losthismarbles
macrumors regular
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iPhone Air iPhone Air First Impressions Mega-Thread [MERGED]
- Thread starter Geert76
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Saying it's one thing, telling how quite another; legally.. tender a subject 🙂
I'm about to head out, could always PM you later on/tomorrow if that's agreeable? This way i'm hopefully not breaking any rules?
smileman
macrumors regular
Brilliant review, thanks. Have been debating going from current 16 Pro to 17 Pro or plain 17. But the Air it is.
1096bimu
macrumors 6502
This looked like the exact phone I wanted when it came out, however I had just got the 16 Pro the previous year at launch price and wasn't willing to pay full price again, especially considering how it honestly became a flop and depreciation hit it hard, so I simply waited and camped out on Facebook for cheap used and I finally found one.
People won't believe this at first but I kind of expected this, the best upgrade for me was the camera. Sure the 16 pro has 3 cameras but even when I first bought it I knew the 5x telephoto camera is garbage, too long to be useful, and too long to have a usable image quality. The ultrawide is just as bad as always, so really I only ever use the main camera, but the main camera has a huge minimum focus distance so I'm constantly having to click the disable macro button, it's so annoying.
I am a photographer so there's a minimum standard of quality I will use, because if it's not usable quality I'd just bring one of my real cameras instead. And due to the space constraints on phones, only the main camera can be of a decent quality, so any other cameras are mostly useless to me. On the air you only have the main camera and it focuses much closer than the one of the Pro model. Sure you also get it in the regular 17, and yes if the air didn't exist I'll just get a regular 17 because the pro is useless and ugly. I only got the 16 pro for the screen and titanium.
People won't believe this at first but I kind of expected this, the best upgrade for me was the camera. Sure the 16 pro has 3 cameras but even when I first bought it I knew the 5x telephoto camera is garbage, too long to be useful, and too long to have a usable image quality. The ultrawide is just as bad as always, so really I only ever use the main camera, but the main camera has a huge minimum focus distance so I'm constantly having to click the disable macro button, it's so annoying.
I am a photographer so there's a minimum standard of quality I will use, because if it's not usable quality I'd just bring one of my real cameras instead. And due to the space constraints on phones, only the main camera can be of a decent quality, so any other cameras are mostly useless to me. On the air you only have the main camera and it focuses much closer than the one of the Pro model. Sure you also get it in the regular 17, and yes if the air didn't exist I'll just get a regular 17 because the pro is useless and ugly. I only got the 16 pro for the screen and titanium.
AeroSatan
macrumors regular
AeroSatan
macrumors regular
I don't have an issue with People knowing the Air's limitation and being fine with that trade off, the issue I have is the amount of people in this thread making olympic levels of mental gymnastics that the Air's camera and speaker don't look and sound like it came outta a potato - is too damn much.
The camera is on a level with the 17’s main camera being as it’s exactly the same unit.
Zaft
macrumors 601
Exactly and let’s be honest, the speaker in any iPhone isn’t exactly great. The Airs is adequate, no issues for me.
smileman
macrumors regular
So now with the Air in hand, I can confirm I am very happy coming from my 16 Pro 😃
It’s so hard in these phone stores to get a good sense of what a device is like to handle given how tethered they are for security reasons. I hadn’t handled an Air before and was really going for it based on reviews here, so thanks everyone for your feedback.
Little background: I have an iPad and Mac for when I need a bigger screen / productivity. I’m a bigger guy, but I was a happy iPhone Mini user prior to the 16 Pro. Having a lighter smaller phone has generally been my preference and I was kind of put off by the Air’s even taller height than the 17/17 Pro when I first looked at it.
But when I took my 16 Pro and laid it over the Air, it really didn’t appear to be that much taller. So I decided to live dangerously, go for the thinner / lighter device I’d never held (or seen my color choice), and I am happy I did.
Just as everyone has described here, the in-hand experience and feel of this thing is awesome. In the pocket is pretty nice too compared to the (and I’m exaggerating here) “brick like” 16 Pro.
Part of what also gave me pause on the Air before I got to know it better was all these early reports that it wasn’t selling well, that people weren’t happy with it, etc. So the negative PR around the Air probably is giving some people a reason to not even look at it, which is tragic as I do think, like others have said here, this is the future of phones in terms of form factor.
The only other thing I’ll add is I don’t think the color choices, at least for men, are helping the Air.
I went with black, which I felt gives it a more substantial sturdy stature vibe. All the other colors are so light that they’re kinda hard to tell apart.
In contrast, the 17 pro has the distinctive orange. and the regular 17 has the sage green. I think both those colors really pop and distinguish their respective lines.
I didn’t want to get just another black phone, but I’m glad I did. The back is not piano black, more a matte / very dark grayish black on the back. It looks less dainty, plenty manly with the black titanium sides / screen. But it is still just a black phone and I think Air sales suffer from not having exciting bright distinctive color options the other lines do.
I’m guessing Apple went with these light colors (which are fine if you’re into those, nothing wrong with them) to really emphasize the lightness / “airiness” of this new form factor. But I think they could’ve given the Air one more brighter / more interesting color and that would helped with sales (eg red?). In China, the orange has been a huge factor given the similarity to HERMES orange with boosting 17 Pro sales there. Color matters.
So overall, I definitely would recommend giving the Air a look. Thanks again everyone here for the reviews / thoughts. Happy I took a risk on the Air!
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Glad it worked out for you.
I totally agree, people often want something for no other reason than they like its color, so the Air only having black and three different shades of white is a weird choice.
Max Book
macrumors member
I've been messing around with one of these for a few weeks now and I have some thoughts. The short version: don't buy it.
Picking it up for the first time is genuinely cool. 165 grams across a 6.5-inch frame feels almost wrong, like holding a prop. Apple clearly put serious engineering into the chassis. But then you actually use the thing.
The battery is 3149mAh. On a phone with a 6.5 inch 120Hz display running at up to 3000 nits. That's a mistake. Heavy users are apparently hitting 80% battery health inside 12-14 months because the cell is so small it cycles constantly. That's a possible hardware replacement before your second year is up.
Thermals are a real problem too. There's no vapor chamber in a 5.6mm body. Sustained load tanks performance by around 35%. Great chip, bad situation.
The C1X modem is the one that actually bothers me. Apple's marketing it as an efficiency story but the real story is no mmWave 5G. I travel to LA and NYC regularly. Stadiums, airports, convention centers...exactly where mmWave matters and where this phone falls apart. People with Qualcomm-equipped iPhones next to me are pulling full 5G speeds while the Air struggles. That's not a minor footnote at this price.
And you get one camera. One 48MP lens. No ultrawide, no tele. Digital crop past 2x turns into soup. USB 2.0. In 2026.
The camera bar protrusion is 4mm by the way, so the phone rocks like crazy on any flat surface. You'll end up putting a case on it, which adds back basically all the thickness you paid a premium to remove.
If you want thin, the standard iPhone 17 is only marginally thicker, has a bigger battery, same chip, same display, and saves you a significant chunk of money. The 17 Pro gives you everything the Air doesn't...triple cameras, mmWave, USB 3, real thermals and for less.
The Air is a concept device Apple is charging flagship money for. First-generation hardware, real compromises, premium price. Pass.
Picking it up for the first time is genuinely cool. 165 grams across a 6.5-inch frame feels almost wrong, like holding a prop. Apple clearly put serious engineering into the chassis. But then you actually use the thing.
The battery is 3149mAh. On a phone with a 6.5 inch 120Hz display running at up to 3000 nits. That's a mistake. Heavy users are apparently hitting 80% battery health inside 12-14 months because the cell is so small it cycles constantly. That's a possible hardware replacement before your second year is up.
Thermals are a real problem too. There's no vapor chamber in a 5.6mm body. Sustained load tanks performance by around 35%. Great chip, bad situation.
The C1X modem is the one that actually bothers me. Apple's marketing it as an efficiency story but the real story is no mmWave 5G. I travel to LA and NYC regularly. Stadiums, airports, convention centers...exactly where mmWave matters and where this phone falls apart. People with Qualcomm-equipped iPhones next to me are pulling full 5G speeds while the Air struggles. That's not a minor footnote at this price.
And you get one camera. One 48MP lens. No ultrawide, no tele. Digital crop past 2x turns into soup. USB 2.0. In 2026.
The camera bar protrusion is 4mm by the way, so the phone rocks like crazy on any flat surface. You'll end up putting a case on it, which adds back basically all the thickness you paid a premium to remove.
If you want thin, the standard iPhone 17 is only marginally thicker, has a bigger battery, same chip, same display, and saves you a significant chunk of money. The 17 Pro gives you everything the Air doesn't...triple cameras, mmWave, USB 3, real thermals and for less.
The Air is a concept device Apple is charging flagship money for. First-generation hardware, real compromises, premium price. Pass.
You're of course entitled to your opinion, but I question a couple of the facts you claimed, and other claims you made are wrong.
Can you cite any data for your first two claims in bold?
"same chip"
This is incorrect. The standard iPhone 17 has the A19, and the iPhone Air has the A19 Pro.
And note the standard 17 also has "USB 2.0. In 2026".
"for less"
Also incorrect. the 17 Pro starts at $100 USD more than the Air.
surferfb
macrumors 68030
The entire post reads like it was written by AI, particularly given the factual errors you flagged.
SR Steve
macrumors regular
I felt like I read the same post earlier in the day somewhere else, but I cannot locate it now... 😕
SmugMaverick
macrumors 65816
What a load of utter bulls*t and pure copium.
This reads like someone who wants the Pro but knows it looks and feels cheap compared to the Air.
The Air is 6 months old, no one is hitting 80% battery health in 12-14 months 😂
I get over 7 hrs SOT, C1X has been far better than previous modems and I've not had any thermal issues.
FOMO is hitting these pro users hard this year 😂
Zaft
macrumors 601
It just seems like some generated post as others have said.
No point in even replying.
I’ve had Pro models since the 12 and maintain my position that the Air is the closest thing to a perfect phone I’ve owned. Unless you specifically need something like the telephoto lens, it’s absolutely awesome.
ivanwi11iams
macrumors 601
Currently, I am using an iPhone 17 Pro Max, with a consideration of switching to an iPhone Air.
With that, I am curious, what is the vibrate like on the iPhone Air?
With my mobile devices, I only use vibrate, never sound/ringtones...
With that, I am curious, what is the vibrate like on the iPhone Air?
With my mobile devices, I only use vibrate, never sound/ringtones...
BigDO
macrumors 68000
First impressions, coming from a 15 Pro Max:
After the first "wow!", it's definitely a great form-factor, but the cracks are showing a little already.
First, the black Air (which I have) loses some of its visual airiness, since the black hides its shape, and it mostly looks like other black phones. But I knew that going in, and it's still attractive.
At first, picking it up is a big wow. But here's my problem with holding it: The edges are slickly glossy and thin, and it constantly slowly slides down lower and lower in my palm. To compensate, I find myself adjusting it frequently and gripping it too tightly. It also feels easy to fumble when holding it by the edges. By comparison, holding a caseless 15 Pro Max feels solid and safe because the edges are grippier matte and are wider.
Battery life for the first day is surprisingly poor - worse than I expected even with all the complaining I've heard. It would still get me through a day, but only marginally, whereas the 15 Pro Max usually lasts two days. However, it's often said that the battery drains extra fast during first few days on a new phone, so I'll be patient.
The screen is a good compromise size, but it feels noticeably smaller when going back and forth between it and the 15 Pro Max. I tend to prefer the larger screen.
The camera is definitely a little better than the 15 pro's main one, and that's especially apparent at 2x. Of course, the digital zoom is no match for the tele on the 15.
Then there's ios 26, which is obviously forced on new owners (I'm still on 18, otherwise). Some of the new animations use silly levels of the wobbly jello stuff, so first thing I did was dive into Accessibility to turn as much motion, etc., as I could.
I also don't like the trend back to skewmorphism and clown-show colors. Like the camera icon confused me: what's it supposed to be? I thought it looked like a speaker, and kept searching for the camera in vain. Then, "oh, it's supposed to be a lens!?" Yeah, it's "supposed to", but it barely does, while the old icon was as clear a camera symbol as you could imagine. Overall, the new look is a confusing, over-the-top and ugly step backwards. I could live with it, and will have to soon, but I do think it was pushed out prematurely.
Over-all: Beautiful phone! I expect its thinness to slowly migrate to other phones, especially once they are confident enough to go with more advanced battery tech. Is it for me? I'm not sure yet.
After the first "wow!", it's definitely a great form-factor, but the cracks are showing a little already.
First, the black Air (which I have) loses some of its visual airiness, since the black hides its shape, and it mostly looks like other black phones. But I knew that going in, and it's still attractive.
At first, picking it up is a big wow. But here's my problem with holding it: The edges are slickly glossy and thin, and it constantly slowly slides down lower and lower in my palm. To compensate, I find myself adjusting it frequently and gripping it too tightly. It also feels easy to fumble when holding it by the edges. By comparison, holding a caseless 15 Pro Max feels solid and safe because the edges are grippier matte and are wider.
Battery life for the first day is surprisingly poor - worse than I expected even with all the complaining I've heard. It would still get me through a day, but only marginally, whereas the 15 Pro Max usually lasts two days. However, it's often said that the battery drains extra fast during first few days on a new phone, so I'll be patient.
The screen is a good compromise size, but it feels noticeably smaller when going back and forth between it and the 15 Pro Max. I tend to prefer the larger screen.
The camera is definitely a little better than the 15 pro's main one, and that's especially apparent at 2x. Of course, the digital zoom is no match for the tele on the 15.
Then there's ios 26, which is obviously forced on new owners (I'm still on 18, otherwise). Some of the new animations use silly levels of the wobbly jello stuff, so first thing I did was dive into Accessibility to turn as much motion, etc., as I could.
I also don't like the trend back to skewmorphism and clown-show colors. Like the camera icon confused me: what's it supposed to be? I thought it looked like a speaker, and kept searching for the camera in vain. Then, "oh, it's supposed to be a lens!?" Yeah, it's "supposed to", but it barely does, while the old icon was as clear a camera symbol as you could imagine. Overall, the new look is a confusing, over-the-top and ugly step backwards. I could live with it, and will have to soon, but I do think it was pushed out prematurely.
Over-all: Beautiful phone! I expect its thinness to slowly migrate to other phones, especially once they are confident enough to go with more advanced battery tech. Is it for me? I'm not sure yet.
stanza.richi
macrumors 65816
Give a look at the light gold: it’s an awfully warm white.
