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

BigMcGuire said:
So, the last day of my 14 day return period, which I never do for an iPhone, I went to Apple and asked if I could trade in my 17 Pro for an Air. The looks I got around the room from other Apple Geniuses was very telling. Some even congregated behind me to see what was up (Apple Store was fairly empty today when I went).
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The Apple worker who sold me my Air asked me why I chose the Air (I said I was tired of carrying around brick phones). I don't imagine he would have asked me that if I had bought any other model.

I should have also bought a Vision Pro and Mac Pro. All the workers' heads would have exploded.
 
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How are people doing regarding the camera, especially coming from the Pro phones?
 
BigDO said:
How are people doing regarding the camera, especially coming from the Pro phones?
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The camera is great and capable of capturing some amazing shots, check out the worldwide photography thread.

Zoom is ok up to 4/5x digital then it starts to fall apart the longer you go.

No ultra wide so no good if you use that lens a lot.
 
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ab2c4 said:
I came from the 16 Pro. The camera has been great for me, no complaints.
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Yeah there was a thread where a new poster said that they were enjoying taking pictures again (having to move to take the shot) and ... I've been taking more photos than ever with my Air and ... enjoying moving to compose the shot. Something that since the 3 camera setup came out I haven't done - I'd just switch the lens and move my arms slightly.

It ... has been enjoyable. lol. (I am no pro, so I will not be posting any shots). And I am fully aware I may still be in my honeymoon phase.
 
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BigMcGuire said:
Yeah there was a thread where a new poster said that they were enjoying taking pictures again (having to move to take the shot) and ... I've been taking more photos than ever with my Air and ... enjoying moving to compose the shot. Something that since the 3 camera setup came out I haven't done - I'd just switch the lens and move my arms slightly.

It ... has been enjoyable. lol. (I am no pro, so I will not be posting any shots). And I am fully aware I may still be in my honeymoon phase.
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I hear you, I am not a professional photographer nor am I trying to be, but all the pics I have taken have come out really good. I am not noticing any extra effort on my part to get good clear pics. If I am doing something extra I don't even realize it to be honest but I don't think I am. The camera does its job very well for me.
 
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thatJohann said:
Trying an iPhone 17 Pro Max for fun and it’s just awful. My Air feels perfect. The 17 Pro Max is a nightmare to hold and carry around. Makes me appreciate my Air even more.
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I had an iPhone 14 Pro Max for 2 months that was just too big and heavy for my taste, but I've loved all of my Pro phones. The Air however is my all time favorite and perfect for my use case. I am in awe each time I hold it and love the screen size.
 
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BigMcGuire said:
Yeah there was a thread where a new poster said that they were enjoying taking pictures again (having to move to take the shot) and ... I've been taking more photos than ever with my Air and ... enjoying moving to compose the shot. Something that since the 3 camera setup came out I haven't done - I'd just switch the lens and move my arms slightly.

It ... has been enjoyable. lol. (I am no pro, so I will not be posting any shots). And I am fully aware I may still be in my honeymoon phase.
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I’m no pro (far from) and I actually thought I don’t care about the camera. I don’t know if I’m just obsessing about the details now, but I’m finding I’m really missing the telephoto lens.

I’ve been going through my photos, and I can see that I have actually used it a lot - reason being that often what my eye sees and what the camera sees are very different, and I need to zoom in to get the picture which my eye is seeing.

Funny how just having the Air has made me dive deeper into photography and what the different lenses do/what are the use cases, I haven’t even thought about this in the past, ever.

Not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. It definitely is a bit of a rabbit hole.
 
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Quick question how does the iPhone Air sounds when using the ear piece during phone calls? does it sound worse or better or just as good as your previous cell phone? Thank you
 
determined09 said:
Quick question how does the iPhone Air sounds when using the ear piece during phone calls? does it sound worse or better or just as good as your previous cell phone? Thank you
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I haven’t noticed any difference with the Air compared to my last few phones (SE2, SE3 and 15 Pro). Granted, my calls tend to be brief (usually just asking for or giving location).
 
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I'm obsessed with the Air and keep circling back to it after deciding over again not to buy it. It just looks so good and I really want it. But I find myself using the ultra wide and zoom lenses too much. Even if I could live without those, the single speaker really is the deal breaker for me. I just find myself watching too many videos and listening to music via speaker phone in landscape mode without my AirPods Pro in. And the battery life -- my iPhone 16 Pro still has 94% health after 1 year but it gets down to <20% after a typical day of use. Not sure the Air would be able to hang....
 
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danpass said:
This is a second impression of the Air.

Returned the first Air for lack of ultra wide.

Bought a 17 Pro, returned it for being only a minor update to my 16 Pro.

Missed the Air the whole time.

Got this Air that I’m typing on now and kept my 16 Pro lol.

I’ve ordered a Nomad Traditional Leather case as it seems to keep the spirit of the Air while keeping the camera lens off the surface.

Another thing that works for that is a Moft Wallet Stand or a Moft Tripod stand. Even folded they’ll keep the lens raised from the surface.

I’m loving the typing on the Air screen.

Battery life is on par with my 16 Pro so I’m fine there. I bought the Air MagSafe battery anyway because it’s so cool. Interesting note with that … the Air feels great with it or without it.
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Thanks for posting this! I'm also coming from a 16 Pro. I was thinking about keeping it and getting the Air as well. How do you not miss the 2 speakers for stereo when watching YouTube videos or listening to music without headphones or earbuds on the Air?
 
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Max Book said:
Thanks for posting this! I'm also coming from a 16 Pro. I was thinking about keeping it and getting the Air as well. How do you not miss the 2 speakers for stereo when watching YouTube videos or listening to music without headphones or earbuds on the Air?
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I really don't notice the single speaker. It's not like the iPhone 16 Pro had a pair of Dunlavy SC-V floor speakers recreating Beethoven lol.

On a sidenote, the 2016 Macbook 12 had excellent speakers.
 
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Just dropping into this thread again.

5 weeks now with my second Air & the obsession and love for it is as strong as ever!

Even better after the iOS 26.1 update.
 
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Max Book said:
I'm obsessed with the Air and keep circling back to it after deciding over again not to buy it. It just looks so good and I really want it. But I find myself using the ultra wide and zoom lenses too much. Even if I could live without those, the single speaker really is the deal breaker for me. I just find myself watching too many videos and listening to music via speaker phone in landscape mode without my AirPods Pro in. And the battery life -- my iPhone 16 Pro still has 94% health after 1 year but it gets down to <20% after a typical day of use. Not sure the Air would be able to hang....
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Just get it!! Life is short!! It is a phone speaker, it is loud enough to let you hear it anywhere and it sounds ok.. none of the phone speakers sound good, don’t obsess over it because of reviews.. it is marginally worse then the regular set but Apple still make better speakers and for a phone it is good enough. I don’t ever listen to music in the shower or something and think, “man I wish I had another bottom speaker right about now” you know? Lol
And the battery is just as good as the 16 you would find it almost exactly the same. Even if I use it all day I don’t ever really run out.. I could get it close if I really tried but again.. don’t obsess over it and you would love the phone.
 
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danpass said:
This is a second impression of the Air.

Returned the first Air for lack of ultra wide.

Bought a 17 Pro, returned it for being only a minor update to my 16 Pro.

Missed the Air the whole time.

Got this Air that I’m typing on now and kept my 16 Pro lol.

I’ve ordered a Nomad Traditional Leather case as it seems to keep the spirit of the Air while keeping the camera lens off the surface.

Another thing that works for that is a Moft Wallet Stand or a Moft Tripod stand. Even folded they’ll keep the lens raised from the surface.

I’m loving the typing on the Air screen.

Battery life is on par with my 16 Pro so I’m fine there. I bought the Air MagSafe battery anyway because it’s so cool. Interesting note with that … the Air feels great with it or without it.
Click to expand...
I've done a very similar thing here! Although didn't go to the 17 pro but really thought through it hard. Because I miss the ultra wide and telephoto. EVERYTHING ELSE i love and/or don't care about. Battery, speaker are not dealbreakers for me. For now, I'm thinking of keeping my 16 pro for things like holidays etc. Have you gone back and forth with 16 Pro or just kept it aside. Is it easy to go back and forth with esim if you do?
 
I'm really hoping (yet another rumor) that Apple is going to skip the 2026 Air is wrong. I really hope Apple just includes the phone in the next few years' releases, advertises the goddamn thing, and gives the general public a chance to dig this phone.
 
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