iPhone Air iPhone Air owners; switched from a Pro or Pro Max model?

[turbineseaplane]

Even if there are no efficiency changes from the 16 series the Air only has a roughly 12% smaller battery than the 16 or the 16 Pro which seems to be in the ballpark for most of the battery tests we've seen (and what I've seen in my first 24 hours as well).

You guys are all making good points ...

I just think Apple brought that MagSafe battery pack back for some reason.
Maybe it was just to quell concerns.

I'm glad they brought it back no matter what!
I have a couple of them for my 13 Mini that I use occasionally.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Almost as if people needing to do “fast core” tasks should buy the Pro 🤯🤯🤯

The problem is you don’t know when the Air will be doing that as you’ve got no control over what cores it’s prioritizing. It’s not just this app uses fast cores and this app doesn’t. It’s a lot more complex. All in all, if you get great battery life with the Air then I’m happy it lasts for you but it absolutely won’t last all day for many of us.

 

[4sallypat]

You guys are all making good points ...

I just think Apple brought that MagSafe battery pack back for some reason.
Maybe it was just to quell concerns.

I'm glad they brought it back no matter what!
I have a couple of them for my 13 Mini that I use occasionally.

I bought the Magsafe Air battery and love the design.

If I don't need for a work day, I'd use it for travel.

 

[ofarlig]

You guys are all making good points ...

I just think Apple brought that MagSafe battery pack back for some reason.
Maybe it was just to quell concerns.

I'm glad they brought it back no matter what!
I have a couple of them for my 13 Mini that I use occasionally.

I think they brought it back because there are a lot of people that worry about battery life in general and the Air will for sure have a lower battery life than the rest of the 17 series phones, so it is an easy sell to the people that worry.

I will do what I did on all my precious phones, be completely fine for normal use and just bring a charger and powerbank in my bag at those times I am taking an intercontinental flight or something.

 

[Joseph C]

The problem is you don’t know when the Air will be doing that as you’ve got no control over what cores it’s prioritizing. It’s not just this app uses fast cores and this app doesn’t. It’s a lot more complex. All in all, if you get great battery life with the Air then I’m happy it works for you but it absolutely won’t work for many of us.

Okay, well I’m actually trying the Air out and am here to report my findings as I go for the benefit of people on the forum who aren’t.

I shot about 20 minutes of footage in Kino earlier in 4K, edited the clips together in iMovie with transitions. Nice and fast, no discernible heat or throttling whatsoever.

Experimenting with Halide’s RAW capture ability too and editing those shots in Photomator. Nice and fast once again.

I am not a gamer so dunno about that. I imagine that could push it too far.

Played music and used Maps on a 40 minute drive using Wireless CarPlay.

Currently at 72% with 3h14 screen on time.

 

[4sallypat]

I think they brought it back because there are a lot of people that worry about battery life in general and the Air will for sure have a lower battery life than the rest of the 17 series phones, so it is an easy sell to the people that worry.

I will do what I did on all my precious phones, be completely fine for normal use and just bring a charger and powerbank in my bag at those times I am taking an intercontinental flight or something.

sort of like new EV drivers who have range anxiety....

based on the fact that the Air battery uses the same capacity 16 Pro battery - tells me that I am safe for all day use since I have the 16 Pro (trading in)....

 

[turbineseaplane]

sort of like new EV drivers who have range anxiety....

based on the fact that the Air battery uses the same capacity 16 Pro battery - tells me that I am safe for all day use since I have the 16 Pro (trading in)....

Umm .. no

 

[vvvvvv]

It's not the same capacity. I think the references made to the 16P initially were claims that it lasts as long, due to the efficiency of the A19 Pro

 

[turbineseaplane]

It's not the same capacity. I think the references made to the 16P initially were claims that it lasts as long, due to the efficiency of the A19 Pro

Could be .. guess it gets down to what it's used for.

Sort of odd though, that there is so much more efficiency jump just for the Air while the 17 Pro got a MASSIVE battery increase from the 16 Pro. (even the base 17 got a small bump from base 16 ... and 16e battery is very large already)

I think the folks speculating about how the Air will throttle and battery life claims will be incredibly subjective, are spot on.

Could be a non issue ... could be a huge issue -- just depends upon the user.

 

[ofarlig]

sort of like new EV drivers who have range anxiety....

based on the fact that the Air battery uses the same capacity 16 Pro battery - tells me that I am safe for all day use since I have the 16 Pro (trading in)....

Yeah I see the same behaviour as new EV drivers that complain about range as they charge at 40%. Maybe the years of driving an EV made me not so worried, I've had no problem running the car and phone down to 1% if needed and generally never worry about either running out.

The Air's battery is 12% smaller than the 16 Pro's battery so if you count on getting 12% shorter battery life you won't be dissapointed.

 

[4sallypat]

......

Sort of odd though, that there is so much more efficiency jump just for the Air while the 17 Pro got a MASSIVE battery increase from the 16 Pro.

I think the folks speculating about how the Air will throttle and battery life claims will be incredibly subjective, are spot on.

Could be a non issue ... could be a huge issue -- just depends upon the user.

Pro users probably need that extra battery capacity.

That's why the aluminum frame & vapor cooling to dissipate heat better.

Us Air users are in a different ballgame - we don't use them for high end apps.
I never use the Pro features on my 16 Pro - that's why I wanted the Air.
Ergonomics, form factor, weight and slim profile were the main reasons.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I never use the Pro features on my 16 Pro - that's why I wanted the Air.

Why did you ever have the Pro (vs a normal model), I guess would be my question?

 

[Stephen Robinson]

So, iPhone Air owners; did you switched from a Pro or Pro Max (or even a Mini ) model before? How is your transition so far regarding display size and ergonomics?

I switched from a 15p to the new Air. I will never go back to the Pro series after using the Air!

 

[4sallypat]

Why did you ever have the Pro (vs a normal model), I guess would be my question?

Good question!

I had the 14+ but it lacked AOD which was important for my EV car to unlock, open the frunk, open the trunk, start climate controls, etc - as I approached it.

When the 16 Pro and PM came out, they had that feature and that's the reason I got the 16 Pro - to use the EV app with AOD.

My wife was quick to point out asking why I have Pro phone when I never use any of the features.

OTOH she uses the camera & video a lot so it's important to her and she would not get an Air.

 

[Joseph C]

Why did you ever have the Pro (vs a normal model), I guess would be my question?

Until now, most premium materials and usually screen quality/refresh rate/bezel size etc.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Okay, well I’m actually trying the Air out and am here to report my findings as I go for the benefit of people on the forum who aren’t.

I shot about 20 minutes of footage in Kino earlier in 4K, edited the clips together in iMovie with transitions. Nice and fast, no discernible heat or throttling whatsoever.

Experimenting with Halide’s RAW capture ability too and editing those shots in Photomator. Nice and fast once again.

I am not a gamer so dunno about that. I imagine that could push it too far.

Played music and used Maps on a 40 minute drive using Wireless CarPlay.

Currently at 72% with 3h14 screen on time.

Cool, thanks for reporting out. This does help.

 

[Joseph C]

The only thing I’m scared of is the camera and losing the telephoto.

But then I went through my Photos library and looked at shots I took on older iPhones.

Taken on iPhone X - 12MP main camera (yes, they were edited on device):

🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[maka344]

I’ve traditionally always gone Pro Max. I’ve always enjoyed the premium materials and bigger screen. I’m currently testing both the 17 Pro Max and the Air and, I’m torn.

The Air for me, would be perfect with a 6’9 display and a slightly bigger battery. The other concerns for me is the speaker and the single camera, although I’m not a pro photographer, some of the pro camera features are nice to have for the odd time I use them. Decisions, decisions.

 

[bill-p]

I think the folks speculating about how the Air will throttle and battery life claims will be incredibly subjective, are spot on.

I think it's quite easy to understand why a device that throttles more easily will end up drawing less power overall. Without throttling, the chip is allowed to go full tilt, which will draw exponentially more from the battery since frequency doesn't scale linearly with power draw.

Short bursts won't do much for the battery if the phone just sits idle most of the time.

It has been well over 12 hours since I unplugged my Air. I charged it to 100% initially while it was transferring data from my old 14 PM. Now it's sitting at 46% remaining with a reported 4.5 hours of screen time combined. I took photos, I downloaded apps, heck, it took almost 2 hours to activate Apple Intelligence. Some of the new features like live translation are pretty cool. I'm confident I can end the 24-hour mark or thereabout without having to worry too much. As you said, it depends on how the phone is used. I guess "many" will try to push the phone, edit videos, edit photos, play games, etc... basically treat their phones like computers. But I think it's fair to consider that there is still a market for light-use folks like me, even if it may not be as large as the market for people who are increasingly using their phones more and more.

 

[teerexx52]

My shorts no longer feel like they’re about to fall down and cause a very awkward public situation 🤣 I barely notice it’s there and it’s much easier to slide in and out of tighter pockets.

Boy do I agree with that!

 

[4sallypat]

Boy do I agree with that!

Same - happy to switch from 16 Pro to Air too...

 

[MarkX]

I’ve traditionally always gone Pro Max. I’ve always enjoyed the premium materials and bigger screen. I’m currently testing both the 17 Pro Max and the Air and, I’m torn.

The Air for me, would be perfect with a 6’9 display and a slightly bigger battery. The other concerns for me is the speaker and the single camera, although I’m not a pro photographer, some of the pro camera features are nice to have for the odd time I use them. Decisions, decisions.

It's always better to have and not use than to not have and need!

 

[maka344]

It's always better to have and not use than to not have and need!

Indeed. I’ve actually just boxed up the Air. The Pro Max it is.

 

[dantay]

Switched from a 16 Pro……very happy.

Build quality is fantastic……no issues this year at all………well apart from setting it up which was a server related issue.

 

[rui no onna]

Based on my limited use - 1-2 hours per day, I'd say I am safe with the battery life on my Air.

To be fair, I will let it optimize over the next couple of days to see what the battery life is compared to my 16 Pro during the work week.

I have similar SOT with my iPhone. My problem is it's in a no wifi, 1-2 bars area 9-10 hours a day. Plus tasks like CGM, Home, Find My and Siri drain a ton of the battery in the background. I plan on trying out the Air for a week. If that doesn't work out, I'll just grab the regular 17.