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Whats the point of this device?
The specs are worse than standard iP17 at a higher cost.
The AIR is only thinner (in some areas), but not smaller. Therefore it is still not usable single handed or for people with smaller hands. It will be same uncomfortable grip like iP17.
Why does this exist? It makes no sense to me.

An iPhone mini makes sense for smaller hands (children, smaller female hands, ...), but this was discontinued having customer value being smaller. AIR makes zero sense to me.

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It doesn't make sense to me personally either, BUT it makes sense to others. Some maybe because they want a lighter phone. Some maybe because it may look cool/modern (obviously used without a case). All that matters is there is a market for it and some of the tech tested out on it will be useful later such as for a folding phone.
 
Jobs wouldn't of made the air that large of a phone imo, he would of cut out what was needed to keep it one handed
Maybe, has he stated publicly when alive that he was a big fan of one handed phones or are you projecting your own preferences? I know the size is largely guided by what the larger buying public seems to want.
 
"A singular piece of glass" sounds absolutely terrible in a variety of ways, and the iPhone Air is already lacking enough.
I know. You’d think they’d have the forethought to offer a wider set of phones so that those that don’t like the iPhone Air could buy a different phone.
No, they should just make whichever type of phone I like and everyone else should see my wisdom. No to options! ;)
 
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I always figured the future would be a round spine with a transparent display attached to it. The spine would contain the logic board, radios, cameras, and battery. Once the miniaturization makes it possible - steps seen in the iPhone Air - it's a go. Battery is obviously the biggest challenge.
 
Man, I was so fired up to get this phone preordered then they gimped it down where I won't even use it. I have teenage kids, we always take .5 selfies...can't do that. I like to sell things online which require a close up photo (electronics and clothes, don't get crazy)...can't macro photo. I like to have a decent optical zoom for kids sports...can't do that. So sad. I was ready to buy now I'm wondering when the fold will come out...
.5 selfies? If other iPhone front cameras do .5 then so can the Air. It has the same front camera as the Pro.

The fold is rumored to have a single camera as well, unfortunately.
 
The first gen MacBook Air felt like a step backwards back in 2008. But it leaped forward quickly. I see the same for the iPhone Air.

Also, it’s not for everybody. If it had ProRAW, I’d consider it.
It seems like over time devices grow in bulk as they get more and more specs and features, then after awhile Apple decides to reverse course and create something thinner and lighter for those who aren't heavy/power users. Then both product lines carry on improving, but one focusing on power and the other focusing on lightness. Roughly speaking anyway.
 
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But why would we want that, tho?
A lot of the folks that posted they want the Air said it was more about weight than being thin though I'm betting there are some that like the "cool factor" of a thin phone to show off. Anyway, not for me, but I know many people have very different needs and preferences.
 
glass iphone.jpg
 
20th model should be gorgeous whichever way they do it. iPhone X was their best design to date. Big shoes to fill.
I keep telling myself that, so I can justify skipping the air now and going with the pro again for two years until the air design is refined and has two cameras and enough battery.
 
People can and do mock making phones ever thinner, but it’s the only way to get to those crazy sci-fi phones we see in shows and movies.

Whether that is a laudable goal I cannot say.
 
Apple CEO Tim Cook saying he will decide when to use the iPhone Air or another model based on "whether I want to float through the air.
Eh? I think Tim’s time at Apple is way passed it’s use by date..even every color decision appears to be just what Tim wants.
 
I’m holding out for the 30th anniversary iPhone. It’ll be amazing… the perfect handful. The iPhone XXX.
 
According to Apple‘s tech spec page for the iPhone Air, it has a stereo speaker.
My assumption is the other speaker is underneath the glass, but officially their specifications page does say that it is stereo.
It doesn't say that though. They don't claim it has stereo speakers. The only mention of stereo is that it can record stereo audio on video but it doesn't say it can playback in stereo or has stereo speakers.
 
I keep telling myself that, so I can justify skipping the air now and going with the pro again for two years until the air design is refined and has two cameras and enough battery.
It doesn’t already have enough battery? It lasts longer than the iPhone 16 lol
 
Fascinating! I always saw iPhone air as more of the precursor to the unreleased and oft rumored iPhold iPhone phone…haven’t gone through all these comments yet but what struck me in the quotes provided was how internally they name it after that butterfly…well, what if like the butterfly there are parts that ARENT screen but still glass…and that’s like the frame of the phone, similar to how this glass butterfly probably has thin tendril pieces keeping the “glass” material of their wings in their shape and proportion etc.
 
until they make transparent batteries it's all a bit pointless really. It seems to me apple have effectively miniaturised the iphone down to a few chips on a tiny board, that fits into the frickin' camera bump, (except for microphone speakers, charge port, the rest of inside these new phones is basically battery.
I don't think Apple wants to make the so-called "all-glass" iPhone transparent, since as you point out that would be impossible since the parts inside the iPhone aren't transparent and can't be made so, but rather that they want to make the housing from some kind of tough glass that will be opaque, so that there's no visible transition between the display and the housing/frame. Apple (like most other manufacturers) has never wanted to show off the internals of their products, but rather they want them be more or less smooth-surfaced, opaque appliances that hide the internals.
 
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When apple starts using the new silicone-carbon batteries, they can make the air thinner and add more to it.
If future battery technology allows a future Air's battery to be smaller/less tall, then maybe the circuitry that's currently under the camera plateau can be moved back down into the body of the iPhone, and the plateau might then become just a small hill at most.
 
Confirmation of two years to mass production of full visible spectrum achromatic metalenses? This is [potentially] great news! Unless they intend to retain the warts-on-a-tumor design.

Rumor is that Apple is actively working on metalens designs, while also hoping others manage to make a technological leap, if Apple doesn't, to make them usable as replacements for the rear cameras, but perfecting metalenses for this purpose is still years away despite this current development. It's more likely (and Apple's patent applications reflect this) that Apple will first use metalens technology to replace the current Face ID hardware (both its dot/pattern projector, and its IR receiver that receives the dots reflected off of the user's face) and place it under the active portion of the display (current Face ID hardware is of course already under the clear, inactive portion of the display glass). Metalenses aren't required for under-display Face ID hardware, and apparently Apple was trying to design a non-metalens, under-display Face ID system for a while, but they didn't get satisfactory results from that approach, so now they've shifted to a metalens design since it allows for better resolution.
 
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