong year for the brand's phone range anyway. The new range of Pro models offer a more compelling case than recent years – thanks in no small part to the camera performance.

That's in addition to the new base model, which is arguably better than it has ever been before. The model includes a ProMotion display for the first time ever, bringing 120Hz refresh rates to the model.

While the future of the iPhone's slim model may be up in the air right now, I think it's a worthwhile wait. The slim handset could be a real winner with a little more refinement, and if that means a longer wait, I'd say that's a good plan.