The vast majority of users "drive" only one iPhone. So when you ask them to make such a compromise on standard features, most of them say no.
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iPhone Air People Just Don’t Get the Point of the iPhone Air
- Thread starter Sami13496
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The vast majority of users "drive" only one iPhone. So when you ask them to make such a compromise on standard features, most of them say no.
The iPhone Air EU battery tests (per EPREL data):
- Mixed Use: 40 hours (simulating calls, browsing, social media, light gaming, idle time)
- Online Video Streaming: 22 hours
- Offline Video Playback: 27 hours
Rating: Class A (Highest).
- Mixed Use: 40 hours (simulating calls, browsing, social media, light gaming, idle time)
- Online Video Streaming: 22 hours
- Offline Video Playback: 27 hours
Rating: Class A (Highest).
Of course nobody is going to be saying anything about weight lifting, but people have commented about wrist strain and callouses etc in the past. I currently have the 16 Plus and it was the first model that I got a pop socket for, and so when I look at the 17P and PM and see that they're even bigger, that's definitely a factor for me. I also don't want to go down in size to the 17, so to someone like me the Air is checking certain boxes more than the other models.
I can imagine PM users having that perception, as the PMs are really heavy and bulky. As a mini owner who also tried out a 16e in store and still wishes for an iPhone as lightweight as the SE1, I bought an Air dummy a couple of weeks ago, and it doesn’t compare favorably, doesn’t feel particularly lightweight, and is quite bulky despite its thinness. So it really depends on where you’re coming from.
More EU test result data, and comparisons of the Air to the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max - it’s unfair to compare to 17 Pro IMO.
The Air is Class A for Energy Efficiency, where last year’s Pros were Class B. Huge improvement.
Air matches or exceeds 16 Pro on all battery tests, but less than 16 Pro Max. However, the gap is very close for average use to the Pro Max (~18-22 hours real-world for all).
The Air has a Class A battery cycle life (1000 cycles) vs 800-900 cycles on 16 Pro and Pro Max. Better long term longevity.
Drop tests wise, the Air survived 180 falls from 1m (Class B) while the 16 Pro and Pro Max survived 90 (Class C). Double the survival rate vs 16 Pro models. Matches 17 Pro Max.
Scratch Resistance - Class A. Last year’s models - Class B.
Bend Tests - Outperforms 16 Pro in all tests and was fine over 3000 bend cycles.
Apple cooked with the iPhone Air and I do feel that people are going to realise the “compromises” are being slightly misconstrued.
This doesn’t take anything away from the 17 Pro series. They are complete beasts and ready for people to really push to incredible limits, especially in professional contexts like videography etc.
The Air is Class A for Energy Efficiency, where last year’s Pros were Class B. Huge improvement.
Air matches or exceeds 16 Pro on all battery tests, but less than 16 Pro Max. However, the gap is very close for average use to the Pro Max (~18-22 hours real-world for all).
The Air has a Class A battery cycle life (1000 cycles) vs 800-900 cycles on 16 Pro and Pro Max. Better long term longevity.
Drop tests wise, the Air survived 180 falls from 1m (Class B) while the 16 Pro and Pro Max survived 90 (Class C). Double the survival rate vs 16 Pro models. Matches 17 Pro Max.
Scratch Resistance - Class A. Last year’s models - Class B.
Bend Tests - Outperforms 16 Pro in all tests and was fine over 3000 bend cycles.
Apple cooked with the iPhone Air and I do feel that people are going to realise the “compromises” are being slightly misconstrued.
This doesn’t take anything away from the 17 Pro series. They are complete beasts and ready for people to really push to incredible limits, especially in professional contexts like videography etc.
Tastes are different. Anything with high-gloss metal bands looks cheap and ugly to me. Camera bumps are also a turn-off.
Just saw this and it looks like Air battery will be a lot better than I had been afraid of.
Apple Lists iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro Battery Capacities
Apple has confirmed the battery capacities for the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models that were announced earlier...
www.macrumors.com
- iPhone 17: 3,692 mAh (+3.7% over iPhone 16)
- iPhone Air: 3,149 mAh
- iPhone 17 Pro: 4,252 mAh (+18.7% over iPhone 16 Pro)
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: 5,088 mAh (+8.6% over iPhone 16 Pro Max)
- iPhone SE 2022: 2,018 mAh
- iPhone 13 mini: 2,406 mAh
- iPhone 15 Pro: 3,274 mAh
- iPhone 16e: 4,005 mAh
I ordered an air because, on a normal day I get home with maybe 50% battery. I like the idea of having the smallest iPhone with the option to chuck a battery on the back and have the longest battery life. If it’s doesn’t work out I’ll go back the the pro when the 18 comes out. I was a little surprised about it only being USB 2, but I’ve never used the port on my pro for data transfer. I wonder if it does hdmi out.
Everyone is talking about durability, battery life, and cameras. But my 2 biggest concerns are thermal throttling and single speaker. In 2025, a $1k phone not having stereo sound is kinda silly to me. If the Air 2 or whatever adds that speaker and the thermals test OK, I could bite next year maybe.
Overall to the thread’s title, I think people do get it, they just don’t see the point of sacrificing functionality in the name of aesthetics. Just like not everyone bought the original MacBook Air. But ultimately the benefits of the design will trickle down to other products too.
Overall to the thread’s title, I think people do get it, they just don’t see the point of sacrificing functionality in the name of aesthetics. Just like not everyone bought the original MacBook Air. But ultimately the benefits of the design will trickle down to other products too.
We get it. The 17 Pro has a vapour chamber which means no throttling when filming 4K video at 60fps for hours without dimming or slowdowns.
But the Air uses “Copper Post” technology from LG Innotek - a miniaturised heat dissipation system that spreads thermal load efficiently. This will avoid frequent throttling even under heavier loads for I reckon 80% of users. From what I’ve read it’s a game changer.
The Class A energy efficiency implies low baseline heat generation. Obviously power users will require the Pro models … because they’re professionals. The average user, and that includes all of us geek on this forum, would likely struggle to have thermal throttling problems with the Air I reckon.
The whole single speaker thing is a bit overstated too. It’s a clear casualty of the thin design, saving space and weight (145g total). With software processing they can likely boost perceived bass/clarity without a second driver.
9to5Mac and Smartprix both noted it’s surprisingly capable for mono, without the muddiness of single-speaker rival phones..
How many people really care about the phone speakers beyond loudspeaker calls occasionally and trivial online video? That’s what headphones or Bluetooth speakers are for.
No Pro produced yet has had a vapor chamber and they were titanium until last year.
Obviously the new pro with aluminum and vapor chamber will do better thermally for long tasks, but any fearmongering about Air thermals is just that. There is no logic to speculating that it will be thermally any worse than any prior years’ Pro models that were also titanium and also had no vapor chamber and also had 3nm socs.
The form factor that fits my preferences is mostly flat front and flat back with minimal protrusion around the camera(s). I'm not sensitive to thickness.
My 16e fits that criteria very well. My iPhone 16 Pro Max pushes my limits for a camera bump. Because the Pro Max models fill my requirements for work, they've been my primary iPhone of choice for several years.
Going forward the giant full width camera bump, or as Apple calls it, the camera plateau of the iPhone 17 Pro Max is over the limit for my tastes.
While Apple is the master at justifying and selling anything they've created, this odd looking Pro Max camera arrangement has prevented me from embracing this model.
My 16e fits that criteria very well. My iPhone 16 Pro Max pushes my limits for a camera bump. Because the Pro Max models fill my requirements for work, they've been my primary iPhone of choice for several years.
Going forward the giant full width camera bump, or as Apple calls it, the camera plateau of the iPhone 17 Pro Max is over the limit for my tastes.
While Apple is the master at justifying and selling anything they've created, this odd looking Pro Max camera arrangement has prevented me from embracing this model.
Even with an advanced heat dissipation system, the heat has to go somewhere right? All the components are really tightly packed in that plateau and the glass is not the best heat conductor. I don't think it's just people doing 4k 60 video for 5 hours that are going to see performance reductions. My 16 Pro heats up pretty frequently and has its components far more spread out. But I agree to keep this in the "we'll see" category until we see some testing.
I watch video on my iPhone and use the on board speakers... that one is a little more of a dealbreaker for me that I am betting Apple will rectify in upcoming revisions.
I don't think I'm fear mongering? But I disagree with your take. This is a much different thermal situation. The 16 Pros had their motherboard spread along the entire side of the phone. This is taking all those components and fitting them next to a camera and stacking them on top of each other, and then encasing the area in glass which is less thermally conducive than metal. I'm reserving judgement until testing but it seems like a recipe for limited heat management capabilities. Whether most people will notice or care is also a different question.
Ah, another armchair engineer. We’ll all be eagerly awaiting your judgement. Do you publish your findings anywhere?
What are you doing to get your 16 Pro to heat up “pretty frequently”, out of interest?
With my 15 Pro and current 16 Pro Max I have recorded hours of ProRes Apple Log video, even filmed 4K 120fps video using an external drive attached and honestly can’t think of a single time it’s got hot or lagged.
The only time it’s got very hot was during the summer heat when outside and my phone on the table/grass in sunlight. But that’s just me.
As a side note, I believe the Air’s frame acts as a heat sink, channelling warmth away from the densely packed plateau - this is enhanced on the Air by the Copper Post dissipation system, by spreading the heat across the chassis unlike the 15/16 Pro set up which is less efficient.
Your fears are reasonable, especially before we’ve seen reviews, but EU data and early hands on impressions do suggest otherwise. There were no heat-related penalties in the EPREL results and it has Class A for mixed-use endurance.
It may throttle sooner than the 17 Pro/Max for intensive gaming or maybe like I dunno, serious video editing? But it’s still looking like it’ll sustain performance longer than the 16 Pro under similar loads. I reckon most users won’t push these limits regularly (80%). Of course, you are quite probably in the 20% that might and that’s why you need a Pro model.
Nothing further to add on the speakers - if you watch video/listen to music all the time on your iPhone and use the on board speakers, then yeah, it’s not the phone for you.
We both know that there will be extensive thermal testing done and posted online.
Taking photos or videos of any kind warms the phone up. Games, scrolling video feeds (eg TikTok). Now I’m not saying so hot that the screen dims or the phone shuts down, but noticeable temperature change with the activity. The CPU/GPU likely start to reduce performance before there’s any outward signs of throttling. If that is exacerbated on the Air, it could lead to things like lag or frame skips that my brain absolutely hates to see.
Well that is… like really obvious, no?
Wcctech: “Applying Copper Post technology will enable next year’s flagship to ship with a slimmer form factor while also being properly engineered to dissipate heat effectively. Now, all that remains to be seen is whether this change will be a better alternative than the vapor chamber used on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.”
As mentioned the EU’s EPREL test results for the iPhone Air, when compared to the previous models, suggests lower heat generation (Class A vs the 16 Pro’s Class B).
There are numerous other indicators this won’t be a problem for all but the most intensive and extreme of users (80% as mentioned) - who simply shouldn’t buy the device. But we don’t know yet.
So yes, the jury is still out. We’ll know a lot more from Wednesday.
Not directed at you but more generally, the tech nerd/online discourse around the Air seems over the top and prematurely dismissive to me.
I’d rather wait til we have concrete proof it’s a hot mess (no pun intended) than do so before it’s even been reviewed, let alone released. It’s all rather negative and fun-spongey.
I concur, it’s not fear mongering but a rather healthy skepticism and valid concern.
Both my old iPhone 15 Pro Max and current iPhone 16 Pro Max run quite warm at times. So much I get the warning message which shuts down charging till the phone cools. Going to great lengths to prevent this experience can be annoying.
While it’s encouraging to read about a new thermal management system in the 17 Pro Max, I will give Apple a year to prove it works and may even make further improvements for iPhone 18 Pro Max or whatever they call next years model.
I’ve taken thousands of photos, dozens of hours of 4K video (much of it ProRes), edited long videos in various apps, doom scrolled into oblivion on Instagram Reels for more hours than I wish to admit - and can tell you hand on heart I can barely recall a single time my iPhone has noticeably heated up or slowed down in recent years.
So yeah, not sure what to say to that really. It does seem utterly baffling to me!