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I feel that most people will always either opt for the lest expensive option (the 17) or the most powerful and premium (the Pro). The Air just happens to fall in between those two things. And as amazing and sleek as it looks, I don't think that many people were stressing over their phone not being thin enough. I'd bet that far more people stress about their phone not having enough battery life.

All that being said, I doubt that the Air will be considered a flop. The fact that it's not sold out doesn't mean that it's not successful.

Allegedly Apple made three times as many Airs as Pros.
 
I don’t see the appeal of the iPhone Air. It recycles an old design with the only real change being that it’s thinner. The tradeoff is worse battery life, which is why Apple released a battery pack accessory. It’s also missing a speaker and a camera. And with its relatively large footprint, the thinness hardly feels like an advantage. I’m not surprised that no one is talking about it.
No one is talking about it?! Ok bro, whatever you say.
 
I said month ago it would be a flop but now I actually think it was just a beta device for the foldable next year, no one want to spend $1000 on a single camera iPhone with trash battery when the 17 and 17 Pro's are better value.

Ignore all the sheep reviewers about how the Air is "most premium looking", there is a reason they didn't name it iPhone 17 Air because there won't be another version.

The Air is still using the same old tired design from iPhone 12 with a Pixel camera bump, at least the Pros tried something new and the only ones complaining are old men.
I agree with your statement on how the other phones are better value. I think the iPhone Air is not meant for anyone attempting to get the most bang for their buck (the base 17) or have it go far if spending a lot (Pro Models). I really think the iPhone Air is for people understand what they’re getting into with the device and even more so can afford to just get a different phone next year if the iPhone Air isn’t their thing. I like my iPhone Air coming from a 16 Pro Max and I wouldn’t recommend it to someone unless they were purposely wanting to have this nice yet somewhat compromised experience.
 
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I agree with your statement on how the other phones are better value. I think the iPhone Air is not meant for anyone attempting to get the most bang for their buck (the base 17) or have it go far if spending a lot (Pro Models). I really think the iPhone Air is for people understand what they’re getting into with the device and even more so can afford to just get a different phone next year if the iPhone Air isn’t their thing. I like my iPhone Air coming from a 16 Pro Max and I wouldn’t recommend it to someone unless they were purposely wanting to have this nice yet somewhat compromised experience.
What are you feeling compromised? (You specifically I mean, not what we’ve seen on the product pages)
 
What are you feeling compromised? (You specifically I mean, not what we’ve seen on the product pages)
Forget about the cameras and whatnot people have different needs and to those there is simply no compromise going from 200+ grams down to 165. It’s a big difference. In fact a huge difference. Well it is to me anyways. That’s one of the reason why the Air is perfect.
 
What are you feeling compromised? (You specifically I mean, not what we’ve seen on the product pages)
Obviously the camera and the battery life are the main ones. But I’m fully aware and am okay with that because of my device use habits. I’m sure there will come a day I might have needed that 0.5 camera shot, but I maybe have taken one or two of those shots this past year on my 16 Pro Max. As for battery, I never go through mine fully because I do not play games on my phone. That’s what I have my other handheld consoles for.

Apart from that, I think this device is fantastic. It’s given me the closest feeling of excitement that I personally have not had since maybe the days of the iPhone 4/5.
 
Forget about the cameras and whatnot people have different needs and to those there is simply no compromise going from 200+ grams down to 165. It’s a big difference. In fact a huge difference. Well it is to me anyways. That’s one of the reason why the Air is perfect.

Obviously the camera and the battery life are the main ones. But I’m fully aware and am okay with that because of my device use habits. I’m sure there will come a day I might have needed that 0.5 camera shot, but I maybe have taken one or two of those shots this past year on my 16 Pro Max. As for battery, I never go through mine fully because I do not play games on my phone. That’s what I have my other handheld consoles for.

Apart from that, I think this device is fantastic. It’s given me the closest feeling of excitement that I personally have not had since maybe the days of the iPhone 4/5.

Agree with you both. I’ve been using the Air since Sunday and really love it. Been undecided about keeping it because my 16 Pro is still good, but the Air is just so much more pleasant overall. I do think I need to put a slim case on it though to help with grip.
 
I’ve been using my space black Air since Saturday and I’m so loving it and the experience. It’s incredible to hold and look at, with the big screen & super thin body just hits different.

Performance is blazing fast, battery life is better than expected & the basic camera system is very capable and can deliver excellent photos.

IMO it’s the most premium looking and feeling device since the stainless steel frames on older iPhones.

Superb bit of designed tech and the most exciting iPhone in years for me ❤️
 
Apple make a phone - the Air - that have lower battery capacity then the bigger phones.
So they make a battery bank to use with it, ok.

Why didn’t they do that for the mini? A lot of people would’ve loved that.
Apple is really - insert any fitting word - at times.

Thing is that I figured out that myself long time ago.
I have a Power-bank with me when I suspect the battery in my beloved mini can be stretched a bit too much. If there ever was a problem with the mini, it is the lightning contact.
I keep forgetting that all the time, as I daily use a cordless charer’s at home.

So Apple, just do an upgraded mini with USB-C contact. So many will be happy.
But with Timmy it won’t happen, I know - not enough profit.
Hope he gets it with the Air...
 
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Apple make a phone - the Air - that have lower battery capacity then the bigger phones.
So they make a battery bank to use with it, ok.
um I hate to break it to you but the Air battery capacity is huge compared to the 16 Pro I had for a year.

with all the scary pre release gossip about the battery not holding up all day, even though Apple said "all day battery life" with the Air - I mistakenly got brainwashed and ordered the $99 Magsafe Air battery.

to my surprise, after 5 days of use and the charge remaining at the end of the day is amazing.

70% at the end of my work day; 16 Pro would be at 40% and end up being charged every night.

Air totally surprised me and with my use I can go 2 days without having to charge!

going to return the Magsafe Air battery even though it looks pretty....
 
um I hate to break it to you but the Air battery capacity is huge compared to the 16 Pro I had for a year.

with all the scary pre release gossip about the battery not holding up all day, even though Apple said "all day battery life" with the Air - I mistakenly got brainwashed and ordered the $99 Magsafe Air battery.

to my surprise, after 5 days of use and the charge remaining at the end of the day is amazing.

70% at the end of my work day; 16 Pro would be at 40% and end up being charged every night.

Air totally surprised me and with my use I can go 2 days without having to charge!

going to return the Magsafe Air battery even though it looks pretty....

Glad to hear that the battery-evolution is moving forward - wonderful.
So I’m sure Apple could make a mini with a better battery too, if they wanted.
 
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Apple make a phone - the Air - that have lower battery capacity then the bigger phones.
So they make a battery bank to use with it, ok.

Why didn’t they do that for the mini?
Uhm, they did: https://support.apple.com/en-us/111857

It was compatible with all MagSafe iPhones, but was sized for the mini and was most useful with it in terms of capacity boost. I still use it occasionally.

 
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I just compared the battery capacities of the Air to my current phone the iPhone 13 Pro, and if I changed to the Air I would actually be increasing my battery capacity, only by a tiny amount, but it still surprised me. Admittedly the 17 Pro even on the non e-SIM model would be far, far larger increase.
 
um I hate to break it to you but the Air battery capacity is huge compared to the 16 Pro I had for a year.

with all the scary pre release gossip about the battery not holding up all day, even though Apple said "all day battery life" with the Air - I mistakenly got brainwashed and ordered the $99 Magsafe Air battery.

to my surprise, after 5 days of use and the charge remaining at the end of the day is amazing.

70% at the end of my work day; 16 Pro would be at 40% and end up being charged every night.

Air totally surprised me and with my use I can go 2 days without having to charge!

going to return the Magsafe Air battery even though it looks pretty....

The runtime may be more for you, but not the battery capacity.
Let's be accurate about that part.

1758636472481.png
 
If you add a case and the MagSafe battery then you've essentially removed any advantage the Air has and now you've got an underpowered thick phone with a subpar camera and speaker. I think any Air owner would need to skip the case and probably the screen protector entirely and just use the MagSafe battery on vacation.

I think the Air might make a nice secondary phone that people use in certain contexts but I'd want a more powerful device with better cameras if I'm traveling. It's too bad it's not easier to swap service between devices like it used to be in the physical sim days.
 
The “old one”? You mean their previous MagSafe battery pack that was discontinued 2 years ago?
What has that got to do with the discussion and the iPhone Air?

History is always relevant to hypothetical discussions such as yours. In this case your point, which you keep repeating is "it looks a bit awkward. As if the manufacturer doesn’t quite trust its battery life is competitive"

My question was, so when Apple released a battery pack for the iPhone Pro, it didnt trust the iPhone Pro's battery life? You cant have it both ways. Well you can assert it, you just are wrong.

I don’t need to “google” that stuff. I can just consult Apple’s in-store offerings:

Ignorance is bliss. I got it. Why let facts get in the way of your opinions? So. Let me educate you sir. As is known, apple just repurposed the Air's internal battery (you know to keep costs down), for the battery pack. As the Air's geometry is different it doesn't work with the other phones (well, it does when rotated 90°). Apple has, as you know, been in the external battery market before because they see a market opportunity. And their implementation has always been been slick. not my first rodeo with battery packs. I prefer them to third party for a variety of reasons.

btw, past batteries targeted 60%, just like this one. It is thin to match the Air's design. Is that hard to comprehend?


  • The iPhone Air is the only iPhone that Apple (the phone’s manufacturer) sells a first-party battery pack for.
  • And that battery pack lists only the iPhone Air as being compatible.

See above on compatibility. Apple designed a battery for the air using air's components. they supplied it for the same reason they have made external batteries in the past. And like the past, it is for folks that perhaps are on a flight or some other reason they are not near a charging outlet. Also like the past, the relative lack of third party batteries for the mini no doubt prompted Apple to fill this market subset. I have seen third party batteries for the Air, they are easily twice its width. Not convenient. Shrugs.

And yes, I know that there may be third-party battery packs. Apple could have well left it to third parties providing battery packs for the Air. But they for some reason didn’t - they felt to do their own.

Well, again, the relative lack of third party batteries for the specifically for the mini no doubt prompted Apple to fill this market subset. Oh wait, that doesnt count because it's History?

So my point still stands: it looks a bit awkward. As if the manufacturer doesn’t quite trust its battery life is competitive

Shrugs, who really cares? Honestly, who cares? This is a trivial marketing point, I know you are a world class marketing guru, but Apple in the past has proven they know something about marketing too. If someone is concerned about the battery life, they might be encouraged they have options. Might they? Goes both ways. Also, a lot of people do their homework and can figure out if the concern is real or not. Some people like facts.

For anyone except the most design-conscious - or people that always need to have the very newest tech - and show it off? (Again, I believe that’s a minority of consumers and the iPhone user base).

Condescending much? There is obviously a large subset of people tired of heavy, bulky phones. I wont speculate on minority or majority, what matters to Apple is will they sell enough to make it worth their while. We will find out next year. I am not big on idle speculation.
 
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The runtime may be more for you, but not the battery capacity.
Let's be accurate about that part.

View attachment 2556984

And the importance of this is? If the run time is sufficient, do we care what the capacity is? Sure, more can mean longer, but it's not linear as I have pointed out to you in the past, but it also means bigger. Apple has always targeted size of the battery to hit their target run time.

but ok. you are accurate. :)
 
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I don't know whether it's the Apple modem, software optimizations, or what, but the Air definitely punches way above its mAh rating. (I hope it is in fact the Apple modem, because if it is I suspect the pro phones could get significantly thinner and maintain current battery life, which would be the best of both worlds for me as someone who is missing the Pro cameras).

I'm firmly of the belief that the battery pack isn't needed for day-to-day use for most people (obviously you may have different needs, in which case this isn't the phone for you).

Personally speaking, I'd much rather have a skinny phone that can get big the one or two days a month I need it than always carrying around a bunch of extra battery I don't need. But I'm also the type who would rather rent a truck for the one day a year I'm buying furniture or a TV. I have friends who feel the opposite and so drive huge SUVs or pickups every day. I'm glad options exist for both sets of people, both for cars and phones.
 
any Air owner would need to skip the case and probably the screen protector entirely and just use the MagSafe battery on vacation
Personally I’d never use a case except while traveling somewhere without Apple stores. And, I have no use for the external battery unless I go off grid camping etc, in which case I’d have to bring extra power no matter which phone I had.

But, don’t assume arbitrary constraints you put on yourself apply to anyone else. Plenty of people will use cases and the battery and be very happy with their Airs. Let’s not forget, a thin phone in a case is still thinner than a thick phone in a case. Not for me, but I don’t go around proclaiming what iPhone air owners “need” to be doing.
 
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