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I dunno man, I'm pretty techy and I've never upgraded a phone because of an upgraded processor, it's mostly physical camera improvements.

Though I would like a smaller Pro phone, a slim doesn't do much for my non-large hands.
 
Eh the fact that the battery life is rumored to be trash makes this point moot. Why get this over the non-pro normal version? It will be cheaper, have better battery life, and non-power users wouldn't notice the slight decrease in performance anyway. This phone makes 0 sense (except that Apple is running out of ideas so this is what they are rolling with).
Despite the seasonal hype, I seldom notice increased performance when upgrading. Yes, with my biannual iPhone Pro upgrade cycles, the fresh battery is obvious, and significant new features sometimes appear. But I don't waste time with games, and network signal/speed remains the greatest functional limitation in the wild. Even the latest-and-greatest display tech is only incremental. So probably like more users than will readily admit, I mostly upgrade for a new look, a new battery, and a scratch-free screen.
 
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Slightly worse than the other phones in the lineup does not mean "trash." iPhone battery life has gotten very good over the last few years, they have enough overhead to make a slimmed-down model that can still get most people through the day.

I see so many people saying this phone doesn't make sense. I don't know why this is so hard to understand: it's thinner and lighter. Those are real selling points to a lot of people!
Seeing as most throw it into a bulky case anyway, the "its thin and light (ish)" isn't the selling point you think it is. Also, iPhone battery life is far from "very good"
 
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Seeing as most throw it into a bulky case anyway, the "its thin and light (ish)" isn't the selling point you think it is. Also, iPhone battery life is far from "very good"
An iPhone 17 Air in a case will be thinner and lighter than an iPhone 16 in a case. That's how cases work. Weird argument.
 
And also have much worse battery. Not sure how it's that hard to comprehend.
That's got nothing to do with the case argument you were trying to make, but sure, we'll let that slide.

Yes, the battery life will be worse. To me, that's a fair tradeoff to make the phone thinner and lighter. I've got a 15 at less than 90% battery capacity that rarely goes below 50%. I can take the hit. There are presumably many others like me.
 
Gonna' need all that horsepower to keep up with transparency, "frosting" and drop shadows all over the place.

Suddenly older phones won't feel as fast as they did on iOS 18

hmmm
🤔

View attachment 2527347
The hardware acceleration needed for transparency has been in A series chips for well over a decade. This isn’t the era of Longhorn anymore.


As for the rumor, this makes a ton of sense. If A19 Pro is on a newer node (or node variant) you have far less waste if you have a product to put ones that don’t quite pass QC on all 6 GPU dies. That definitely helps in production costs by not having to simply scrap otherwise fine chips.
 
Interesting to hear about this. Don't think the lack of 'Pro' chip will be noticeable to many. Waiting to see how Apple will price this.
 
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Apple's rumored "iPhone 17 Air" will be equipped with an A19 Pro chip instead of an A19 chip, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. However, there may be one limitation.

iPhone-Air-A19-Pro-Feature.jpg

In a post this week, the leaker said the A19 Pro chip will have a 6-core GPU in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but only a 5-core GPU in the iPhone 17 Air. This means the iPhone 17 Air would have slightly slower graphics performance for gaming compared to the Pro models, but the average customer is unlikely to notice much of a difference.

In July 2024, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the iPhone 17 Air would be equipped with an A19 chip instead of an A19 Pro chip, so there are now conflicting rumors about the device's chip. Kuo has a good track record with Apple rumors, while Fixed Focus Digital appears to have been the first source to reveal the iPhone 16e name of the device that succeeded the iPhone SE, so it is hard to say who is right here.

As for the base model iPhone 17, Fixed Focus Digital expects that device to have an A19 chip, which is another claim that conflicts with a previous rumor. A few months ago, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the device would have an A18 chip.

Here is an overview of Fixed Focus Digital's chip expectations:
  • iPhone 17: A19 chip
  • iPhone 17 Air: A19 Pro chip (5-core GPU)
  • iPhone 17 Pro: A19 Pro chip (6-core GPU)
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: A19 Pro chip (6-core GPU)
Here were the previous expectations from Kuo and Pu:
  • iPhone 17: A18 chip
  • iPhone 17 Air: A19 chip
  • iPhone 17 Pro: A19 Pro chip
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: A19 Pro chip
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, so we will find out what the company's actual plans are in a few more months.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Air Now Said to Feature A19 Pro Chip With One Limitation
Glad they kept the 17 with the A19 chip, ’cause I’m switching to the 16 Pro this year but is it faster than the A18 Pro?
 
Exactly how much worse? You must have real data from a credible source.
It’s widely rumoured to have a 2800 Mh battery to power a 6.6” 120 hz Promotion display (static text will help battery life, scrolling etc will deplete it further).

The 13 Mini in comparison has a 2406 Mh battery powering a 5.4” 60 hz screen, which has average battery life, so it does not look very good right now for sure.

Some rumours also say the 17 Air will have a higher density battery and use “AI” to improve battery life.
 
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