New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

[zenmacx]

I’ve seen a few people posting about having two new devices. What’s your use case for having two new iPhones? Does an employer pay for one of them?

My work requires I carry the latest iPhone and Android phone, that’s two lines.

The third line I pay for as it’s my personal Smartphone.

As a tech enthusiast I enjoy switching between iOS and Android devices for the experience of using a variety of different models.

 

[zenmacx]

Everyone arguing about "which one!?" is still buying a new iPhone anyways.

So very true!

Apple is brilliant when it comes to marketing, they build excellent products and promote them with world class advertising.

Then to top it off they have happy shareholders that reap the rewards.

No company or product is perfect, but Apple certainly has an exemplary track record. In turn they get to laugh all the way to the bank!

 

[zenmacx]

We’ll see once the sales plateau.

I see what you did there.

Is a sales plateau anything like a camera plateau ? 😂

 

[zenmacx]

The threat of the Plus is probably the one of the reasons why Apple didn't continue with it.

Imagine if the 17 Plus carried the same upgrades as the base 17.

17 Plus: 6.9-inch ProMotion, 256GB, 35-hour battery life, $899. With a $300 jump to the Pro Max, people will start asking if they really need that extra camera.

Yes indeed.

I’ve owned a 14 Plus along with my usual Pro Max daily driver. I bought it just to see what it was like and was very impressed.

If not for the photographic demands of my work, the Plus model would meet my needs nicely.

I’m guessing that perhaps the reason it’s sales were less than Apple expected was due to the company’s expertise and success in upselling buyers into the Pro and Pro Max models. It’s not unusual for people to buy more than they need.

 

[JPack]

Yes indeed.

I’ve owned a 14 Plus along with my usual Pro Max daily driver. I bought it just to see what it was like and was very impressed.

If not for the photographic demands of my work, the Plus model would meet my needs nicely.

I’m guessing that perhaps the reason it’s sales were less than Apple expected was due to the company’s expertise and success in upselling buyers into the Pro and Pro Max models. It’s not unusual for people to buy more than they need.

This is the first time the base model (and hypothetical 17 Plus) isn’t crippled. In all recent years, Apple deliberately crippled the base and Plus in multiple ways, which made buyers think twice.

14 Plus got an old chip, lacked Dynamic Island, and was stuck with 12MP.
15 Plus got Dynamic Island but still had an old chip, lacked ProMotion, and didn’t get 256GB base.
16 Plus finally had chip parity, but still lacked ProMotion and 256GB base. The display was smaller than Pro Max.

 

[svish]

Think all the new iPhones this year are fantastic. The base models can easily be recommended with the addition of 120Hz, better cameras, more storage and all the other improvements for the same price. The Pro models get a design change and also I am very happy with the new bright Orange color. Still waiting for my Orange Pro Max to be delivered.

 

[Smeg84]

I look forward to the seemingly inevitable day when the most of the population has a 65” flatscreen with backpack straps attached to their back and I’m back on a 2002 Motorola Razr flip phone 🤣.



It’s by far the most innovative iPhone in a decade. Sticking a faster chip in a fat case is not innovative, it’s what every tech maker has done for time immemorial. Apple has never won by playing spec games, that’s what PCs are for. They win by bringing forward top notch industrial design with solid specs. The pro is a great phone but it’s by no means innovative. It’s a beer can with a fast processor.



Put it in the pocket of an athletic fit pair of jeans then talk to me. It’s far more comfortable, and also doesn’t look like I’m carrying a cinder block.

Motorola made a phone like the Air 8 years ago but with the added bonus of expandable storage and a headphone jack, Samsung make a thin phone with much better specs.

And as for Apple winning funny how people are snapping up the “Beer Can” and not “Top Notch Industrial Design”

 

[eifelbube]

The truth is that there have been buyers in large numbers for basically every single iPhone Apple has ever offered.

None of them have "failed".

Just because Apple insists on every model selling in "MEGA MOAR NUMBRRZZ" doesn't mean any of them were "failures".

I wish folks would advocate for more choices in form factors and sizes.

It totally sucks to have everything they offer be nearly the exact same device.

Indeed …
It is obvious why there is no AppleWatch / AirPod / AirTag / Vision Pro mini
But there is a mini for HomePod / Mac / iPad
Why no longer for the iPhone?

 

[Turbonow]

This is a long telephoto series of flagship Androids: https://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_opp..._ultra_camera_compa-review-2867p3.php#image44

All have different strength and weakness, Oppo X8 Ultra seems to show highest detail imo, yet common point of these 5 sample is unnatural, oversampled & distracting texture and colour rendition of forest foliage.

Though season and daytime is a little different, this the one from iPhone 17 Pro: https://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_17_pro-review-2887p5.php#image89

Colour is much better than all the Android ones. And though image sharpness and contrast is a little weak, if sharpened and levels-adjusted, it comes close to them in detail with a natural & pleasant result reminding dSLR images.

Solid improvement from iPhone 16 Pro to 17 Pro can be observed in telephoto department. Although ultra-wide seems weak in edges, other brands are not so inspiring as well, except for Vivo X200 Ultra (and probably the upcoming global X300 Pro)

There's hardly any true competitor of iPhone 17 Pro (max) now for photography & video, esp. in colour science. You may get some extra info squeezed from the sensor & optics in Androids if the goal is to get absolute magnification but with an expense of unpleasant AI-looking images, while even 40x of iPhone (at daylight) is quite naturally rendered.

 

[Turbonow]

...

 

[Mark Hollis]

I would like to buy the iPhone Air. I think it is the most beautiful iPhone ever. But having only one camera is too much of an sacrifice to me as this iPhone is my main camera. Add a tele camera to the AIR next time and I will happily buy it!

 

[2ilent8cho]

As a Mini user I thought i would have a feel of the Air in the Apple Store when passing, what a horrible feeling phone, and its nasty looking, screen is to large, even larger than an iPhone 17 is a no from me. I'd get an iPhone 17 over the Air, so not surprised it has weak demand.

 

[ruslan120]

I actually love the Air.
But let’s be honest — it’s not selling well, and that’s not just because of the obvious compromises. I really think the marketing team dropped the ball here.

The launch video? Super serious. No spark, no humor, no fun. It felt like it was designed only to make people go “Whoa!” — but not in a way that connects emotionally. It’s all just:
“It’s so tough! Look at our engineering! The camera works! The battery lasts!”
Cool... but that’s kind of the bare minimum, isn’t it?

There’s nothing that makes you feel anything. No sense of cleverness or charm. Remember the old MacBook Air ad? The one with “I’m a new soul living in a strange world...” — it had personality. It made you smile. It made you want the thing, even if you didn’t need it.

That’s what the iPhone Air is missing: a bit of soul, a bit of character.

It’s just a phone..

 

[arobert3434]

Holding an Air in hand it doesn't feel that thin or whatever compared to regular models. One obvious giveaway is the limited camera array.

The iPhone Air camera seems like the worst of both worlds: massive thick, high plateau going all the way across the phone, compromising thin-and-light, and then sticking only one limited-quality lens on it. Even on the Mini we got two lenses (regular + wide angle) with far less bump.

 

[joshwithachance]

This can be said for the plus also 🤔

At least the Plus lasted 3 years vs the mini’s 2 lol.

 

[joshwithachance]

It’s just a phone..

Your point? We’re here on tech forums because we care about phones and gadgets more than the casual consumer.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

I must disappoint so many people when I go out and pay absolutely no attention to their phone or count its lenses. Sorry to all those people whose lives I unintentionally shattered.

Phones are status symbols these days, like Air Jordans back in the day. Regular Nikes just didn't have the same cachet.

I remember a meme where a lady is walking with her kids. One asks, "Mommy, why does that man have wires coming out of his earbuds?" She says: "Let's go. This neighborhood isn't safe."

 

[turbineseaplane]

Phones are status symbols these days, like Air Jordans back in the day. Regular Nikes just didn't have the same cachet.

I remember a meme where a lady is walking with her kids. One asks, "Mommy, why does that man have wires coming out of his earbuds?" She says: "Let's go. This neighborhood isn't safe."

(narrator) "Phones are actually not status symbols anymore, as they all look the same and everyone has one."

 

[thebarrkbyte]

They kneecapped the Air by making the iPhone 17 last year's Pro. And with bad color choices for the Air, another kneecap. That light blue is barely noticeable, like last year's boring "desert", and we are all tired of black and white.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

(narrator) "Phones are actually not status symbols anymore, as they all look the same and everyone has one."

Everybody has clothing, too, and yet the label remains a status symbol. Same for the many people who own cars. An E or S Class Mercedes is more of a flex than a GLA or a CLA.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Everybody has clothing, too, and yet the label remains a status symbol. Same for the many people who own cars. An E or S Class Mercedes is more of a flex than a GLA or a CLA.

Have a look at what I typed, that you quoted 😉

(Clothing and cars do not all look the same as smartphones do)

 

[El Cabong]

Put it in the pocket of an athletic fit pair of jeans then talk to me. It’s far more comfortable, and also doesn’t look like I’m carrying a cinder block.

The phone bulge is still there for me. Has more to do with the screen size than the thickness when you have tighter/smaller pockets.

By the way, I'm not saying that no one is allowed to like the Air. I like the concept of the Air - trade off some specs for a thinner, lighter phone. However, for me, having only one camera is too much of a compromise, because I take ultrawide and telephoto shots all the time. That's why I have a Pro. If the Air works for you, that's great, but don't pretend that being ~1mm thinner than an iPhone 6 is some quantum leap in technology.

 

[El Cabong]

Have a look at what I typed, that you quoted 😉

(Clothing and cars do not all look the same as smartphones do)

The real flex is going caseless.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The real flex is going caseless.

I mean .. if you got an Air ... you gotta do it, right!?

It's the whole point!

 

[zenmacx]

Holding an Air in hand it doesn't feel that thin or whatever compared to regular models. One obvious giveaway is the limited camera array.

Before seeing it in person, I had an optimistic view of the Air. It looked good and the small battery was of no concern.

Next I went to the Apple Store to look closer and buy one. Prepared for some compromises I expected to walk out with a new phone.

What I wasn't prepared for, was how bad the single mono speaker is. Nor was I expecting to be surprised by the odd feeling in hand due to the shape of the back panel. It's beautiful to look at but not a phone I want.

In turn this experience causes me to appreciate the flat back on my Galaxy S25 Edge. Its dual camera bump is quite minimal and off to the side.

I learned how much I like a mostly flat back panel like other iPhones. There's the camera bump on my iPhone 16 Pro Max but it’s not a large bar all the way across the top of the phone, using Pro Max models for years, I've enjoyed them.

The Apple faithful will cringe and criticize Samsung, yet I enjoy both Android and iOS platforms. Choices and variety keep things interesting and fun.