The air definitely has a premium feel to it thanks to the titanium and glass sandwich formula. It’s slimmer than the rest of the lineup, but the descriptions people are using are a bit hyperbolic. Is everyone coming from a max sized phone? Maybe I’m less impressed since I’ve used some pretty thin android phones in the past, as well.
For some context, I upgrade to the new phone every year like a dedicated lamb. Yesterday, I was ready to jump ship from the pros and get an air, but it didn’t blow me away like I thought it might. Place the pro next to the air, and yes, the pro is the chunky, significantly less attractive friend with a build like a fridge. But the pro is full of features (including stereo sound) and snacks to satisfy you. From setup to gaming, the phone has only been mildly warm, which is incredible and arguably more impressive than a thinner form factor. Coming from the 16 pro, which is like a piece of art, the aluminum unibody feels…functional. While it’s not lighter, the materials give the impression of less heft and the phone is nice to hold. This year, it’s function over form, and the features are worth it. 8x optical quality zoom and OIS on all the lenses—yes, give it to me. I'm not even an intense professional who edits media in post, but the built in features are easy enough to fiddle with.
Some random observations…
The raised platypus on the back does make the phone wobble less. In some lighting conditions, the silver pro looks like it has a random white sticker on the back. Otherwise it looks decent and I would pick it again. The orange is nice and has some copper tones at certain angles. I was tempted but felt like the color could be a bit distracting to have around all of the time. More power to those who pick it up. Pro tip, don't erase your current eSIM and old phone until the new one is activated. Otherwise you'll be forced to call and talk to your carrier for an hour and speak to some disgruntled employee in an outsourced call center, who asks a laundry list of verification questions that he may just as likely use to scam you and open various lines of credit. Cheers.
For some context, I upgrade to the new phone every year like a dedicated lamb. Yesterday, I was ready to jump ship from the pros and get an air, but it didn’t blow me away like I thought it might. Place the pro next to the air, and yes, the pro is the chunky, significantly less attractive friend with a build like a fridge. But the pro is full of features (including stereo sound) and snacks to satisfy you. From setup to gaming, the phone has only been mildly warm, which is incredible and arguably more impressive than a thinner form factor. Coming from the 16 pro, which is like a piece of art, the aluminum unibody feels…functional. While it’s not lighter, the materials give the impression of less heft and the phone is nice to hold. This year, it’s function over form, and the features are worth it. 8x optical quality zoom and OIS on all the lenses—yes, give it to me. I'm not even an intense professional who edits media in post, but the built in features are easy enough to fiddle with.
Some random observations…
The raised platypus on the back does make the phone wobble less. In some lighting conditions, the silver pro looks like it has a random white sticker on the back. Otherwise it looks decent and I would pick it again. The orange is nice and has some copper tones at certain angles. I was tempted but felt like the color could be a bit distracting to have around all of the time. More power to those who pick it up. Pro tip, don't erase your current eSIM and old phone until the new one is activated. Otherwise you'll be forced to call and talk to your carrier for an hour and speak to some disgruntled employee in an outsourced call center, who asks a laundry list of verification questions that he may just as likely use to scam you and open various lines of credit. Cheers.
