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

surferfb said:
Yep. I am trying to decide which compromise is the bigger one. This idea that "there are no compromises with the Pro/Pro Max" just isn't true at all. The Air is so much nicer in pocket and in hand. Switching to the Pro will absolutely be a compromise for better cameras. One that I may end up making, but it's absolutely a compromise.
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I agree the Pro phones do include weight compromises, and a higher price.

But that’s where I think the regular 17 is the most compelling option. $200 cheaper than the Air, and weight that is nearly identical. Then you gain another camera, another speaker, more battery life, etc.
 
BruiserBear said:
I agree the Pro phones do carry with them compromises, and a higher price.

But that’s where I think the regular 17 is the most compelling option. $200 cheaper than the Air, and weight that is nearly identical. Then you gain another camera, another speaker, more battery life, etc.
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The 17 probably is right for most people, but not for me. The only compromise I actually care about the telephoto lens. I used Photos on my Mac to see my percentage of shots: 76% main, 18% telephoto, 6% ultra wide.

If nothing else, this iPhone cycle has shown me I really use my phone differently than most people. All of you who are listening to things through your phone speakers and snapping away on the ultra wide camera make me feel like I'm in crazy town 🤣.
 
The Air is designed to dissuade these people, and quite rightly. If you use your phone like this then I would invite you to go and take a deep breath, of seawater.

shutterstock_smartphone_talk_into.jpg
 
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I recently read a review of the Air on ZDNet that compared it to of all things, the 6 Plus from 2014. I thought that was odd, then I went back through my thinking way back in 2014. At the time, the 6 Plus was a completely extravagant purchase to me, gargantuan and unwieldy. Then I looked deeper. The 6 Plus and the Air are remarkably similar.

6 Plus: 158.1 mm L, 77.8 mm W, 7.1 mm D, 172 g
Air: 156.2 mm L, 74.7 mm W, 5.64 mm D, 165 g

The Air has an inch larger screen in a slightly more svelte titanium body, 33% more battery capacity, and the same single speaker as the 6 Plus. FWIW the 6 Plus has a headphone jack. I remember thinking when the 6 and 6 Plus were released that I would never get something like the 6 Plus unless it was all screen and maybe a little lighter. Fast forward ten years and my wish has been granted. Plus they addressed all of the rigidity issues that plagued the 6/6 Plus. It only took 11 years. I did buy 2015's 6S, which is now sitting in the bottom of the Caribbean due to my drunken handling of it on a sailboat. I feel more secure holding the Air in only 3 days than I ever did with the soapbar-like 6-8 line of iPhones.
 
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BruiserBear said:
I agree the Pro phones do include weight compromises, and a higher price.

But that’s where I think the regular 17 is the most compelling option. $200 cheaper than the Air, and weight that is nearly identical. Then you gain another camera, another speaker, more battery life, etc.
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It's a 7.2% reduction in weight to go to the Air from the Base. Not game changing but not insignificant either when you're looking for maximum weight reduction. Battery is close. Honestly I think the main thing is if you need to have that ultra wide camera or if you listen to a lot of content through the speakers then the Air is not for you.
 
MaxVerstappen said:
I’ve only just gone and scratched the side of my phone by putting a sandpaper in the wrong pocket. Haven’t done so in years… what are the chances lol

Ps: before you ask why do I carry a sandpaper with me, I work for a furniture company. So it’s pretty mush essential.
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Ooooohhhh...now that is a bummer! I have the black Air and one of my biggest concerns is the durability of that finish and it looks like not very durable. I guess it makes the case for always have it in a case.
 
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bbates123 said:
Ooooohhhh...now that is a bummer! I have the black Air and one of my biggest concerns is the durability of that finish and it looks like not very durable. I guess it makes the case for always have it in a case.
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The scratches on the store models are the sole reason I didn’t get the black Air
 
Webcat86 said:
How did you do this?
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Open photos on the Mac, create a new Smart Album, Set the filter to "Lens is" and then pick the lens(es) you want. It'll show you all pictures from those lens(es).

For the percentages, that was just old fashioned math.

The interesting thing to note is not just number of pictures, but WHAT pictures. Like I have a bunch of telephoto pictures of random animals in my back yard. I'm not heartbroken if I miss those, even if they're neat to have. I noticed I only had a couple of "favorite" photos from the non-main lenses - that helped me feel better about ordering the Air.
 
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bbates123 said:
Ooooohhhh...now that is a bummer! I have the black Air and one of my biggest concerns is the durability of that finish and it looks like not very durable. I guess it makes the case for always have it in a case.
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I’ve always used my phones caseless… it’s one of them stupid things I suppose that can happen. I always put the sandpaper in my back pocket but this time for some unknown silly reason I decided to put it into the side pocket where my Air was. 🙄

At least now we know it isn’t sandpaper resistant lol.

Here’s the culprit lol:
IMG_2704.jpeg
 
MaxVerstappen said:
I’ve only just gone and scratched the side of my phone by putting a sandpaper in the wrong pocket. Haven’t done so in years… what are the chances lol

Ps: before you ask why do I carry a sandpaper with me, I work for a furniture company. So it’s pretty mush essential.

View attachment 2557259View attachment 2557258
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If you ever thought about just taking sandpaper to the rest of the frame (for science) I'd love to see what that looks like. I would love a black phone with silver rails (iPhone 4).
 
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BruiserBear said:
I agree the Pro phones do include weight compromises, and a higher price.

But that’s where I think the regular 17 is the most compelling option. $200 cheaper than the Air, and weight that is nearly identical. Then you gain another camera, another speaker, more battery life, etc.
Click to expand...

There's not a lot of reasons to choose the Air over the 17 other than for aesthetics and feel. The 17 is the best value this year by a long shot. That being said, the Air is still worth it to me. It's refreshing and exciting every time I pick it up. Maybe the novelty will eventually wear off, but hopefully by then we'll have the Air 2 with less compromises 😄
 
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mlayer said:
Epilogue from MKBHD's team:
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thanks for posting this.
i love MKBHD's work. and this video shows his (and his team's) ability to laugh at itself.

i held off pushing the button to buy the Air, when MKBHD posted his first "red flag" video.

then later, i pushed the button to buy the Air after MKBHD released his video where the only concern he had (more or less) was about long term (" 3 or 4 years from now) battery degradation on the Air.
i predicted this and had already figured a battery replacement probably at the 2.5 years point.

people holding off until the Fold comes along at USD 2,000+ will get a wonderful phone.
 
most reviewers review the phone relative to how they would use it, completely oblivious to the fact that they aren't even close anymore to being the median user.

not the use case for the median person, who btw does not shoot in raw or log or ever export photos into light room even with the pro phone. in fact, I would *guess* less than 15% of people that have the pro phone shoot and export raw photos.

median person also charges their phone every night religiously and doesn't even understand what screen on time is.
 
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MaxVerstappen said:
I’ve always used my phones caseless… it’s one of them stupid things I suppose that can happen. I always put the sandpaper in my back pocket but this time for some unknown silly reason I decided to put it into the side pocket where my Air was. 🙄

At least now we know it isn’t sandpaper resistant lol.

Here’s the culprit lol: View attachment 2557267
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Dang! The Air is so thin and light- you simply forgot that it's there!
 
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Meedoss said:
I get a day and half out of my 16 pro mostly
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Do you use it lightly? Mine has 94% battery capacity. At my office it’s not on WiFi and using Safari just drains it. When I got home at 7pm today it was at 16% and i had topped it up at my desk this morning.

But other days if I’m using it less it’ll sail through the day.
 
noobinator said:
I don't see it out of the realm of possibility that the Air and 16 Pro have similar battery life. But are they using a 1 year old iphone 16 pro vs a new out of the box air? Could have some impact using a battery aged a year.
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My 16 pro is still 100% 10 months old
 
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