iPhone air has .4” larger screen than 16e. Of course it is taller and wider
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iPhone Air People Just Don’t Get the Point of the iPhone Air
- Thread starter Sami13496
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Screen size: yes iPhone Air has a larger display.
However my real world experience having owned dozens of iPhone models since the original, including my personal preference for large screens like the 6.9" display on my iPhone 16 Pro Max, has taught me that I can get most of my work done on a 6.1" or larger screen just fine.
Every model is a compromise of one sort or another. I choose to celebrate the choices we have.
I've been thinking about this. I don't think the Air is a proposition of "form over function." Its proposition is "superior form over superior function." The Air is quite functional--it does everything I need it to do. And given the choice of having a gorgeous phone that is quite functional, over a bulky phone that is superbly functional, I choose the first option.
I find the discussion about compromises a bit strange at times. It’s as if a device is expected to be thin and light but absolutely must not make a single compromise. That’s just not possible. In any other category, this would be completely normal. Cars are a good example. The same car brand might sell a premium SUV and a sports car at roughly the same price. The sports car clearly compromises on space, but it’s more enjoyable to drive and more agile. In that case, it would be quite odd if people said, “Hey, it has compromises because it can’t fit as many people and as much cargo as the SUV.” Like, yeah, no kidding, two completely different use cases, hello!
And then imagine if someone driving an SUV said, “Well, that sports car doesn’t have any space, nobody asked for this.”
And then imagine if someone driving an SUV said, “Well, that sports car doesn’t have any space, nobody asked for this.”
SUVs have taken over the market completely in North America. Sedans and sports cars have essentially become niche products.
ie. Car analogies are never good. BTW, I drive a sedan, which some may call a somewhat sporty one, which I bought in 2025.
Some of those compromises might be too much for people.
If your sports car lacks:
- stereo speakers
- the practical driving range of a crossover
- a backup camera,
people might think twice about it.
Yes, absolutely. Users have one question to ask themselves: “do I prefer the missing features or the form factor?”
There is no wrong answer.
And why not. iPhone is Apple's main market product range and has expanded from one model to three versions over the years. The Air as a "trial" fourth version is what it is - a trial version. This is another example of the principle of "We can do this; the technology allows it; so go for it; we can afford it". 12in thin MacBook mentality again.
They field tested the design to death, so it's obviously going to be nice. But there are always trade-offs, obviously.
Haters are annoying, but they will soon scurry back into their holes.
Haters are annoying, but they will soon scurry back into their holes.
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Isn't that true for lots of technology based items. Customers don't know they need/want something until they see/use it and then - POW - lots of folks get one.
And if I could have the UCLA lady volleyball team parachute in today to help me clean my house, I would likely have a much better day, but you know, we do live in constraint-based world. Judging the world with checklists is inherently reductive. Give Ansel Adams a box camera with essentially zero technology and he'll deliver superior photos than 99.99999999% of cellphone users (yes, I tested that number).
Fair enough, but before we get too deep in the weeds measuring grams, I think it will be worth it in a week to actually hold one and see for oneself. Too many folks who have touched this thing seem to think its size/feel is exceptional, and dare I say, "gamebreaking"? I'll know come Friday.
I don't think I have ever picked up any iPhone, from the original one all the way to the iPhone 16 series, and thought, "Gosh, this thing is just too thick and heavy. I really need to bulk up on protein and hit the barbells a bit more to comfortably use this phone."
I think the Air is a very cool design statement. Buy it if you like the way it looks and want to make a (fashion) statement with your iPhone, but I think its disingenuous to say you're buying the Air because the "standard" iPhones are just too thick or heavy as to be cumbersome to use.
I think the Air is a very cool design statement. Buy it if you like the way it looks and want to make a (fashion) statement with your iPhone, but I think its disingenuous to say you're buying the Air because the "standard" iPhones are just too thick or heavy as to be cumbersome to use.
A better comparison is the 16e, which is just 1.2% (or 2 grams) heavier than the Air.
1. You’re not sitting in your phone, the stereo separation on a phone is very slight, and the listening experience is going to be bad regardless. More important will be if there’s enough bass to not sound tinny. A lot of bluetooth speakers that are much larger than the iPhone are mono, until you hit a certain size it doesn’t really matter. The Sony Ult Field 3 for one example
2. More comparable would be having a backup camera vs a 360 camera system like some luxury cars. Most people would be fine with just the backup camera if it meant they were driving a sports car instead
Anecdotally, I purposely specced my Cayman without a backup camera just because it also added parking sensors, and I didn’t like how they looked on the bumpers. I live in the city and have to parallel park a lot, and yes it is hard lol. Some people prioritize beauty over function, to each their own 🍻
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Ordered a 17 Pro Max. My only sincere hope is that when I pick it up on Friday, and walk past the desk with the Airs on it, and when I magically stop there, and then when I hold one in my hands…that I won’t like the Air.
Because then my head will explode.
I like it so much but it just doesn’t make sense for me. And that’s sad because it’s such a beauty!
And who doesn’t like something beautiful ??!
Because then my head will explode.
I like it so much but it just doesn’t make sense for me. And that’s sad because it’s such a beauty!
And who doesn’t like something beautiful ??!
Certainly a lot of engineering has gone into it. On the other hand, by a rough calculation the Air has only around 15% less volume than the 16e, so it’s really not that much different from a pounded-flat 16e with some components moved around, also taking into account that the Air uses denser battery tech (which Apple isn’t manufacturing themselves). And regarding thinness specifically, we already have thinner devices than the Air with the iPad Pro. So it’s less of a technical marvel than rather a clever idea of moving all the chips into the camera bump (at the price of having that thick bar).
Current stereo iPhones sound pretty good, albeit without much bass.
Going to mono is a big step backwards, although it won’t matter to some people.
And the 16e is way cheaper with the same number of cameras. And wouldn’t be surprised if the audio on the 16e is way better.
I heard the battery life quote was for videos on the device and not videos being streamed off of say YouTube, TikTok etc. So we will see.
My “daily driver” has these three above, I take them for granted.
My “old F40 sports car” lacks all three, I find it thrilling to drive.
We all have our priorities…
The EU battery tests also show the battery life is decent, and they use various different tests/metrics.
Let’s wait til Wednesday when the review embargo lifts but all signs are it’s a more than decent battery. Yes it’s not as good as the 17 Pro but the 17 Pro is meant to be a beast used by serious professionals, which a lot of tech nerds like to have because it’s the best/most powerful.
The same way because are now calling the Pros to big and bulky and saying they are overkill. It’s coming for both sides. This happens every product release.
It’s for sure a step backward, but I think whether the speaker is good or not will be more important than stereo
In current iPhones, if you turn on mono in accessibility and cover the ear and bottom speakers independently, you can see that all of the lows are coming from the bottom speaker, and the top one sounds really bad by comparison. That’s what I’m most worried about