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iPhone Air Dreaming of the Air

mathiasinthe314

mathiasinthe314

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 19, 2016
397
544
Saint Louis, Missouri
I bought the 17 Pro after having the Pro Max every year since the 12. I wanted a more one hand friendly device in weight and size. I have enjoyed it so far, but my mind keeps going back to the Air. It is so beautiful. I held one briefly in store and it was enjoyable, but I was hesitant to change my decision and continued with picking up the Pro. I've had it for a week, but I still find myself thinking about the Air, I have even dreamt about it three times since pre-order (no lie).

The speaker, the battery, the potential heat issues are not a concern for me. It really comes down to no ultrawide and wondering if it's just a hair too big for one hand. But, do those things really matter? Am I going to continue to have FOMO until next September when I upgrade again?

What to do, what to do. My wife says it's just FOMO and to just settle in with the Pro. Especially since I am the family's designated photographer when we have events or go on trips. Maybe I just skip the Air this year and hope the next version has an ultrawide or upgraded camera system.
 
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mathiasinthe314 said:
I bought the 17 Pro after having the Pro Max every year since the 12. I wanted a more one hand friendly device in weight and size. I have enjoyed it so far, but my mind keeps going back to the Air. It is so beautiful. I held one briefly in store and it was enjoyable, but I was hesitant to change my decision and continued with picking up the Pro. I've had it for a week, but I still find myself thinking about the Air, I have even dreamt about it three times since pre-order (no lie).

The speaker, the battery, the potential heat issues are not a concern for me. It really comes down to no ultrawide and wondering if it's just a hair too big for one hand. But, do those things really matter? Am I going to continue to have FOMO until next September when I upgrade again?

What to do, what to do. My wife says it's just FOMO and to just settle in with the Pro. Especially since I am the family's designated photographer when we have events or go on trips. Maybe I just skip the Air this year and hope the next version has an ultrawide or upgraded camera system.
Click to expand...

Just bite the bullet and trade it ……a year is a long time to go without such a beautiful phone in your pocket
 
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mathiasinthe314 said:
I bought the 17 Pro after having the Pro Max every year since the 12. I wanted a more one hand friendly device in weight and size. I have enjoyed it so far, but my mind keeps going back to the Air. It is so beautiful. I held one briefly in store and it was enjoyable, but I was hesitant to change my decision and continued with picking up the Pro. I've had it for a week, but I still find myself thinking about the Air, I have even dreamt about it three times since pre-order (no lie).

The speaker, the battery, the potential heat issues are not a concern for me. It really comes down to no ultrawide and wondering if it's just a hair too big for one hand. But, do those things really matter? Am I going to continue to have FOMO until next September when I upgrade again?

What to do, what to do. My wife says it's just FOMO and to just settle in with the Pro. Especially since I am the family's designated photographer when we have events or go on trips. Maybe I just skip the Air this year and hope the next version has an ultrawide or upgraded camera system.
Click to expand...
Just skip it, the second version is usually much improved so that is probably the one to get.
 
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mathiasinthe314 said:
I bought the 17 Pro after having the Pro Max every year since the 12. I wanted a more one hand friendly device in weight and size. I have enjoyed it so far, but my mind keeps going back to the Air. It is so beautiful. I held one briefly in store and it was enjoyable, but I was hesitant to change my decision and continued with picking up the Pro. I've had it for a week, but I still find myself thinking about the Air, I have even dreamt about it three times since pre-order (no lie).

The speaker, the battery, the potential heat issues are not a concern for me. It really comes down to no ultrawide and wondering if it's just a hair too big for one hand. But, do those things really matter? Am I going to continue to have FOMO until next September when I upgrade again?

What to do, what to do. My wife says it's just FOMO and to just settle in with the Pro. Especially since I am the family's designated photographer when we have events or go on trips. Maybe I just skip the Air this year and hope the next version has an ultrawide or upgraded camera system.
Click to expand...
I would argue settling with the Pro is FOMO given everyone's obsession with features .
The Air is beautiful. I have one but am returning today and sticking with my 16 Pro Max, because I know the one I really want will be next year's fold. But seriously, out of the entire 17 series line up - the Air is the one that's most special.
 
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The pro has the most versatile cameras, so stick with that if you want the best shots and content. That being said, the Air is very nice to hold and look at. It’s a bit larger than the pro but easy to use one-handed. From my experience the battery lasts about as long as my 16 pro. The mono speaker sucks by any modern smartphone standards. I made an entire thread full of bipolar viewpoints on the pro vs air and need to decide on one by this weekend lol.
 
I've now had the Air for an entire week, and I don't miss the Pro Max AT ALL. Had I gone 17 Pro Max instead, I'd more than likely be in the same place you are right now.

The one compromise I was personally fearful of, coming from the 16PM, was battery life. And while it's definitely not nearly as good on the Air, it's more than sufficient. I'm regularly going to bed with around 20% left.

But if you NEED more camera versatility, as the "family's designated photographer", the Air isn't for you no matter how much you desire it. Battery life, speaker quality, overheating are relative non-issues in daily use. But the lack of cameras IS.
 
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Get the Air and try it for your 14 days. I have both the 17 pro max and an Air. I'm not going to keep both. The Air feels great in the hand, and its way nicer because of its design than I expected. I need to take the 14 days to decide if the battery is good enough and I can live with the camera.

I haven't decided yet. My 17 pro Max has one of the green tinted LG screens that looks like crap, but thats another issue.....

I really like the Air, and have liked the smaller phone so I may end up in a 17 pro, and skip the max. The 17pro got a massive battery boost this year.

There is zero chance a folding iphone will be in 2026.
 
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klasma said:
You could compromise and get the regular 17. Significantly lighter than the Pro, a bit thinner as well, and you still get two cameras, while saving a bunch of money.
Click to expand...
A lot of people are saying thats the best buy this year on the new iPhones.
 
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techspin said:
The pro has the most versatile cameras, so stick with that if you want the best shots and content. That being said, the Air is very nice to hold and look at. It’s a bit larger than the pro but easy to use one-handed. From my experience the battery lasts about as long as my 16 pro. The mono speaker sucks by any modern smartphone standards. I made an entire thread full of bipolar viewpoints on the pro vs air and need to decide on one by this weekend lol.
Click to expand...

ArchEtech said:
I need to take the 14 days to decide if the battery is good enough and I can live with the camera.
Click to expand...

TechRunner said:
If you also own a "real" camera, get the Air. If you don't, I would keep the Pro until they level up the camera(s) in the Air (assuming they ever do).
Click to expand...

This is the thing I am most hesitant about. 80% of my photos are on the main camera and from what I've seen, the Air performs very well on that sensor. 4% are telephoto, but I can live without those photos, nothing special. But another 16% are ultrawide and have been solid and meaningful photos. It's not that I couldn't have gotten creative and found a way to get more in the shot or could have settled some of the time and been fine with the outcome.

The more I think about it, I feel that the weight makes up for the screen size as I could more easily manipulate it in one hand without dropping like the PMs I've had.
 
mathiasinthe314 said:
I bought the 17 Pro after having the Pro Max every year since the 12. I wanted a more one hand friendly device in weight and size. I have enjoyed it so far, but my mind keeps going back to the Air. It is so beautiful. I held one briefly in store and it was enjoyable, but I was hesitant to change my decision and continued with picking up the Pro. I've had it for a week, but I still find myself thinking about the Air, I have even dreamt about it three times since pre-order (no lie).

The speaker, the battery, the potential heat issues are not a concern for me. It really comes down to no ultrawide and wondering if it's just a hair too big for one hand. But, do those things really matter? Am I going to continue to have FOMO until next September when I upgrade again?

What to do, what to do. My wife says it's just FOMO and to just settle in with the Pro. Especially since I am the family's designated photographer when we have events or go on trips. Maybe I just skip the Air this year and hope the next version has an ultrawide or upgraded camera system.
Click to expand...
Look at the metadata for the past few months of your photos and see how much you’re actually using the ultrawide and telephoto. I found I was using the main Fusion camera 95+% of the time, so went with the Air. I’ve been very happy with the switch after many years of lugging around a Pro Max.

EDIT: I see you just posted your usage numbers above.
 
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ProbablyDylan said:
The way I see it is that, from the Apple store, it's effectively free to test drive for 14 days. Assuming there's no trade-in.
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I am on iUP - so trade-in kind of, but not really. Regardless I am getting a new iPhone and they already have my old one.

My only worry is that if I get the Air and don't like it, that my 17 Pro in Cosmic Orange will be sold out and I'll be stuck. I do like the pro, but I am curious if I would LOVE the Air. I just don't want to be wrong and get stuck. I wish I could afford two devices, problem solved.
 
jsmith1 said:
Just bite the bullet and trade it ……a year is a long time to go without such a beautiful phone in your pocket
Click to expand...
I agree. I love my iPhone Air. It’s a dream. I don’t really care about the cameras and the battery life or beyond acceptable. I would want the battery to travel with it. But if not traveling, it’s amazing.
 
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mathiasinthe314 said:
I am on iUP - so trade-in kind of, but not really. Regardless I am getting a new iPhone and they already have my old one.

My only worry is that if I get the Air and don't like it, that my 17 Pro in Cosmic Orange will be sold out and I'll be stuck. I do like the pro, but I am curious if I would LOVE the Air. I just don't want to be wrong and get stuck. I wish I could afford two devices, problem solved.
Click to expand...
They keep getting restocks every day.
 
klasma said:
You could compromise and get the regular 17. Significantly lighter than the Pro, a bit thinner as well, and you still get two cameras, while saving a bunch of money.

www.phonearena.com

iPhone 17 vs iPhone 17 Pro: The base iPhone suddenly makes a lot more sense

A 120Hz screen, new cameras, more storage, same price: the iPhone 17 sounds almost too good to be true.
www.phonearena.com www.phonearena.com
Click to expand...
The better phone this year is the regular model. But if you're after emotion, it will only get you so far.
 
This years must have model, is the air imo. I’ve been a pro user since the 13 pro too.
 
mathiasinthe314 said:
I bought the 17 Pro after having the Pro Max every year since the 12. I wanted a more one hand friendly device in weight and size. I have enjoyed it so far, but my mind keeps going back to the Air. It is so beautiful. I held one briefly in store and it was enjoyable, but I was hesitant to change my decision and continued with picking up the Pro. I've had it for a week, but I still find myself thinking about the Air, I have even dreamt about it three times since pre-order (no lie).

The speaker, the battery, the potential heat issues are not a concern for me. It really comes down to no ultrawide and wondering if it's just a hair too big for one hand. But, do those things really matter? Am I going to continue to have FOMO until next September when I upgrade again?

What to do, what to do. My wife says it's just FOMO and to just settle in with the Pro. Especially since I am the family's designated photographer when we have events or go on trips. Maybe I just skip the Air this year and hope the next version has an ultrawide or upgraded camera system.
Click to expand...
I’ve had the Air for a week. Haven’t had heat issues even while charging the phone in the car and 2 hotspots for iPads. I use AirPods all the time to watch movies and shows. One speaker is enough for the random YouTube videos.

I miss the wide and telephoto. The I ask myself when was the last time I used them? That answered that.

mmWave? I got 1200mpbs on my 5G the other day and mmWave ain’t even available to me.

Liddwe sensor? Used it once in 2024.

Battery is the same if not better then my 26 pro that has a 2 month old battery.

So the clear winner for me the Air.
 
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