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My biggest issue with the iPhone Air is the 3,149 mAh battery pack. You either need to get Apple's own US$99 MagSafe battery pack designed for the iPhone Air or get a 5,000 mAh external battery pack with USB Type C connector like the Anker Nano power bank (around US$24 on Amazon US) to "top up" the battery as needed.

Me thinks you need to review the definition of the word 'need.' And also put in the caveat that YOU may 'need' to, but some will not. I rarely use more than 40% of my battery between charges. I most certainly do NOT 'need' an external battery pack :). But I do agree, some will want more. Like they always do. And some have been arguing for less for smaller size for ages and they finally got it. Choice is marvelous.
 
I’m already content with my 16PM, but just using Apples own compare website, iPhone AIR vs 17. You’re paying $200 more for less, literally. Now people can do whatever they want with their money, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.
 
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I think the Air will sell pretty well. I am hearing more and more people saying they got one or plan to get one, more than is usually the case with a new model.

To me the Air sells itself. I liked what I was hearing about it over the last year and once I got to experience the phone in person yesterday I am completely sold on it. Absolutely amazing phone. The other models now seem "old" to me.

Its a shame that people who aren't interested in the phone feel that they need to go out of their way to bash it just because they don't "approve" of it personally. I think they are threatened by it and fear it will be the new trend in phone designs. I personally hope the Air is because it is incredible to hold and much needed after all the bricks we have been getting the last several years.
 
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I’m already content with my 16PM, but just using Apples own compare website, iPhone AIR vs 17. You’re paying $200 more for less, literally. Now people can do whatever they want with their money, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.
If you don't care about those features and highly value a thin and light phone most of all, it is worth every penny. I know it is to me. Thin and light weight to me is a much more important phone feature than the wide angle lens, stereo speakers, or mega battery life (one day battery life is more than enough for me).
 
I’m already content with my 16PM, but just using Apples own compare website, iPhone AIR vs 17. You’re paying $200 more for less, literally. Now people can do whatever they want with their money, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.
Not all purchases are about specs. The flip side to this is people paying more money for features they’ll never use in a form factor that’s uncomfortable.
 
I don't think there is any contest there as 'best' is defined by the features the phone offers, and the Pro models don't really have any competition in that regard within the iPhone line-up. Aesthetics seem to be more of a factor for some people and subjectively, some appear to think the Air is the better looking iPhone. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, for sure.

I have never seen people try and claim the iPad Air or MacBook Air is better than the Pro models in those categories, so do not understand why this is now a consideration with the iPhone. The Air clearly offers 'enough' of what some people want and need, but being the 'best' is not really up for debate.
It depends on what a person thinks is the most important feature available for a phone. People will have all different answers as to what they value the most in a phone. For me its light weight, that is literally the single most important feature a phone can have as I don't care what a phone is capable of if I don't like holding it in my hand due to how heavy it is. So to me the Air is literally the best phone available as it is the best in the feature I value the most.
 
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Now if you are an iPhone Air enthusiast this topic may not be for you so you may just want to scroll on.

But as someone who initially thought the Air would be the show stopper this year and sell out for months why do we think this is not the case.

I know the phone it replaced essentially the Plus was already the most unpopular but was it on this level. Meaning during the launch and preorder week was it just readily available. I was a previous Plus buyer until the Pros came out so in my day it was pretty popular.

I know many people are saying how luxurious it feels and looks and all and in my personal opinion I don’t really see it but I thought I was more of an outlier.

So what say you all. What do you think Apple missed with this phone, and do you think it will have a dramatic turnaround and become a best seller?
When preordering I was deciding between the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air.

I thought I could survive with a little less battery life or the lack of an ultra wide camera, I really value the titanium bezel. The increase in price was the only thing holding me from preordering the air, until I found out it had only 1 speaker! That was a deal breaker for me, as someone who plays videos off my phone every day. So I preordered the iPhone 17 white.
 
iphone air is a you have to try it experience. but also i wish it had fun colors which apple could’ve done behind the back glass
I agree with the colors. I think it would have been perfect if the light blue and light gold had more color. Make them a true gold and baby blue and it would have been much better.
 
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If you don't care about those features and highly value a thin and light phone most of all, it is worth every penny. I know it is to me. Thin and light weight to me is a much more important phone feature than the wide angle lens, stereo speakers, or mega battery life (one day battery life is more than enough for me).

Not all purchases are about specs. The flip side to this is people paying more money for features they’ll never use in a form factor that’s uncomfortable.
Yeah, i get everyone’s use case will be different. Which is why i said “for me”.


But think about, Apple put *less* in the phone and still are charging $200 more for the product. Even if they manage to bump up specs for further releases, they’ve already jumped the prices for their “future “ phones.
 
It’s simple, and it has absolutely nothing to do with any trade-offs or popularity or anything like that.
The vast, vast majority of consumers are *not*, read it again, *not* pre-ordering or buying their new iPhone on launch day.
The people who are are people who browse these forums, nerds, geeks, tech enthusiasts.
And literally no matter what Apple introduces, the vast majority of those people who stay up to pre-order or go out to buy on day one are buying whatever the top-of-the-line most expensive version is.

It’s the exact same reason that, despite the fact that the XR went on to become the most popular iPhone model of its cycle, those sales were absolutely not immediate. That phone did not sell out, while the XS Max did.
And this is true with all of Apple’s product lines. The bass iPad likely sells more every year than the iPad Pro does, but is it ever sold out? No.

The Air, despite its high price, is very much targeted at a regular consumer. One who just wants a super thin and light phone, doesn’t care about the cameras or the speakers or anything like that. Those people are not pre-ordering, they aren’t going out to buy on busy day one, they likely aren’t even buying from Apple, but instead are getting installment plans from their carriers.
The relative success of the iPhone Air really won’t be known until we have numbers after the holiday quarter.
 
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Yeah, i get everyone’s use case will be different. Which is why i said “for me”.


But think about, Apple put *less* in the phone and still are charging $200 more for the product. Even if they manage to bump up specs for further releases, they’ve already jumped the prices for their “future “ phones.
That's the thing: Air users are actually getting something important for that extra $200, something the other models don't have.
 
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My biggest issue with the iPhone Air is the 3,149 mAh battery pack. You either need to get Apple's own US$99 MagSafe battery pack designed for the iPhone Air or get a 5,000 mAh external battery pack with USB Type C connector like the Anker Nano power bank (around US$24 on Amazon US) to "top up" the battery as needed.
There are third party Qi2 magnetic power banks, so you’re not stuck with a wired USB-C option as an alternative to Apple’s battery pack. I have one from Ugreen that’s 5,000 mAh. It’s smaller but chunkier than the Apple one but it does the job if you need it. I haven’t had to use it with my Air so far but popping it on for a test it’s not the most ergonomic feel - I imagine the Apple one will feel much nicer given its size and shape.
 
Yeah, i get everyone’s use case will be different. Which is why i said “for me”.


But think about, Apple put *less* in the phone and still are charging $200 more for the product. Even if they manage to bump up specs for further releases, they’ve already jumped the prices for their “future “ phones.
For my use case, the bigger screen, additional RAM, and thin design are more important than a second speaker I'll almost never use and is absolutely worth paying for. I don't see it as paying more for less, I see it as "paying more for a significantly better design."

The only compromise for me is the camera; it's the only reason I'm debating returning the phone. But the camera I miss is the telephoto, not the ultra wide. So going base 17 doesn't help me there.
 
people will look at the specifications, the numbers, the features,
This is where I think you are wrong, and I just do not understand your premise.
As one of the only people in my family who even gives the slightest care about their phone, I can tell you that the majority of regular consumers are not looking at specifications, numbers and features. They don’t care, they barely understand them.
These type of concerns are straight out of the mindset of people who spend time on tech forums. These people are not the regular, these people are not the majority of the two billion Apple customers.
RAM, processor, speed, the material used on the edges of the phone, how many lenses that it has… To the majority of average consumers, this is all just noise, useless information that goes in one ear and out the other.
Someone cracked a joke the other day and I don’t know who it was but, while it wasn’t exactly very funny and kind of insulting honestly, it does have a germ of truth to it, which is that…
The iPhone Air will sell very well to people who have no idea what the difference between cellular data and Wi-Fi is. And that is a lot, a lot of people.
 
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Air 2 is definitely happening. They didn't put the effort into building a slim phone for only a year. They will probably keep it for a year or two while trying the foldable.
If the early rumors are true then the "Air" in name only might only exist for 2-3 years because supposedly they will transition the Pro and Pro Max to being like the Air. If true that will be so awesome if all the phones are ultra thin and light in a few years. There was an article on this site about it earlier in the year, spring time I think.
 
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Yeah, i get everyone’s use case will be different. Which is why i said “for me”.


But think about, Apple put *less* in the phone and still are charging $200 more for the product. Even if they manage to bump up specs for further releases, they’ve already jumped the prices for their “future “ phones.
Again, it’s not all about specs. Besides, the Air is a brand new form factor, it will have had a lot of money invested into R&D, especially to make it so strong.

Also, remember that the specs of the components are better than the base iPhone, with the pro chip and better ram etc. The comparison can’t be reduced to camera lenses and speakers.
 
Now if you are an iPhone Air enthusiast this topic may not be for you so you may just want to scroll on.

But as someone who initially thought the Air would be the show stopper this year and sell out for months why do we think this is not the case.

I know the phone it replaced essentially the Plus was already the most unpopular but was it on this level. Meaning during the launch and preorder week was it just readily available. I was a previous Plus buyer until the Pros came out so in my day it was pretty popular.

I know many people are saying how luxurious it feels and looks and all and in my personal opinion I don’t really see it but I thought I was more of an outlier.

So what say you all. What do you think Apple missed with this phone, and do you think it will have a dramatic turnaround and become a best seller?
First, prove the lack of popularity
 
If the early rumors are true then the "Air" in name only might only exist for 2-3 years because supposedly they will transition the Pro and Pro Max to being like the Air. If true that will be so awesome if all the phones are ultra thin and light in a few years. There was an article on this site about it earlier in the year, spring time I think.
I’d love to see that, but they’ve not done it with the iPad or MacBook range so I expect we will continue to see the consistency in naming. But, like the M4 iPad Pro, i also expect to see the thinner design reach the iPhone Pros.
 
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If the early rumors are true then the "Air" in name only might only exist for 2-3 years because supposedly they will transition the Pro and Pro Max to being like the Air. If true that will be so awesome if all the phones are ultra thin and light in a few years. There was an article on this site about it earlier in the year, spring time I think.
I think we are still a few years away from a true Pro Air experience. If they want to transition the Pro series into slimmer designs then they have serious work to do to get all of those components to fit into a slimmer body. Granted a slimmer Pro would sell well regardless. If they go this route I can see it being bigger than the air, but lesser than the current Pro size.
 
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