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More than ever. I’ve stopped using a case with it and it just feels so nice! A handful of times I’ve missed the wide angle camera, but most of those times I just backed up a bit and was able to get the shot I wanted

I will say the speaker is disappointing, not because there’s only one but because it has a bit of a rattle/distortion at high volumes (like above 50%), which sounds like it’s pretty common. If they could only upgrade one thing for next year, I’d want it to be the speaker(s)
 
I've had the Air since launch and love it. I'm still amazed at how light it is and a joy to hold even with the Apple frost case on. I have no problem with the single speaker or camera and battery life seems identical to my last phone, a 16 Pro. I would buy this phone again in a heartbeat and hope that will be possible next year!
 
More than ever. I’ve stopped using a case with it and it just feels so nice! A handful of times I’ve missed the wide angle camera, but most of those times I just backed up a bit and was able to get the shot I wanted

I will say the speaker is disappointing, not because there’s only one but because it has a bit of a rattle/distortion at high volumes (like above 50%), which sounds like it’s pretty common. If they could only upgrade one thing for next year, I’d want it to be the speaker(s)
If you are within the 14-day return period then you should exchange it. I hear no distortion/crackle/pop even at 100% volume.
 
It's going... battery life is good for my use.

Hand feel and pocket feel are A+++. This is why I love the air. I hardly feel it (that's what she said) in my pocket. And it's nice to hold in my hand like my 13 mini. I couldn't say the same thing for the 16 I used for a few months. I use my phones w/o a case. I dropped the air on my garage cement the first few days and it faired well (knock on wood).

Even when I take it hiking it only drops 15% on a 4-5 hour hike. I'm not a heavy user though and don't watch videos to keep my screen time under 2 hrs (mostly messaging and podcast). I was hiking and saw a bunch of dear and a 2 hawk on a tree at the same shot and texted my sister, "ok in this specific moment, 8x zoom would really be appreciate if I had the pro." Otherwise it's a keeper for the next 3-4yrs. Looks like they will make an air 2 but may discontinue it which is fine with me. On to the next apple experiment.
 
I bought an Air and Pro Max and decided to just see which one I tended to pick up more often. Both caseless. I still love the Air, but over time I missed too many photos -- I need (well, want) the zoom lens. So the Pro Max has become my daily driver.

That is my only quibble with the Air. Everything else -- battery life included -- I can deal with. If you don't take many photos that need the other lenses, you will love the Air and never look back, IMHO.
 
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Another iPhone Air owner here. Still loving my phone. I bought two Apple MagSafe batteries just in case I needed to use them. I’m actually using this phone more than I’ve ever used any iPhone because it’s so nice in the hand. I’ve shifted all my reading to it.

Perfect screen size, perfect weight, perfect feel. I’m pretty happy with this phone. I hope Apple does an Air 2.
 
If you are within the 14-day return period then you should exchange it. I hear no distortion/crackle/pop even at 100% volume.
Ohhh, you don’t hear it in voices when it’s up kind of high? Yeah I’m past the return period, its okay. I heard a lot of people talking about it on either here or reddit so I figured it was just like that. Oh well, I don’t often turn it up past 50% anyway, the speaker isn’t good enough to listen to music or anything with ha
 
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I'm thinking about getting an iPhone Air. I know that some of you have bought one and had a "wow" experience when first using it, but do you still feel that way about the phone? Or is it a phase that has faded? I'd like to know.
After years of smartphone experience with a plethora of units I've found that there is no such thing as the perfect phone. Each with their respective pros and cons they're all a compromise.

Fully aware of the pros and cons of iPhone Air my goal was to own one for the experience.

It’s a good phone overall but not for someone that uses the phone extensively throughout the day. I knew this going in, but until I actually bought one and put it into my workflow did I discover just how compromised the Air is.

For the occasional or light to moderate user it would be an ok choice.
 
After years of smartphone experience with a plethora of units I've found that there is no such thing as the perfect phone. Each with their respective pros and cons they're all a compromise.

Fully aware of the pros and cons of iPhone Air my goal was to own one for the experience.

It’s a good phone overall but not for someone that uses the phone extensively throughout the day. I knew this going in, but until I actually bought one and put it into my workflow did I discover just how compromised the Air is.

For the occasional or light to moderate user it would be an ok choice.
Compromised ….. by battery life? I’m curious what compromised means to you.
 
Compromised ….. by battery life? I’m curious what compromised means to you.
Excellent question.

Until I bought the Air and put it through its paces I could not imagine what the single speaker would be like. Although I have AirPods Pro, there are times when I prefer to listen via the phones speaker which is most certainly a compromise. Even adjusting my expectations for the single speaker it’s disappointing.

Given I didn't buy it for its picture taking capabilities, I was wrong thinking I could live with a single camera. My primary iPhone 16 Pro Max gets left behind on days I just want a casual light phone which is the role of my Air. The camera is a compromise.

Then there's Apple's claim of all day battery life, I took that with a grain of salt, but even that's a stretch.

Concurrently I also own a nearly identically sized Galaxy S25 Edge which has excellent sounding dual speakers, dual cameras and a larger battery. It's proof positive of what's possible from a design and engineering perspective.

I do believe that Apple as a company is easily as capable or superior to the brands I have owned such as: Samsung, Google, OPPO, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Huawei, Motorola, Sony.
 
Love mine, had since launch day - still just pick it up to admire it, simply beautiful. The polished frame loos and feels great, also just having a single lens just looks right - imagine an actual camera with 3 lenses sticking out! Dumb right?
Bigger screen is just right and you can still use and type 1 handed and I don't have big hands.
Battery is great, if I was out and about all day / travelling I would need a battery pack for a little boost here and there, but think in reality that would be the case with any of the current iPhones, so what's the difference?
I do sometimes miss the ultrawide camera to take shots of interiors, but not a big deal. that camera it does have is very good, especially if you have your photographic styles dialled in to your preferences.
Something I would recommend with the camera is to set the default camera to 35mm (1.4x) when it opens, this gives you a natural field of view, and then gives you room to zoom out if you need to get more in frame.
 
I had the air for a week and enjoyed the experience. I decided to exchange it for the pro max because the speaker when on speakerphone calls (which I use a lot) buzzed at any volume above 1/2. (Speaker was fine playing music loudly.) Unexpectedly I also found the air harder to hold than the pro max. Yes, the lighter weight is wonderful, but I have bigger hands and the thin sides of the air were hard for me to grip well. Holding it for longer periods bothered my hand. I think a case would have helped…if I used cases.
Overall I’m really glad I tried it. It’s a great product…just not for me.
 
I'm very satisfied with mine. And I was a nay-sayer when it was announced. But the battery life is actually better than the iPhone 15 Pro that it replaced. And the single lens camera is perfectly serviceable for my use (I'm not a camera guy anyway).
 
Ohhh, you don’t hear it in voices when it’s up kind of high? Yeah I’m past the return period, its okay. I heard a lot of people talking about it on either here or reddit so I figured it was just like that. Oh well, I don’t often turn it up past 50% anyway, the speaker isn’t good enough to listen to music or anything with ha

Not at all. It could also be the mic on the other side.
 
I had the air for a week and enjoyed the experience. I decided to exchange it for the pro max because the speaker when on speakerphone calls (which I use a lot) buzzed at any volume above 1/2. (Speaker was fine playing music loudly.) Unexpectedly I also found the air harder to hold than the pro max. Yes, the lighter weight is wonderful, but I have bigger hands and the thin sides of the air were hard for me to grip well. Holding it for longer periods bothered my hand. I think a case would have helped…if I used cases.
Overall I’m really glad I tried it. It’s a great product…just not for me.
You and I are the same.
In fact even with my 17 PM I find it hard to hold without a case it feels small and thin, probably because I typically use thick cases on my phone so my hands are adjusted to that and so even a Pro Max in my hands feels lite and thin when outside of a case.
 
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I noticed on my air and using wireless carplay in my tesla (added external carplay display), if I place it on the charging pad which is underneath the display, the gps signal is much stronger than the mini; maps on the carplay display is updated in real time and doesn't lag or lose signal vs the 13 mini. Also mini would overheat when charging on the charging pad, but my air will continue charging up to 95% limit (higher thermal limit). So again small little improvement in my 13 mini which I really love but its time has come.
 
Having come from a 15 Pro Max to a 17 Pro to an Air... the Air has crazy insane reception. In grocery stores where neither my 17 Pro or 15 Pro Max had reception, - the Air chugs away with 1 bar as if it is right next to a tower. The reception bars and wifi signal bars also seem far more responsive (update more frequently).

When I restored from iCloud backup, my Air did it in less than half the time it took my 17 Pro ... (I had weird wifi issues with my 17 Pro days later even). My 17 Air picks up wifi in parking lots that neither of my phones did... <shrug>.
 
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