iPhone Air From Air to 17PM to Air to 17 Pro..

[max2]

To me, it has nothing to do with Apple as I don’t really care for them as an organisation.

I am anti-returns at the beginning of a new phone cycle because it’s so difficult to get ahold of specific models. It took me almost a month to get my hands on a 17 Pro with the 17 PM still out of stock in my area.

If you return a unit, it is effectively out of circulation as it’ll either be earmarked as an AppleCare+ replacement or sold as an Apple Certified refurb 6 months later.

Your indecision is preventing genuine customers from getting the phones they want. That’s why I always do my research first. An informed decision can easily be made with 4-5 hours of research on YouTube along with asking questions on this forum.

I initially wanted the Air however quickly realised, through research, that it wouldn’t be a suitable device for me. I thereafter picked up a 17 Pro and have been delighted with it.

There will be the odd time you might want to return a phone due to certain intangibles however 99% of your questions are answered online allowing you to make an informed decision.

Don’t be lazy. Do research.

Do you think Apple should add a restocking fee ?

 

[peanutbutter47]

You’re projecting your own weird tribalism onto me here. I’m a grown-ass adult on the wrong side of 40 who sure as heck doesn’t tie up his identity with his phone.

However, I am a lifelong photographer and bothered that people understand so little about the cameras in their phones. Even reviewers make wrong claims and miss critical details all the time. Frustrating.

The Pro main camera has a well known deficiency in the close-up range. Not only does it not focus very closely, its image quality falls off a cliff near its minimum focus distance. There have been innumerable complaints about close-range corner blurriness since the current Pro lens arrived with the 14 Pro.

As for using the ultrawide for macro – a crude hack at best – that’s far from the quality of the closer-focusing 17’s main camera or the Air’s identical sole camera (which have much bigger sensors and faster lenses).

So in that focusing distance range below the Pro’s main camera min distance but above the Air’s min distance, the Air (and regular 17) have much better image quality than the Pro. This happens to be typical document-scanning distance.

Because the quality delta is so large, the Air continues to beat the Pro’s ultrawide macro even when you have to heavily crop the Air image (to fill the frame with a small document). I hope to test how far this holds true in practice soon.

At some extremely high reproduction ratio, eventually even the compromised ultrawide macro beats the Air by dint of pixels per document, but it takes a surprisingly long time before it beats a heavy crop from the Air’s much larger sensor and faster lens. Especially in dimmer light than direct sunlight. Plus, the Air’s working distance is greater, and that means you’re less likely to block light or cast a hard shadow on the document you’re trying to photograph.


It’s misleading to suggest the Pro does better for document scanning for all the reasons I’ve described. If something isn’t clear I can try to explain it differently.

The Pro does have other camera advantages, obviously.

Maybe someone cares about getting good results for document scanning? If they do, they shouldn’t get a Pro. However, they might have to learn to use the Air camera properly, if it somehow doesn’t occur to them that the photo would need to be in focus. The Air focuses down to about 5 inches. So don’t take the picture at 3 inches. Duh. Crop if you need to.


Grow up.

This is not projecting. Go on the Air subreddit and it's all people do. Find the speaker weak? Get your hearing checked. The battery isn't a performer? Use your phone less. The camera isn't very good? Learn to be a better photographer.

I've been taking pictures for decades and I am not here to debate you on the physics of the lenses and the ability of the sensors, but the Air does not take good upclose shots. Please show me this crop of an Air picture side by side. The pro takes phenomenal up close shots and scans documents very quickly. The Air is hard to focus and lacks Lidar.

 

[Andeddu]

Do you think Apple should add a restocking fee ?

I think they should limit 14 day returns to one per customer.

After that a restocking free should be incurred after the packaging has been opened.

I have purchased 6 iPhones over the years and have never made the wrong decision because I always research before I buy.

 

[max2]

I think they should limit 14 day returns to one per customer.

After that a restocking free should be incurred after the packaging has been opened.

That even better in my opinion.

 

[Andeddu]

That even better in my opinion.

Most people aren’t going to return their iPhones so we are only talking about a very small percentage.

There are some weird eccentrics on this forum who have been banned from purchasing in person as they’ve made 5+ returns because they’re looking for a specific OLED panel.

These people require medical assistance and should speak with a shrink.

 

[max2]

So is this the final answer or will be another iPhone added to the refurbished pile?

Battery life and weight are published specs. Any Apple Store, Best Buy or carrier has the models available to play with before you buy. You can see the colors too and decide before you buy.

There are innumerable sites and videos reviewing new iPhones.

The way you can avoid whatever ache you have transferring data is to do research before you make a purchase. Zero sympathy.

Also in person, know obvious, but as in you can try all latest iPhones fully in store. Not sure if it matters for how long like if there a limit.

 

[Spinarelo]

Why are you using your personal device to scan people's drivers licenses? Sounds like a huge privacy issue..... Shouldn't your work provide a device for this? Unless it's your own business I guess

 

[max2]

Why are you using your personal device to scan people's drivers licenses? Sounds like a huge privacy issue..... Shouldn't your work provide a device for this? Unless it's your own business I guess

I saw someone doing that to license plates the other day.

 

[Moreplease]

This is not projecting. Go on the Air subreddit and it's all people do. Find the speaker weak? Get your hearing checked.

I have better things to do than dig up iPhone Air subreddits but don’t doubt people are weirdly partisan about their devices. Especially kids who think this stuff is important.

On the other hand, it’s legit to not care about stuff that doesn’t matter to you. I could not care less about speakers. I laughed when Apple added a second speaker (with different characteristics, pointing in a different direction, LOL) to the tiny iPhone years ago and called it stereo. Stereo historically meant a specific soundstage that is not achievable with a phone at typical listening distance. (Not to mention a vertical phone.) The whole concept is wishful thinking.

And who cares about sound volume in a phone speaker? I can think of anti-social @ssholes in public. (So maybe Apple is doing us a favour with the Air’s bad speaker.) Anyone else?

I've been taking pictures for decades and I am not here to debate you on the physics of the lenses and the ability of the sensors, but the Air does not take good upclose shots.

For arguably the most-common types of close-ups – typical document-scanning sizes – the Air does better than the Pro.

Please show me this crop of an Air picture side by side.

I will. However, I have an Air but no Pro. I need to wait for my wife to get home from a business trip before I can do the comparison.

The pro takes phenomenal up close shots and scans documents very quickly. The Air is hard to focus and lacks Lidar.

I don’t know what you mean about the Air being hard to focus. It focuses rapidly and reliably. Lidar isn’t needed or useful for focusing on a static document. Of course the Air can’t focus closer than about 5 inches. So don’t do that. Is this hard for people or something? You can see in the live-view image whether it’s achieving focus, so this doesn’t have to be guesswork.

Here’s Becca Farsace on the Pro’s poor minimum focus distance, for readers who need a better authority than me on this:

 

[GDF]

N/m

 

[Andeddu]

And who cares about sound volume in a phone speaker? I can think of anti-social @ssholes in public. (So maybe Apple is doing us a favour with the Air’s bad speaker.) Anyone else?

Ehh, I like watching media on my iPhones.

I have all the streaming services and use the apps daily. I also play AAA console games on my 17 Pro which does benefit from stereo surround sound.

I’m am not one of those obnoxious individuals who walks around with their phone on loud speaker whilst in conversation either.

 

[nepalisherpa]

This is not projecting. Go on the Air subreddit and it's all people do. Find the speaker weak? Get your hearing checked. The battery isn't a performer? Use your phone less. The camera isn't very good? Learn to be a better photographer.

I've been taking pictures for decades and I am not here to debate you on the physics of the lenses and the ability of the sensors, but the Air does not take good upclose shots. Please show me this crop of an Air picture side by side. The pro takes phenomenal up close shots and scans documents very quickly. The Air is hard to focus and lacks Lidar.

It is not any different than the other side. If someone posts about 17 Pro/ProMax chipping then they are told to be careful or use a case. If someone posts about 17 Pro/ProMax heating then they are told that it's iOS 26. If someone posts about weaker signal then they are told that these phones have the best modem. That shouldn't be an issue. If someone says anything about aluminum being lower quality then they are told that it's actually better because it helps with heat management (very well knowing that the user would rather prefer Titanium build). It's the same both ways. People defend the product they use.

 

[NVDA]

I gonna do 10 returns out of spite.

Go ahead, then you wonder why companies change their return policies for the worse because of people who exploit it like yourself.

 

[danpass]

Then you have ones like me who use the telephoto for close-up shots.

-

 

[mihighil]

Go ahead, then you wonder why companies change their return policies for the worse because of people who exploit it like yourself.

I dont give a damn, companies are not my friends and neither are yours.

 

[Shanghaichica]

It wouldn’t be an iPhone launch without a million I’m returning my iPhone threads 😂

 

[Innovati0n]

Honestly, for everyday use the Air is more than enough, but if you’re really into photography or video, the Pro makes a noticeable difference. It’s all about what matters most to you—speed, camera features, or just having a solid, reliable device for basic tasks.

Absolutely!

The problem lies in Air owners claiming it is just as good as the Pro when it isn't

 

[jntdroid]

I just posted this elsewhere, but one section in this vid seems relevant to this thread (if the timestamp doesn't work, it's the whole section starting around 8:09 where he talks about macro, but also minimum focus distance on the Air and Pro). Essentially, the Air will do better for "medium" close-up shots using the standard lens which is higher quality; but if you're wanting to get really close, the Pro/17 will do better b/c of the ultra-wide lens' ability to actually focus at that tiny distance.

 

[Pufster]

Go ahead, then you wonder why companies change their return policies for the worse because of people who exploit it like yourself.

The 0,1% of buyers who return their iPhone multiple times will have zero impact on company return policy.
They offer this and customers are free to use that.

 

[NVDA]

I dont give a damn, companies are not my friends and neither are yours.

That's cool, these companies helped me reach financial independence by my 30s so I guess they're my friends!

 

[mihighil]

That's cool, these companies helped me reach financial independence by my 30s so I guess they're my friends!

I guess we agree to disagree on the meaning on the word “friend” 🙂

 

[kp98077]

I still cant decide between the 17 Pro or PM!

 

[shady16]

i had both the pro max and air and i couldn't tell any difference between the pictures from any distance that didn't need a lot of zoom. not everyone pixel peeps on photos some just take a photo and as long as it looks good enough thats all they care about

 

[Spinarelo]

To me, it has nothing to do with Apple as I don’t really care for them as an organisation.

I am anti-returns at the beginning of a new phone cycle because it’s so difficult to get ahold of specific models. It took me almost a month to get my hands on a 17 Pro with the 17 PM still out of stock in my area.

If you return a unit, it is effectively out of circulation as it’ll either be earmarked as an AppleCare+ replacement or sold as an Apple Certified refurb 6 months later.

Your indecision is preventing genuine customers from getting the phones they want. That’s why I always do my research first. An informed decision can easily be made with 4-5 hours of research on YouTube along with asking questions on this forum.

I initially wanted the Air however quickly realised, through research, that it wouldn’t be a suitable device for me. I thereafter picked up a 17 Pro and have been delighted with it.

There will be the odd time you might want to return a phone due to certain intangibles however 99% of your questions are answered online allowing you to make an informed decision.

Don’t be lazy. Do research.

Alot of folks here won't take the time to do the research or even go to the Apple store to play with the device...Because they want it right away on release day.... Just look at one of the "waiting for delivery" threads.... It's a bunch of adults crying and whining like kids waiting for a toy.

 

[crouch]

I still cant decide between the 17 Pro or PM!

Same!

I was just able to snag a 17 Pro Max from a local store, which will be delivered tonight. Super-excited for my 14-day trial window!

I’ve been reading in-depth about the 17 series for months now, and have played around with them in a store, but there’s no way that would ever replace actual real-world usage. Thankfully Apple recognizes that, which is one of the reasons they’re so successful 💪

Excited!