iPhone Air iPhone Air First Impressions Mega-Thread [MERGED]

[Webcat86]

Has anyone tried any close-up photos with the Air yet? I’m curious how good it can be without the macro feature. I might try this in the store tomorrow.

 

[bill-p]

Has anyone tried any close-up photos with the Air yet? I’m curious how good it can be without the macro feature. I might try this in the store tomorrow.

This is the one feature I wish my iPhone Air had. Macro mode. I don't shoot with my phone a lot but sometimes I just need to take that close-up shot. Unfortunately, Air needs to be at least 3 inches or so away from the subject.

2 workarounds I've found:

1. Shoot in 48MP mode and crop. Not ideal but works in good lighting.

2. Use the 2x camera and that's basically equivalent to pre-cropping.

But real macro mode would still be a welcome addition. Maybe next year.

Edit: samples. One shot at 1x and the other with 2x mode. I'd imagine this should be close enough for most things. The final image is still 12MP.

 

[Astrohunter]

Camera question for Air owners - how close does the single lens focus? An annoyance when I got my 15 Pro is that the main lens cannot focus closer than ~1 foot and you have to switch to the ultra wide, which totally changes the picture/depth. I get that it's because of the larger sensor, but just curious if the Air can take closer photos because it doesn't have the ultrawide? I'm considering the Air but if it can't take close photos, that would be a show stopper. And on the flip side, if it can, I'd actually prefer that over the forced macro on the Pros.

Sensor has nothing to do with focus distance.

 

[Vaporbaked94]

I picked up my Air yesterday and even with a case on it still blows my mind how thin it is.

The mono speaker is a disappointment but an expected one that I can absolutely live with. The battery life is something I’m still keeping an eye on but signs strongly point to it being better than the base 16 I upgraded from.

I just plain don’t care about the camera, I’d been arguing the case with my friends for single camera phones to make a return anyways.

 

[Webcat86]

This is the one feature I wish my iPhone Air had. Macro mode. I don't shoot with my phone a lot but sometimes I just need to take that close-up shot. Unfortunately, Air needs to be at least 3 inches or so away from the subject.

2 workarounds I've found:

1. Shoot in 48MP mode and crop. Not ideal but works in good lighting.

2. Use the 2x camera and that's basically equivalent to pre-cropping.

But real macro mode would still be a welcome addition. Maybe next year.

Edit: samples. One shot at 1x and the other with 2x mode. I'd imagine this should be close enough for most things. The final image is still 12MP.

Thanks for attaching photos! I don’t use macro a lot, but I’m using it more and I use my phone to take photos for the items I sell as a side gig.

The attached are a couple of macros of my watch, one at 1x and the other at 2x. I’d love to find out how good the Air can be for product photography

 

[Aquaporin]

Thanks for attaching photos! I don’t use macro a lot, but I’m using it more and I use my phone to take photos for the items I sell as a side gig.

The attached are a couple of macros of my watch, one at 1x and the other at 2x. I’d love to find out how good the Air can be for product photography

Looks grainy.

 

[Webcat86]

Looks grainy.

And how does the Air compare?

 

[kp98077]

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?

I think maybe so. And it’s so light I keep dropping it lol

 

[bill-p]

Thanks for attaching photos! I don’t use macro a lot, but I’m using it more and I use my phone to take photos for the items I sell as a side gig.

The attached are a couple of macros of my watch, one at 1x and the other at 2x. I’d love to find out how good the Air can be for product photography

It's just a close-up that Air can do. It can't properly do macro per se. This is my watch with the 2x mode. Any closer than this and I have to whip out my actual camera.

So if you're looking to do product photography more seriously, I'd suggest investing in a decent camera.

 

[thomasec]

Is anyone else experiencing pain in their pinky from holding the phone with one hand? My pinky rests on the USB-C port and starts to hurt after a few minutes. This is my first "large" phone; I’ve only had the Pro (non-Max) before and never ran into this problem.

It’s literally my only complaint—everything else is perfect.

 

[vvvvvv]

Is anyone else experiencing pain in their pinky from holding the phone with one hand? My pinky rests on the USB-C port and starts to hurt after a few minutes. This is my first "large" phone; I’ve only had the Pro (non-Max) before and never ran into this problem.

It’s literally my only complaint—everything else is perfect.

Negative

 

[Detonation]

Sensor has nothing to do with focus distance.

I'm not a camera expert - my understanding was based on the comments from the below reddit post.

"The larger the sensor, the further the focus distance. Your iPhone 12 has a smaller sensor, hence why it can focus closer."

Regardless of the reason, that post is exactly what I'm talking about. The main camera on my 15 Pro is not able to focus as close as past devices. I'm just curious if the Air has the same limitation, because without an ultrawide to compensate, that would be a big deal.

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/1cc7jad/my_15_pro_does_not_focus_at_1x_closeups_at_all

 

[macbookj0e]

Is anyone else experiencing pain in their pinky from holding the phone with one hand? My pinky rests on the USB-C port and starts to hurt after a few minutes. This is my first "large" phone; I’ve only had the Pro (non-Max) before and never ran into this problem.

It’s literally my only complaint—everything else is perfect.

Can I ask how you’re finding using the Air with one hand after owning a pro? This is my only concern as my 15 pro feels the limit size wise for one handed use and worried the air will be too big. Thanks!

 

[bevsb2]

How does the Air feel when placed on a table with the plastic case on? Does it feel relatively flat/stable?

That’s my biggest worry coming from an iPhone 15 right now. It lays so nice on a table with the silicon case on it. Hoping the Air will at least feel stable enough on a table.

I get the impression the bumper is defintely not going to feel stable on a table because the camera will be where it rests on.

I have the Apple clear case and the phone is completely stable on a table. I have been using the Pro 16 with the silicon case and this was a concern of mine also. The clear case is slippery however and that does worry me.

 

[Webcat86]

It's just a close-up that Air can do. It can't properly do macro per se. This is my watch with the 2x mode. Any closer than this and I have to whip out my actual camera.

So if you're looking to do product photography more seriously, I'd suggest investing in a decent camera.

Great taste in watch! That photo looks great too. I don’t need macro, I just find it fun. My wife has a pro too so I’d have the option if I needed it.

 

[irish2110]

The battery for me is not as good as everyone’s in this thread. Picked up the phone yesterday with about 50% charge and let it die down. Charged it all night to 100%, and within the first hour I was down to 88%.

Currently at 44% with 1 hour and 15 mins of active screen time and 3 hours and 14 mins of screen idle.

Hoping this is because it was still downloading from the cloud.

Anyone else have this problem. Should I be concerned?

 

[Webcat86]

The battery for me is not as good as everyone’s in this thread. Picked up the phone yesterday with about 50% charge and let it die down. Charged it all night to 100%, and within the first hour I was down to 88%.

Currently at 44% with 1 hour and 15 mins of active screen time and 3 hours and 14 mins of screen idle.

Hoping this is because it was still downloading from the cloud.

Anyone else have this problem. Should I be concerned?

If it’s brand new I’d just assume it’s from the indexing and keep an eye on it for a few days

 

[Aquaporin]

And how does the Air compare?

I assume worse. My iPhone 15 Pro can't do macro.

 

[NauticalDan]

The battery for me is not as good as everyone’s in this thread. Picked up the phone yesterday with about 50% charge and let it die down. Charged it all night to 100%, and within the first hour I was down to 88%.

Currently at 44% with 1 hour and 15 mins of active screen time and 3 hours and 14 mins of screen idle.

Hoping this is because it was still downloading from the cloud.

Anyone else have this problem. Should I be concerned?

I'd only be concerned if it's still not being "good" after a few days.

BUT....sometimes a network setting, app, or something weird is a secret battery drain. You can't even see it in the battery stats in settings. I've had that problem before, and resetting network settings (Settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset all network settings) has helped before. If that didn't work, resetting the whole phone (erase all content and settings) and starting from scratch also resolved the problem in another instance.

Good luck!

 

[pin87a]

Currently at 44% with 1 hour and 15 mins of active screen time and 3 hours and 14 mins of screen idle

My iPhone Air is currently at 56% with 6 hours of screen time and 1 hour of screen idle time.

 

[jm5309]

I have the Apple clear case and the phone is completely stable on a table. I have been using the Pro 16 with the silicon case and this was a concern of mine also. The clear case is slippery however and that does worry me.

Yes the clear case is VERY slippery. I don't think I'll keep it. I took it off and was amazed how much easier the phone is to handle without it. I'm now testing the bumper.

 

[irish2110]

If it’s brand new I’d just assume it’s from the indexing and keep an eye on it for a few days

I'd only be concerned if it's still not being "good" after a few days.

BUT....sometimes a network setting, app, or something weird is a secret battery drain. You can't even see it in the battery stats in settings. I've had that problem before, and resetting network settings (Settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset all network settings) has helped before. If that didn't work, resetting the whole phone (erase all content and settings) and starting from scratch also resolved the problem in another instance.

Good luck!

Thanks guys. I’ll keep an eye on it for a few days. That was my thought to that it still may be indexing and whatnot. My wife’s air is crushing it. She hasn’t charged it since we picked them up yesterday at 4PM.

 

[Htsi]

Loving my air.
Didn’t want to go with the pros due to weight and fragile aluminum.
I’m keeping my old 12 pro for the occasional lidar & ultra wide usage.

It is a really pretty device. Speaker is trash but that was a compromise I was willing to take.

Been using pros since 11Pro & this is a lovely device.

 

[C. Robert]

Can I ask how you’re finding using the Air with one hand after owning a pro? This is my only concern as my 15 pro feels the limit size wise for one handed use and worried the air will be too big. Thanks!

its night and day. Weight and the rounded corners are perfect in the hand

 

[Cryates]

The battery for me is not as good as everyone’s in this thread. Picked up the phone yesterday with about 50% charge and let it die down. Charged it all night to 100%, and within the first hour I was down to 88%.

Currently at 44% with 1 hour and 15 mins of active screen time and 3 hours and 14 mins of screen idle.

Hoping this is because it was still downloading from the cloud.

Anyone else have this problem. Should I be concerned?

Yeah battery has been a problem today. I’m at 56% with a little less than two hours SOT and that could be problematic.