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iPhone Air Reason for not getting iPhone Air?

Qu1ckset

Qu1ckset

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 7, 2013
266
226
Toronto, Canada
So I was on apples website comparing the air to my IPhone 15 Pro , and it actually is a slight upgrade in battery and was willing to look past the smaller camera array , 1 less gpu core but gain 20% in cpu performance.

But im sorry no way in hell I could go back to usb2.0 , I use my iPhone 15 pro usb port to transfer files all the time and that is literally the one thing that I could not give up!

Maybe next year Apple!

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Absolutely baffled by people who use their phones for such specialist things as needing really really fast transferring of files onto it even contemplating the non-Pro model. I don't think I've ever even heard of anyone needing to transfer files fast onto a phone? I literally have never done it ever?
 
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topbin said:
Absolutely baffled by people who use their phones for such specialist things as needing really really fast transferring of files onto it even contemplating the non-Pro model. I don't think I've ever even heard of anyone needing to transfer files fast onto a phone? I literally have never done it ever?
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Backing up your phone , no computer needed and fast , putting large files like Movies and shows on your phone so you don’t have to stream.

And for the people that shoot in pro res (something I don’t do)

Supporting external storage and faster speeds was a huge plus for me buying my iPhone 15 Pro
 
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Yeah OK - I've always been able to back up and download via WiFi quick enough for it not to matter to me so maybe I'm not the best use case - probably exactly the market they're aiming for with an Air!
 
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Yes I shoot Prores log and USB2.0 is simply too slow. And I admit that for simple file transfers I could simply wait longer and it wouldn't be an issue but now that I already have an iPhone with the faster port I don't want to pay the Air's premium to end up with partly slower speeds than that of an older 2023 model. For the same reason I never considered a 60Hz iPhone 16. After many years with the Always On Display I simply wouldn't want to give up this feature and it wouldn't make sense to pay for a new device that's partly worse than the one it replaces.

The big question is who needs a thinner iPhone? My iPhone is already thin enough to fit in my jeans pockets even with the slim 5k Anker Magsafe powerbank strapped to it. Hence the entire "Air" premise makes no sense to me.

The novelty factor of the iPhone Air allows Apple to set the MSRP higher but who are the people that would prefer it over last year's iPhone 16 Pro? The single camera lens means that even the cheaper base model iPhone 17 has more features and better battery life. For less money!

With the single camera lens it would be a worthy iPhone 17e at such a lower price point. If that had been the new 17e it would make perfect sense. Just like nobody would have thought twice if Apple had introduced the iPhone 16e as the new iPhone SE.

By the way: This launch shows us that the 16e was in fact the new iPhone SE and the entire claim of the 16e now being part of the regular iPhone lineup wasn't true after all. Otherwise there would be a 17e now. Instead Apple is going to update it just as if it was an iPhone SE. But they had to make up reasons to set the MSRP higher.

You have to realize that Apple can call these iPhones whatever they want. They decided to make it the iPhone Air so they can charge more but it could have been a redesigned iPhone 17 Plus or a 17e or whatever Apple wants it to be. My point here is that this is all arbitrary and the only thing that really matters is the features you get for your money. The iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 17 give you a lot more features for your money.
 
okkibs said:
Yes I shoot Prores log and USB2.0 is simply too slow. And I admit that for simple file transfers I could simply wait longer and it wouldn't be an issue but now that I already have an iPhone with the faster port I don't want to pay the Air's premium to end up with partly slower speeds than that of an older 2023 model. For the same reason I never considered a 60Hz iPhone 16. After many years with the Always On Display I simply wouldn't want to give up this feature and it wouldn't make sense to pay for a new device that's partly worse than the one it replaces.

The big question is who needs a thinner iPhone? My iPhone is already thin enough to fit in my jeans pockets even with the slim 5k Anker Magsafe powerbank strapped to it. Hence the entire "Air" premise makes no sense to me.

The novelty factor of the iPhone Air allows Apple to set the MSRP higher but who are the people that would prefer it over last year's iPhone 16 Pro? The single camera lens means that even the cheaper base model iPhone 17 has more features and better battery life. For less money!

With the single camera lens it would be a worthy iPhone 17e at such a lower price point. If that had been the new 17e it would make perfect sense. Just like nobody would have thought twice if Apple had introduced the iPhone 16e as the new iPhone SE.

By the way: This launch shows us that the 16e was in fact the new iPhone SE and the entire claim of the 16e now being part of the regular iPhone lineup wasn't true after all. Otherwise there would be a 17e now. Instead Apple is going to update it just as if it was an iPhone SE. But they had to make up reasons to set the MSRP higher.

You have to realize that Apple can call these iPhones whatever they want. They decided to make it the iPhone Air so they can charge more but it could have been a redesigned iPhone 17 Plus or a 17e or whatever Apple wants it to be. My point here is that this is all arbitrary and the only thing that really matters is the features you get for your money. The iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 17 give you a lot more features for your money.
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iPhone 17 with new base storage and promotion is an amazing phone now, I don’t think as many people will pony up for the pro , just sucks for the users who preferred the plus model , I know a lot of women preferred the plus model
 
This is one of those things that is just so annoying to talk about and debate.

It's 2025, we FINALLY have 120Hz on the base model phone (don't even get me started on that taking so long)
But the USB port is stuck on speeds from 20+ years ago.

This is just apple being stingy. That's it. It doesn't matter if you don't plug your phone in that often. The one time you do? You're going to be disappointed.

This is just capitalist greed. Updating to a USB 3.0 (5Gpbs) connected would be super cheap and would end this constant topic which would overall turn around to better PR for them. But they would rather save a few pennies.
 
Wired data transfer is not something I've done in years from my phone, but totally makes sense that some people employ workflows that use it.

Good thing the Pro exists for them!

I wouldn't be surprised if we see an entirely portless Air with solid state buttons before we see the addition of USB3 or better to it. But the Pro is for those users! Until they get rid of the ports across the lineup, that is.
 
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Qu1ckset said:
So I was on apples website comparing the air to my IPhone 15 Pro , and it actually is a slight upgrade in battery and was willing to look past the smaller camera array , 1 less gpu core but gain 20% in cpu performance.

But im sorry no way in hell I could go back to usb2.0 , I use my iPhone 15 pro usb port to transfer files all the time and that is literally the one thing that I could not give up!

Maybe next year Apple!

View attachment 2546659
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Your thread title implies that you are asking a question, because you have a question mark at the end. I took that to mean that you wanted to know people's reason(s) for not getting the Air.

But I can't find anything that is a question in your OP. You are making a statement about why YOU won't get the Air. You are not asking a question.

So, which is it? Or is it both?
 
I don't use the speakers a ton but one speaker in the Air might sound awful. Also battery life might be horrible.
 
Qu1ckset said:
iPhone 17 with new base storage and promotion is an amazing phone now
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Indeed it's great. Unfortunately it seems that it will still come with less memory than the new Air and Pro so for anyone who can wait another year I'd wait and see what the iPhone 18 brings to the table. Reusing the SoC with the worse specs is probably what allowed Apple to offer the iPhone 17 with a ProMotion display with AOD capability. I think it's a good tradeoff.

Zaydax333 said:
This is just apple being stingy. That's it.
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Well that's what allows Apple to offer the iPhone 17 at its price point without giving up a single inch of their profit margin. This isn't just about the speed of the port and instead it's the entire SoC (where the USB controller sits) that's downgraded to be as cheap as possible. And outside of this Apple tech forum who even knows about the SoC differences like cache sizes and USB controllers?

Zaydax333 said:
better PR for them.
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Try and ask people who line up at the Apple Store to be the first to get the new iPhones no matter which model and see if they know what speed the USB port offers. You might find that few customers care to know. This is an Android vs. iPhone meme that is irrelevant for Apple's sales numbers. I can guarantee you that Apple determined it's benefitial to their bottom line not to offer USB3 on the iPhone 17. How can I guarantee that? It's really simple. If it weren't a net positive for Apple to remove faster USB speeds from the base model they wouldn't be doing it.
 
Well the list why I am not fond of Air and would have not considered it at all is quite big:

- Single camera (I need main and telephoto, no other way around);
- Single speaker (I don’t use headphones and mostly use my phone at home anyway to enjoy content);
- Big, elongated display (I don’t like these huge displays. It is thin, but will it fit my pocket? More like a phone for putting in a purse/backpack);
- USB 2.0 (I plan to record big ProRES videos and use my USB-C port a lot to connect drives here and there, cameras, other peripherals. Not a fan of USB 2.0 for that since it is a bit slower than I’m used to;
- eSIM only (I want to keep it regular SIM for now as I sometimes switch my cards).

In general, to me phone doesn’t feel like it is worth 1000$, it has pretty much budget featureset. I can see target audience for it as people who want to be and feel trendy, because it is indeed a fashion phone, not a swiss knife like Pro models
 
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eyoungren said:
Your thread title implies that you are asking a question, because you have a question mark at the end. I took that to mean that you wanted to know people's reason(s) for not getting the Air.

But I can't find anything that is a question in your OP. You are making a statement about why YOU won't get the Air. You are not asking a question.

So, which is it? Or is it both?
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Ya that is my reason for not getting it , and asking what others reason are for not getting it.. so both..
 
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Qu1ckset said:
Ya that is my reason for not getting it , and asking what others reason are for not getting it.. so both..
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So my reason for not getting it is because I don't want it. The Air, at least in this Apple product, is not my cup of tea. I've owned an iPad Air 2 before and that was a great iPad. And currently I own a MBA. But, just not for me with iPhones. My preferences lie towards heavier and larger iPhones.
 
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The lack of ultrawide, the single mono speaker, less battery life than the base model for a higher price. It looks pretty but meh.
 
eyoungren said:
So my reason for not getting it is because I don't want it. The Air, at least in this Apple product, is not my cup of tea. I've owned an iPad Air 2 before and that was a great iPad. And currently I own a MBA. But, just not for me with iPhones. My preferences lie towards heavier and larger iPhones.
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Fair to note that Air 2 was basically iPad Pro back then🙂 and it was actually super fast. Two gigabytes of RAM made it the most capable iPad ever (back then, again), as well as modded 3 core chip. Gotta say I still use it sometimes, gave it to my grandma and she uses it mostly, surprised even new Instagram for iPads works, videos load fast but UI runs at 25 FPS.

iPhone Air on the other hand feels like a big compromise and all-around budget/fashion decision than actually competitive phone
 
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