The classic Apple compromise. Always leaving the door open to get you to upgrade because your current device will never check all the boxes. Same reason why they didn't release a black Pro model this year I bet.
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iPhone Air iPhone Air First Impressions Mega-Thread [MERGED]
- Thread starter Geert76
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The classic Apple compromise. Always leaving the door open to get you to upgrade because your current device will never check all the boxes. Same reason why they didn't release a black Pro model this year I bet.
After spending some time with the Air, I feel like the speaker issues are slightly overblown. The mono speaker is definitely not as good as the stereo pair on my wife's 17 Pro. But for what I use a phone speaker for (the occasional YT video at home, IG reels, etc.), it'll more than suffice. I'd LOVE the stereo sound for sure, but your ear quickly adapts to the sound, even when watching in landscape mode.
The camera is my biggest issue. It'll be fine for most scenarios in my life. But I know at some point I'll encounter a situation where I wish I had ultra wide. And it feels kinda dumb to have to go back to physically adjusting yourself to get that wide shot. But the bulk of my pics are of my cat, car, sneakers and family--hardly material that requires what the Pro models offer. Again, I'd LOVE those features and I wouldn't say no to them. But I'm not sure if not having them is a dealbreaker. After all, how many times do I take an ultra wide shot? Not nearly as much as I lug my phone around all day.
Battery life should be fine for me. I'm never too far from a charger at home or in the car, so that isn't a concern of mine. For an upcoming long travel day to Hawaii I'll just buy the MagSafe battery and call it a day. Every other trip there I've had to charge on the plane with my Pro Max models, so there isn't much difference there to me.
I'm still on the fence between the Air and the 17 PM I have yet to pickup. But if I'm being honest, the battle is with what I think I might miss. The reality is that the Air could easily be lived with, compromises and all. The question is do I want to compromise or not.
The camera is my biggest issue. It'll be fine for most scenarios in my life. But I know at some point I'll encounter a situation where I wish I had ultra wide. And it feels kinda dumb to have to go back to physically adjusting yourself to get that wide shot. But the bulk of my pics are of my cat, car, sneakers and family--hardly material that requires what the Pro models offer. Again, I'd LOVE those features and I wouldn't say no to them. But I'm not sure if not having them is a dealbreaker. After all, how many times do I take an ultra wide shot? Not nearly as much as I lug my phone around all day.
Battery life should be fine for me. I'm never too far from a charger at home or in the car, so that isn't a concern of mine. For an upcoming long travel day to Hawaii I'll just buy the MagSafe battery and call it a day. Every other trip there I've had to charge on the plane with my Pro Max models, so there isn't much difference there to me.
I'm still on the fence between the Air and the 17 PM I have yet to pickup. But if I'm being honest, the battle is with what I think I might miss. The reality is that the Air could easily be lived with, compromises and all. The question is do I want to compromise or not.
how is cell reception w/Air compared to 17 pro X80 modem. Anyone get both devices?
How are close up shots on the Air? Can you get closer without it being blurry compared to the 17 Pro without switching it to macro/ultrawide? One of my dislikes with the Pro's are that if I wanted to take a picture of my coffee cup here on my desk in front of me, for example, I have to either back up and zoom with the main lens, or switch to ultrawide and completely changes the focal length/blur. (see my full post here)
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I was at the Apple Store and I don’t think you could get any fine woven cases for the air? The only ones are the bumpers and the clear plastic. These look kind of hideous to me. It’d be nice to have something nicer like the fine woven or even silicone.
I got both the air and pro. Will probably keep the pro but wanted to try the air since to me it’s the most interesting device this year
It really does feel expensive and remarkable to hold and use. Feels like you’re just holding a screen
Battery life using it for a day has been perfectly fine too. But I think I would miss the cameras of the pros and don’t find the smaller pro to be difficult to handle
It really does feel expensive and remarkable to hold and use. Feels like you’re just holding a screen
Battery life using it for a day has been perfectly fine too. But I think I would miss the cameras of the pros and don’t find the smaller pro to be difficult to handle
I was not planning on gettin a new phone this year (currently using Pro 16 black). After seeing in person decided to give it a try. All my phones starting with iPhone 4 have been space gray or black, with Air I went with the blue color (which is pretty much white). The reason - all black demo units in two stores that I visited had scratches.
So far I’m liking the phone. At this point me iPhone 16 Pro feels like a brick.
So far I’m liking the phone. At this point me iPhone 16 Pro feels like a brick.
I'm not a heavy phone user but have probably used it a tad more in the last 24 hours over my old PM, but with a bit of browsing, a bit of torch, a bit of reading RSS feeds, a couple of piccys, bit of listening to audio and watching YouTube videos (testing speaker etc) and listening to podcasts to go to sleep (with AirPods) the battery went from 80% to 50% in the 24 hours (I charged it to 80% a couple of hours after setup had finished etc) ... no complaints 
(though it's taking some adjustments to use 1 handed, it's not as planted in my hand as the PM due to the lack of weight)
(though it's taking some adjustments to use 1 handed, it's not as planted in my hand as the PM due to the lack of weight)
Went to dinner and decided to stop in to check out the Air, the speakers at max volume sounded terrible. Worst than the speakers on my IPP13. Sure an Apple store is not the best listening experience, and people were speaking in the background but the sound coming out of the Air is not crisp nor bassy. Kinda disappointing however I really hope this line does well because it's one of the more interesting devices Apple released in some time.
The large screen feels a lot more manageable than before. I think the reduced circumference of the phone allows for more hand wrap.
I’m smitten with this thing. The compromises are there and real, but none of them impact me much, so I’m free to enjoy the significant improvements.
I’m smitten with this thing. The compromises are there and real, but none of them impact me much, so I’m free to enjoy the significant improvements.
I did. Looked at the units in Dubai airport duty free and then in Apple Store singapore. In both cases black units had scratches. All the way the the metal frame. This was my reason for the first one even to go with a color different from black
how about reading wise did you see a difference between the two i am in the same spot! I certainly like the case selction much more for the pro
This morning I was pretty sure I’d buy an Air this weekend. Then I spent more time on my 16 Pro camera and macro in particular, and it really reminded me how insanely good it is. I don’t use it a lot but it’s very nice to be able to.
I’ll still see the Air tomorrow and I might buy it, but my logical mind is telling me that I am certain next year’s Air will have the wide lens, and maybe dual speakers. And I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the people today adamant that these things are seldom used, they’ll upgrade next year and praise the improvement.
My concern with getting an Air now is that the novelty of the form factor might wear off after a month, at which point I regret losing the functionality from my Pro.
I’ll still see the Air tomorrow and I might buy it, but my logical mind is telling me that I am certain next year’s Air will have the wide lens, and maybe dual speakers. And I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the people today adamant that these things are seldom used, they’ll upgrade next year and praise the improvement.
My concern with getting an Air now is that the novelty of the form factor might wear off after a month, at which point I regret losing the functionality from my Pro.
A prime lens can be a good way to encourage creative composition.
there is no guarantee that the air will refresh next year, if at all. thats why they didn't call it the iphone 17 air
For me…the best phone i owned since a long time…..i changed every decade since release of the first one
yeah good points! The air does feel super thin, i was jsut suprised the air didnt feel that much bigger at all to justify a alarger screen.
I wondered that too, and am curious if it’s a move to bring parity with the other lines.
Everything is now OS26, and the MacBooks have Air and Pro but not a number, and it’s the same for iPads.
The iPhone is the odd one out in having numbers. So maybe we’ll soon just have iPhone Air and iPhone Pro, not iPhone 18 Pro.
I don’t think Apple put all that engineering resources into the Air only for it to be a one-year offering unless it’s a major flop. I’m no mystic, but I would bet the Air stays in the lineup and perhaps replaces the base iPhone (especially if they release a Fold).
Stranger things have happened but I’d bet £50 (to one person, I don’t want bankruptcy) that the Air gets a hardware upgrade next year. It simply doesn’t make sense for them to make it the big focal point this year and generate all those buzz about what an achievement it is, just to kill it off a year later while keeping the heavier and thicker models.
I’m so torn right now, and I know seeing it in person will make it even tougher. The speakers don’t bother me at all, but the camera does. On the other hand, I do find my 16 Pro bulky in my pocket and realistically we are holding or carrying our phones all day every day, so the biggest “quality of life” improvement will come from the phone being thinner and lighter. That said, I’m surprised at how tall it is, and having downsized from the 14 Pro Max to the 16 Pro, and preferring it, I might dislike the height of the Air.
Didn't really answer my question, but thanks I guess
Yikes, so they're scaling the Air display the same as the smaller Pro? Kind of defeats the purpose of the larger display. Are you sure the text size settings were the same on both?
No ProRAW options in photo or video.
No wide angle lens.
I knew about the wide angle missing but I did buy an Air now, as a second phone.
I like it overall. I’m trying it out for the next week or so. If I can live with the above then I’ll keep it and transfer my number over.
Even after trying, and liking it, I’ll still be 50/50 about keeping my 16Pro lol. The 16 Pro has a good camera.
FYI, the original Apple MagSafe battery pack fits fine and seems to, slowly, charge the Air.
“Just get the 17 Pro max then!”
I know, I know …. both of those 17 Pro models are chunkers though.
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No wide angle lens.
I knew about the wide angle missing but I did buy an Air now, as a second phone.
I like it overall. I’m trying it out for the next week or so. If I can live with the above then I’ll keep it and transfer my number over.
Even after trying, and liking it, I’ll still be 50/50 about keeping my 16Pro lol. The 16 Pro has a good camera.
FYI, the original Apple MagSafe battery pack fits fine and seems to, slowly, charge the Air.
“Just get the 17 Pro max then!”
I know, I know …. both of those 17 Pro models are chunkers though.
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