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iPhone 14 Pro vs. Rumored iPhone 17 Air: Upgrade or Downgrade?

I just know this is going to be “thinnest iPhone ever.. but with the thickest camera bump ever (and highest thickness ratio between the chassis and camera bump)”.

😖

And I ain’t about slim and thin if it’s just going to scream for a huge cover to make the rear level.
 
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ApplesAreSweet&Sour said:
I just know this is going to be “thinnest iPhone ever.. but with the thickest camera bump ever (and highest thickness ratio between the chassis and camera bump)”.

😖

And I ain’t about slim and thin if it’s just going to scream for a huge cover to make the rear level.
Click to expand...

Makes a mockery of the design !
 
ApplesAreSweet&Sour said:
I just know this is going to be “thinnest iPhone ever.. but with the thickest camera bump ever (and highest thickness ratio between the chassis and camera bump)”.

😖

And I ain’t about slim and thin if it’s just going to scream for a huge cover to make the rear level.
Click to expand...
give it a wedgie
 
I'll probably buy it. For me it depends on the focal length of the rear camera. 35mm would be ideal for what I like to shoot and 48 megapixels is fine. I don't need anything else.
 
I’m ready to upgrade my deep purple 14 Pro too and right now I’m pretty confident that I’ll be upgrading to a 17 Pro. It’s rumored to get a redesign with the camera cluster, 12GB of RAM which will be beneficial for the next generation of AI, a new 48mp telescopic camera and I prefer the smaller size. Maybe it will come in teal too?
 
For me this would have a lot of appeal. I would very much like a thinner and lighter phone. I am ok with a single camera as long as it is really good.

However I am not willing to be a guinea pig for Apple’s 5G or WiFi chipsets.

Time will tell.
 
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I still don't understand what benefit a thinner design achieves. A two or three day battery would be life changing for almost anyone who bought it...thinner does nothing. I am so so so very confused by Apple's desire to make it thin and then market it as a technological breakthrough. If you make all the internal components so freakishly tiny, use that space for a freaking battery that powers the tiny components!!!!! Ugh!
 
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harmonthe3rd said:
If you have a Pro level iPhone why would you downgrade? If you're not getting the latest model, then why not get the previous year or two model? I don't see how you can compare two different trim models.
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GravyonAPlane said:
I still don't understand what benefit a thinner design achieves.
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A thinner iPhone would make it *much* easier to get it out of and back into my shirt pocket one-handed. That's huge for me... assuming battery life is somewhat comparable and the camera is decent (and is close to the focal length I want).

The word "Pro" (used for tiering models and price) does absolutely nothing for me.
 
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I don’t see it mentioned in article or comments yet, but AI should be able to software-upgrade the ability of the camera a bit on top of the high single camera resolution - tricks will be added. I think Apple Intelligence will start to shine in the next 12 months.
 
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MacRumors said:


After hanging on to my iPhone 14 Pro for a few years, I will likely upgrade to an iPhone 17 model this year. Typically, I only consider the Pro models, but the rumored iPhone 17 Air sounds intriguing. After reflecting on rumors, I have realized that upgrading to this device might not have as many compromises as I first thought.

iPhone-17-Air-Size-Feature.jpg

Of course, the iPhone 17 Air is not yet official. Apple should announce the device in September, and rumors could change between now and then. Below, I have compared the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 17 Air as things currently stand.

Display

The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to have a 6.6-inch OLED display, which would be considerably larger than the iPhone 14 Pro's 6.1-inch OLED display.

ProMotion, the feature that enables a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz for smoother video and scrolling, has been limited to the Pro models since it debuted on the iPhone 13 Pro models. However, the iPhone 17 Air is also rumored to support ProMotion, so going down to a non-Pro model would no longer require giving up 120Hz.

Like the iPhone 14 Pro, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to have Face ID and a Dynamic Island, so you would not have to settle for a notch again.

A bonus with the iPhone 17 Air: It should have significantly thinner bezels around the screen.

Thickness and Weight

The main selling point of the iPhone 17 Air should be its ultra-thin, aluminum design. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the device will measure just 5.5mm at its thinnest point, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever.

iPhone 14 Pro models are among Apple's heaviest iPhones, having not yet benefited from the newer titanium design with tapered edges introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro models. Users upgrading from an iPhone 14 Pro to an iPhone 17 Air should notice a remarkable improvement in thinness, lightness, and pocketability.

Battery Life

Okay, but that ultra-thin design means that battery life will take a considerable hit, right?

Not necessarily.

While exact battery life specs remain to be seen, remember that the iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display, which would make the device physically larger than the iPhone 14 Pro. That means more internal space for a larger battery, so the iPhone 17 Air's battery life might not be as bad as one might think.

Also keep in mind that the iPhone 14 Pro is a few years old now. Not only did Apple make power efficiency improvements on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, but even further advancements are likely with the iPhone 17 models.

Cameras

If photography is important to you, the iPhone 17 Air's rear camera system will likely be one of its biggest downsides. The device is rumored to be equipped with only a single 48-megapixel rear camera, with no dedicated Telephoto or Ultra Wide cameras.

That said, upgrading from an iPhone 14 Pro to an iPhone 17 Air might not be all that bad in this department. While it may lack a Telephoto camera, it will likely have Apple's so-called "Fusion" camera, which enables a 2x "optical-quality" Telephoto option. "Optical-quality" is not true optical zoom, but it is meaningfully better than blurry digital zoom.

There will undoubtedly still be a lot of advanced camera features that remain limited to the Pro models, but the iPhone 17 Air will likely be a perfectly fine choice for casual users who mostly take point-and-shoot photos.

One plus is that the iPhone 17 Air is rumored to have a 24-megapixel front camera, whereas the iPhone 14 Pro has a 12-megapixel front camera.

Apple Intelligence

Whether you think Apple Intelligence is useful or overhyped, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to support it, whereas the iPhone 14 Pro does not.

That means you will have access to tools that can help you to write, summarize your notifications, create custom emoji, automatically remove objects from the backgrounds of photos, and more. A variety of Siri enhancements are also coming in iOS 18.4, including on-screen awareness, understanding of personal context, and deeper per-app controls.

Other Specs

Beyond having a larger display and a thinner design, the iPhone 17 Air is rumored to have many other upgraded specs compared to the iPhone 14 Pro:

  • A19 chip (vs. A16 Bionic chip)
  • USB-C port (vs. Lightning port)
  • 8GB of RAM (vs. 6GB)
  • Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 (vs. Wi-Fi 6)
On the other hand, the iPhone 17 Air's single speaker would be a downgrade.

While this has yet to be rumored, the iPhone 17 Air is also likely to have an Action button, in place of the iPhone 14 Pro's Ring/Silent switch. It is less clear if the iPhone 17 Air will have a Camera Control button, but given that the feature is available on all four iPhone 16 models, it seems like there is a decent chance that it will.

One more thing to keep in mind is that the iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be eSIM-only, with no physical SIM card slot. If you purchased your iPhone 14 Pro in the U.S., this won't matter, as that model is already eSIM-only there. In other countries, it is a change to take into consideration, but note that the entire iPhone 17 lineup might be eSIM-only in more countries regardless. It is a change that you will have to face eventually.

Article Link: iPhone 14 Pro vs. Rumored iPhone 17 Air: Upgrade or Downgrade?
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IMO the OP query is silly, because if one is to fantasize replacing a 14P far in advance of 9/25 iPhone announcements [not an unreasonable exercise], why only consider the rumored new iPhone Air? It seems to me anyone considering upgrading from a 14P should consider all the 15s, all the 16s and all the fantasy 17s. Not just one of the likely 17s [unless one intends to stick with the Pro features].
 
H.E. Pennypacker said:
Apple intelligence is absolutely worthless. It’s gimmicky and underwhelming. IMHO I wouldn’t decide on which phone based on AI alone.
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IMO stating "Apple intelligence is absolutely worthless. It’s gimmicky and underwhelming" is exactly like saying "8 GB RAM is plenty." They are both statements about today and yesterday that almost assuredly will not be true in the future.

Expect AI to become a more and more important part of computing as time goes on. And do not be surprised if AI is like an iceberg, where the part you see is not what is most important.
 
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verdi1987 said:
That defeats the goal of it being the “Air” and differentiation among the other iPhone models.
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Nobody knows what differentiation of iPhone models is about. Not even Apple. It's got the whole old PowerPC Mac vibe to it from during the mid-90s.
 
Corefile said:
Nobody knows what differentiation of iPhone models is about. Not even Apple. It's got the whole old PowerPC Mac vibe to it from during the mid-90s.
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My guess is that yes, Apple has a very good idea "what differentiation of iPhone models is about." Apple could be wrong of course, but they most assuredly have a plan.
 
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citysnaps said:
A thinner iPhone would make it *much* easier to get it out of and back into my shirt pocket one-handed. That's huge for me... assuming battery life is somewhat comparable and the camera is decent (and is close to the focal length I want).

The word "Pro" (used for tiering models and price) does absolutely nothing for me.
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When you say "the word "Pro" (used for tiering models and price) does absolutely nothing..." your implication is that the Pro models are not more competent. You are wrong, but not everyone needs the heavier, more complex, more expensive, more competent Pro models.

Folks like you who keep their phones in a shirt pocket may really like the rumored new thin/light Air version.
 
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GravyonAPlane said:
I still don't understand what benefit a thinner design achieves. A two or three day battery would be life changing for almost anyone who bought it...thinner does nothing. I am so so so very confused by Apple's desire to make it thin and then market it as a technological breakthrough. If you make all the internal components so freakishly tiny, use that space for a freaking battery that powers the tiny components!!!!! Ugh!
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It’s unfortunate that there are large enough folks out there who don’t value 2-3 day battery life but want their iPhone as light as thin as possible. Coupled by limited battery tech breakthrough in terms of energy density, there’s always this tradeoff of battery life over weight.
 
Allen_Wentz said:
When you say "the word "Pro" (used for tiering models and price) does absolutely nothing..." your implication is that the Pro models are not more competent. You are wrong.
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That was not my implication at all, saying nothing about competency. It separates different models of the *same number* (for example: 14, 15, 16) by price, due to having more/better features.
 
Corefile said:
Make it thicker so increase battery size. I don't know why they don't grasp this easy upgrade.
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If you have more battery capacity you won’t upgrade as often. It’s a game.

iPhone upgrade cycle is the lifeblood of Apple. Nothing will change that. You will never get more than “all day performance.”
 
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Shirasaki said:
It’s unfortunate that there are large enough folks out there who don’t value 2-3 day battery life but want their iPhone as light as thin as possible. Coupled by limited battery tech breakthrough in terms of energy density, there’s always this tradeoff of battery life over weight.
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You are never getting 2-3 battery out of the box. Accept it.
 
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GravyonAPlane said:
I still don't understand what benefit a thinner design achieves. A two or three day battery would be life changing for almost anyone who bought it...thinner does nothing. I am so so so very confused by Apple's desire to make it thin and then market it as a technological breakthrough. If you make all the internal components so freakishly tiny, use that space for a freaking battery that powers the tiny components!!!!! Ugh!
Click to expand...
Your opinion is just that, your opinion. For me and obviously many others your statement "A two or three day battery would be life changing for almost anyone who bought it...thinner does nothing" is not true. Quite obviously a lot of buyers like thin and light.

I have the opposite opinion from yours. I charge the iPhone Pro on a Magsafe charger every night and in my Honda Ridgeline and always get a solid day of usage, no problem. I sleep and the phone charges nightly, so three days instead of one would mean nothing to me. So [for me and others like me] more battery is what does nothing. Although not super important to me, thinner/lighter is kinda nice.
 
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