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Long before you go for the test drive you're aware of how big the car is, if it has the features you want, mpg etc and if it will do what you need. I have never test drove a car knowing it wouldn't be suitable from the get go.

Some cars looks big, but only when you drive them you feel how nimble they are, and as for the official MPG’s, they are are far from reality, same as with battery life… and with the security cables attached to the phones, I can’t even hold them properly (“test drive” in the shop) in my hand before buying them…
 
I think if one is paying the big bucks to upgrade annually / biannually, its much easier to remain unimpressed. I've jumped from a 13 Mini, the Air is a wonderful and meaningful upgrade. It's all a matter of perspective.
 
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On the topic of return policies, around 2010-2014 or so, I used to buy my MBPs from J&R out of NY because they wouldn't charge Nevada sales tax, and they were usually $50-$100 off the Apple MSRP. But like many other retailers, they would not accept opened returns, not even for a restocking fee. After I received two MBPs with a couple dead pixels, I decided to just pay the MSRP plus sales tax to buy directly from Apple knowing I at least had that return window if I received something not to my liking (like the yellow-tinted screen lottery back in the day).

My guess is Air 2 in 2026 with just the new CPU. Then Air 3 in 2027 with some changes like an extra camera/spreaker.
 

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Didn't like it. Screen too big for me, missing features, would prefer to keep my money.
That's all.


EDIT:
"Why didn't I buy it in store?"
I pre-ordered. Tried it out on the day that it arrived. Then I went to the Apple Store to return it. I enjoy doing this because I get to go to the Apple Store to return instead of buy – avoiding the lines to buy on day 1.

While I was in the Apple Store, I got to 'try' a number of iPhones. Trying it in store isn't the same as trying it at home.

I was genuinely excited for the Air. But the compromises were too much.
It will probably be a few years from now, but we can probably expect Apple's engineers to work out a way to get it down in size a little, put a 2nd camera in, put a bottom speaker in, and give a little more battery life.

They'll call it iPhone Air (A22, 2028) or something. The iPhone normal series might just disappear once a full-featured Air is made.
I get everything else you've said, but I prefer the bigger screen.
 
Long before you go for the test drive you're aware of how big the car is, if it has the features you want, mpg etc and if it will do what you need. I have never test drove a car knowing it wouldn't be suitable from the get go.

Well, using the car analogy, I'd say sports car purchases are rarely based on logic or practicality. One of the ugliest vehicles ever created, the Kia Soul, can carry a lot more stuff than an Audi TTRS, but the baby lambo evokes a very different feeling when you get behind the wheel.

Regarding specs and test driving…an EV will do 0-60 in 3 seconds very differently than an ICE vehicle. You may love the immediate torque and power delivery of the EV; meanwhile your passengers are nauseous and throwing up. Or you may not love when your Tesla says there’s 280 miles of range, and you end up getting 100 real world miles in the winter lol. Or maybe you find the driving experience of one car ends up outweighing the need for an amazing sound system that you had on your checklist. Simply put, experiential data isn’t on the spec sheet.
 
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