Exactly! I realised my love for the 12 Mini wasn’t the size but the weight. As a trail runner I find the weight of the phone makes a big difference to how it works with my running belts and vests. So I’m into the idea of a light phone and since I charge it every night that’s all the batt life I need. I’m not addicted to social media and my screen time is often sub 1 hour
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iPhone 17 Air's Limited Battery Capacity Leaked
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Wait, what so Apple predict about 40% of users won't get a full day out of this without having to recharge?
What kind of ridiculousness is this.
Or if they're really sitting in a place where the phone can charge up much of the day, why on earth would they need something specifically so thin and portable?
It seems to be just another niche product produced as Apple flail around desperately trying to outdo other companies on paper, while failing to actually innovate.
(FFS even the 'obsolete' mini 13 is lighter, better featured, runs the latest iOS, and lasts all day without charging).
What kind of ridiculousness is this.
Or if they're really sitting in a place where the phone can charge up much of the day, why on earth would they need something specifically so thin and portable?
It seems to be just another niche product produced as Apple flail around desperately trying to outdo other companies on paper, while failing to actually innovate.
(FFS even the 'obsolete' mini 13 is lighter, better featured, runs the latest iOS, and lasts all day without charging).
And Apple's C1 modem (moving from Qualcomm's chip previously used). With both chips consuming less power, and therefore providing excellent battery life from a smaller battery that the 17 Air will use. It seems many don't (or don't want to) understand that.
The leak does say “should achieve a full day” so I think it’s reasonable that people are concerned. Even with the A19 and C1 I can’t see it making 36 hours let alone the 48 I can get out of my 16 Pro.
It’s not a low goal. A full day’s battery life is the only goal that matters for 99.9% of the people with a smart phone. There isn’t a benefit to multi day battery life that would be worth the tradeoffs.
More than a full day is the goal so that there is no anxiety about making it through the day without charging. Most people don’t want to be thinking “can I do x at 5pm when I might need to order an uber at midnight “
Yeah, if it would scale down by just battery size the Air would get 60% of the battery life from my 16 PM but with a smaller screen, more efficient chips, modems and maybe some other efficiency gains getting that to 70% isn’t completely unrealistic.
And the times I’ve been close to killing my phones are very few and involves me not charging the phone for 24+ hours before I set out on a extra heavy day away from all sorts of charging. So with the Air I would just have to make sure to charge it overnight or while I’m taking a shower in the morning.
I'm expecting more (due to A19 process improvements and one less GPU core, and C1 modem using less power while providing more functions), and roughly the same as my 16PM. I need to charge it everyday. I expect the 17 Air I'll probably be getting (assuming credible reviewers like it and after playing with one at the local Apple Store) will be about the same.
No need for typical "the sky is falling, Apple is doomed" that many resort to.
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Maybe, personally I think it using 15% less energy usage in real world scenarios is around what is hopeful but reasonable to expect. For it to match the 16 PM in battery life it would have to use 40% less energy than the 16 PM which to me sounds like a bit of a stretch.
I don’t think it using 15% less energy would make it bad though since it would get it decently close to the iPhone 16.
Perhaps you didn't read the full article:
"In internal testing, Apple determined that the percentage of users who will be able to use the iPhone 17 Air for a full day without needing to recharge the device throughout the day will be between 60% and 70%, according to that report."
It's been reported here that Apple's C1 modem chip uses 25% less energy than Qualcomm's modem chip (while providing more functionality - GPS and satellite communications).
I wouldn't be shocked if Apple's new A19 chip (in a more recent semiconductor process and with one less GPU core) along with above C1 expectations helps push total energy used downwards so that I can expect similar all day battery life to my 16 PM. Of course that depends upon the ratio of C1 to A19 energy usage contribution. In other words, has Qualcomm modem energy usage been a big driver in total energy usage.
so useless.. you keep selling a lot of failing products, you might as well give us the iPhone Mini back at least somebody loves those
By the way, the timing of the iPhone 17 Air with its 2,800 mAh battery couldn't be worse. Especially now with Chinese authorities banning on airplanes and trains any power bank that doesn't have the China Compulsory Certificate (CCC) mark and the fact many airlines around the world bans their use charging phones on airplanes.
Almost all (American) domestic and international flights that I have taken have had power and usb outlets. Don’t know how it’s in other countries
Before condemning the iPhone 17 Air, why not wait until credible reviewers have actually tested and characterized the phone?
You may not know that battery capacity alone does not tell the whole story. And that Apple's more efficient C1 modem chip and A19 chip manufactured in the latest semiconductor process reduces energy requirements.
if it just has enough battery to get it through the day, when it's a new phone out of the box; then it's going to be a doa product.
Remember that people are going to use these things for years, and it's not unusual to see 2 year old devices with 90% or less battery capacity; which means that's not going to make it throughout the day, iOS27 & iOS28 are only going to be more feature packed and heavier which'll just drain it more.
Remember that people are going to use these things for years, and it's not unusual to see 2 year old devices with 90% or less battery capacity; which means that's not going to make it throughout the day, iOS27 & iOS28 are only going to be more feature packed and heavier which'll just drain it more.
I'll sacrifice battery life for size 9 times out of 10. Poor battery life is a myth...you all are just addicted
Why not wait until it's released and credible reviewers have a chance to test it? Seems so many want it to fail in order to be happy.
You know, I think the interesting part is how good will it be initially.
Some aspects I think matter:
-A 2800 mAh battery isn’t necessarily too small. My iPhone Xʀ on iOS 12 (2,942 mAh) gives me 16 hours of light SOT. About 12 hours of outdoors, settings-efficient LTE use.
For reference to current iPhone users, my 16 Plus gives me about 27 hours of
light Wi-Fi SOT and 17-20 hours of cellular, outdoors, settings-efficient use.
Can a 17 Air match the Xʀ with its processor efficiency vs the higher efficiency of iOS 12? Can it give 16 hours of light SOT? I don’t think so:
A 6th-gen iPad (8,827 mAh) gave me 14 hours of SOT on iOS 12 with an A10 vs the same 14 hours of my 9.7-inch iPad Pro (7,306 mAh)… on iOS 9. It gets about 10.5 hours on iOS 12.
How much better does an A19 Processor needs to be vs an A12 to overcome the difference in iOS 26’s inefficiency and heavier requirements? TBD.
-The VAST majority of users are ridiculously inefficient. Heavy, battery-draining apps with high brightness and all settings enabled. That kills battery life. My 2,942 mAh iPhone Xʀ lasts three full days, and to give an example, this was an actual full cycle: 12h 51 min of SOT with 27% remaining over three full days (say, unplugged with 100% Jan 1 at 09:00 and recharged Jan 3 at 22:00).
Users can probably kill an iPhone Xʀ on iOS 12 in under 10 hours with current usage patterns, most likely even less.
If the combo of the A19 + iOS 26’s inefficiency is significantly worse than the A12 + iOS 12 with similar battery size, this coupled with users’ heavy, inefficient usage, we’re in for many complaints. I’d expect something a little better than the 13 Mini on iOS 15 (2,406 mAh). That one, according to what I’ve seen, gave about 6-7 hours of SOT with moderate usage. Heavy users could probably kill it in 4 hours. So maybe iPhone XS on iOS 12-like? 8-9 hours of moderate? Shouldn’t be too poor for light to moderate users.
It has no longevity vs current models, though. Forget about it withstanding many iOS updates with good battery life.
Some aspects I think matter:
-A 2800 mAh battery isn’t necessarily too small. My iPhone Xʀ on iOS 12 (2,942 mAh) gives me 16 hours of light SOT. About 12 hours of outdoors, settings-efficient LTE use.
For reference to current iPhone users, my 16 Plus gives me about 27 hours of
light Wi-Fi SOT and 17-20 hours of cellular, outdoors, settings-efficient use.
Can a 17 Air match the Xʀ with its processor efficiency vs the higher efficiency of iOS 12? Can it give 16 hours of light SOT? I don’t think so:
A 6th-gen iPad (8,827 mAh) gave me 14 hours of SOT on iOS 12 with an A10 vs the same 14 hours of my 9.7-inch iPad Pro (7,306 mAh)… on iOS 9. It gets about 10.5 hours on iOS 12.
How much better does an A19 Processor needs to be vs an A12 to overcome the difference in iOS 26’s inefficiency and heavier requirements? TBD.
-The VAST majority of users are ridiculously inefficient. Heavy, battery-draining apps with high brightness and all settings enabled. That kills battery life. My 2,942 mAh iPhone Xʀ lasts three full days, and to give an example, this was an actual full cycle: 12h 51 min of SOT with 27% remaining over three full days (say, unplugged with 100% Jan 1 at 09:00 and recharged Jan 3 at 22:00).
Users can probably kill an iPhone Xʀ on iOS 12 in under 10 hours with current usage patterns, most likely even less.
If the combo of the A19 + iOS 26’s inefficiency is significantly worse than the A12 + iOS 12 with similar battery size, this coupled with users’ heavy, inefficient usage, we’re in for many complaints. I’d expect something a little better than the 13 Mini on iOS 15 (2,406 mAh). That one, according to what I’ve seen, gave about 6-7 hours of SOT with moderate usage. Heavy users could probably kill it in 4 hours. So maybe iPhone XS on iOS 12-like? 8-9 hours of moderate? Shouldn’t be too poor for light to moderate users.
It has no longevity vs current models, though. Forget about it withstanding many iOS updates with good battery life.