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iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro Buyer's Guide: 35+ Differences Compared

This chart says the Pro and Pro Max support physical SIMs and I'm pretty sure that is incorrect.

ChatGPT also tried to tell me that earlier, which makes me think that this chart is AI generated.

Edit: It seems that my thinking here is specific to North America and the chart is correct for most of the rest of the world.
 
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ibell63 said:
This chart says the Pro and Pro Max support physical SIMs and I'm pretty sure that is incorrect.

ChatGPT also tried to tell me that earlier, which makes me think that this chart is AI generated.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure that you're incorrect. It takes physical SIMs in a lot of regions, hence why both are listed.
 
The Air is a gimmick. You get an extremely thin iPhone but the trade off is literally everything else. Pro is a no brainer the better phone and only $100 more
 
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"Most difficult purchasing decision in years". It's just premium look and feel vs premium phone...

If you value appearance above all else (or a slim fit in your pocket), you get the Air. If you want the best phone, you get the Pro or Pro Max. If you want the best value, you get 17, and it's not close. Where's the challenge here? Coming to grips with a reality that you buy electronics for vanity, not capabilities? If you're considering a Pro because you want the capabilities of the Pro, there's no reason to be considering the Air, as the base 17 would be a better alternative to the Pro. It's both more capable (outside of missing some ram) and less expensive than the Air. The Air is the third best option from a capabilities perspective. Not complicated.

The 12 and 13 mini generated more challenging purchasing decisions (that rarely went the mini's way unfortunately).
 
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You rarely get a chance to be on the cutting edge of design and function and now is one of those times. We have all bought the iPhone pros for years but today we can obtain the first iteration of the future. I can’t wait until my black (don’t get me started on “cosmic orange and weird blue colors for a pro phone). Years from now I think I will be quite happy I had the first iPhone air when it first came out.
 
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ibell63 said:
This chart says the Pro and Pro Max support physical SIMs and I'm pretty sure that is incorrect.

ChatGPT also tried to tell me that earlier, which makes me think that this chart is AI generated.
Click to expand...
Wrong
esim.jpg
 
I really want the Air but I’ afraid I might miss some of the cameras and the battery is another worry. I have a 15Pro, and honestly barely use anything else besides the main camera. But i do enjoy recording in Log from time to time, especially on my trips.

Ordered the Pro Max but still wondering if the Air would be good enough for me (and it looks fresh and sleek, something i haven’t felt about a phone in a while)
 
I don't think the trade-off is worthwhile. The 16e, 17, 17 Pro, and basically any phone less than 1 cm thin is fine with most people.
 
I would get the air if it wasn't for the single speaker. I just can't with the single speaker. I'm hoping it's a special kind of speaker with more power to compensate but that remains to be seen, or heard.. I preordered the pro but I might return it if the air's speaker is good enough.
 
I’m actually excited about getting the Air this time, I’ve bought the new iPhone Pro every year they’ve had one, and every iPhone before that. I’m excited four a light phone, and thin. I don’t use all the cameras on my pro all the time, so one year with out it will be fine, the battery life will be the same as my current one. But the single speaker might be the thing that causes me to return it.
 
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Though Air is a good iPhone, I would not buy it due to the presence of a single camera. Battery life also might not be great. Like the polished frame of the Air.
 
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Sammy in SoCal said:
The iPhone Air is not for professional videographers, photographers, or content creators. They have the pros for that. It’s for people who want to take a break from bulky phones and enjoy the aesthetics. It really does look like a piece of jewelry. Imagine how it will feel in your hands and pocket.
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True. I have my own dedicated camera for taking projects professionally. The Air (in gold color) will be my chosen phone for the aesthetics and the lightness.
The break from carrying such heavy and bulky phone will be refreshing for me.

PS: As for my next secondary phone, Imma waiting patiently as well for that Tecno Pova Slim. Gotta make my messenger bag slightly lighter as well. ;)
 
SamRyouji said:
True. I have my own dedicated camera for taking projects professionally. The Air (in gold color) will be my chosen phone for the aesthetics and the lightness.
The break from carrying such heavy and bulky phone will be refreshing for me.

PS: As for my next secondary phone, Imma waiting patiently as well for that Tecno Pova Slim. Gotta make my messenger bag slightly lighter as well. ;)
Click to expand...
Yeah, but I’m going a little extreme for this round of iPhones. Because the 17 pro max design is a first as well. Not as pleasing aesthetically as the air but that’s ok. It’s still different . So I have the iPhone air cloud white pre-ordered. Then on the day of release I’m going to be in line(if there is a line lol) at my local Apple Store to pick up a silver iPhone Pro Max. What am I gonna do with two phones? I haven’t figured that out yet lol. This is what happens when you are older and never been married or had kids. You have time and some money.
 
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Nobody is talking about the fact the Air has the best of the single main cameras of all the devices. Not sure why Apple did this. But it has a better f/1.6 (f stop) and higher/wider mm main camera. Which translates to about 11% more light into the lens. Pro models can only get down to 1.78. So for someone like me who takes tons of photos with main camera of friends in dim/dimmer environments like bars/nightclubs/festivals it’s the way to go for me. Every little bit helps and 11% is huge for me. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
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Sammy in SoCal said:
Yeah, but I’m going a little extreme for this round of iPhones. Because the 17 pro max design is a first as well. Not as pleasing aesthetically as the air but that’s ok. It’s still different . So I have the iPhone air cloud white pre-ordered. Then on the day of release I’m going to be in line(if there is a line lol) at my local Apple Store to pick up a silver iPhone Pro Max. What am I gonna do with two phones? I haven’t figured that out yet lol. This is what happens when you are older and never been married or had kids. You have time and some money.
Click to expand...
Well...staying unmarried and childfree is also my life target. ;)
 
Tim: We have created the ugliest iPhone ever, the great orange turd phone, to suck up to our dear leader! May it change your life as much as refrigeration and the wheel!
 
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Sammy in SoCal said:
The iPhone Air is not for professional videographers, photographers, or content creators. They have the pros for that. It’s for people who want to take a break from bulky phones and enjoy the aesthetics. It really does look like a piece of jewelry. Imagine how it will feel in your hands and pocket.
Click to expand...
i think the air would've been an instant hit if the tech somehow allows it to have dual camera just like the base model.
 
dogstar said:
Tim: We have created the ugliest iPhone ever, the great orange turd phone, to suck up to our dear leader! May it change your life as much as refrigeration and the wheel!
Click to expand...
i was literally going to get the pro but decided to try the air, with a possibility of returning it in exchange for the base model, simply because the pro is so ugly. the design won't stand the test of time. 2 years in and it'll look outdated as hell
 
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Reggiebaldwin said:
You rarely get a chance to be on the cutting edge of design and function and now is one of those times. We have all bought the iPhone pros for years but today we can obtain the first iteration of the future. I can’t wait until my black (don’t get me started on “cosmic orange and weird blue colors for a pro phone). Years from now I think I will be quite happy I had the first iPhone air when it first came out.
Click to expand...
This is how I feel. It's been a while now since we've been given a really new iPhone, a new imagining of how the technology can look and feel. That's part of design too, not just "how it works."

I remember when the word "delight" used to pop up a lot in Apple product discourse. When did that stop?
 
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