iPhone Air Returned the Air ... wanted to keep it.

[Stev150]

Well I’ve returned my Air and got a deep blue 17 Pro. Loved the Air and it wasn’t an easy decision after using it for a week.

Guess I couldn’t live with the single camera as there’s been a few times I’ve wanted the ultra wide lens and extra zoom, especially for some portraits from a distance. The extra battery life will also be welcome.

Having held both now, the Air is definitely more premium and elegant and feels better in hand & just hits different with its thinness, I’ll miss that but have gained in other areas.

Function over form in my case. Big battle with head vs heart!

The 17 Pro isn’t an attractive device but I think a design change was overdue, this colour is the best out of the 3 IMO.

View attachment 2560259

Have to say im also shocked to see u switch , i also returned the air love the phone but just wasn’t right for me like u say head over heart .

 

[Stev150]

For those finding Air’s single camera inadequate, perhaps you should also consider the normal 17 before hopping straight to Pro.

The 17 also feels light and great in the hand.

I am doing just that once back in stock im going for the 17 in sage

 

[langkhack18]

Got the 17P orange and 17 lavender. Gonna return the 17P, keep the 17 and wait for Air 2 (if only they added the stereo speakers lol)

 

[Stev150]

Got the 17P orange and 17 lavender. Gonna return the 17P, keep the 17 and wait for Air 2 (if only they added the stereo speakers lol)

This is my thought , 17 for a year and see if they update the air and it meets my needs and if so im defo getting the next air , maybe i love the 17 that much i will keep it longer

 

[MBHockey]

It is good then that you do not have need for macro photos ever. The ultra wide lens does do a good job on macro, and when shooting macro competence at the corners is not usually essential. Even not shooting macro I find the UWA lens essential and the corner distortion mostly irrelevant to my needs.

You're right -- i am not a macro photo shooter.

 

[MBHockey]

It does have that fisheye look.

Oftentimes it can be corrected in post, photo editor, video editor.

I came to the conclusion that I’d rather have the option of not using it than not having it at all.

An example right now is that I’m at the Miami Intl Auto Show and I found myself immediately using wide on my 16P for both photo and video.

I’m seeing a 17 Pro in the near future lol

-
-

Makes sense! i've found that for me, simply backing up 1-2ft gives me the field of view i was used to with the wide angle lens on the 16 PM, without the distortion.

 

[ArchEtech]

I would opine that depleting a brand new late 2025 iPhone to 30% battery with typical usage should indeed raise a red flag about that phone for that user. New iPhones in 2025 generally do much better than that, and 30% at week one will equate to 0% at week 51.

Sure we can charge mid-day, etc. to cope. It is easy enough to have MagSafe pads at multiple locations. But it should not be necessary with the right brand new phone choice.

With battery packs readily available and still easily all day use it’s not an issue.

I have an Air, had a game running and YouTube almost the entire day, light browsing and had 30% left. Another day I topped it off at work for 20 minutes and went home with 85% and didn’t even need to charge over night. It’s not as insane as the Pro max, which I trade in for the air, nope, but battery life isn’t an issue. Even if you had to do some fairly intense stuff all day, a battery pack solves it.

I went to bed last night with 70% battery. It was standby with always in screen, I’ve been browsing and watching video for about 3 hours and im 46%. I can top it off before I leave in 15 minutes and had no worry about running out all day even stream the entire time. While in the car I can top it off any never really be below 70% at any given time.

I might turn my Air in for the regular pro because of the camera, that is something I miss even if I don’t create content.

The Air doesn’t get hot during use, though it gets hotter than the pros when charging for sure but not as hot as the 16 pros. It also charges slower.

It’s just really nice to not have a brick in my pocket to exercise, run errands, move between meetings whatever. I used a Mini for 3 years and that battery life was terrible. The Air doesn’t have that issue. The Air also doesn’t have the issue if a small screen for my old eyes but still feels light.

We’ll see, just the regular pro might still be the answer for me. The Pro max is just too bulky, and I couldn’t live with the greenish screen. A folding phone will be too, but 100% I will preorder the first folding iPhone.

 

[danpass]

Weird discussion. We compare phone from its camera features. It’s a phone anyway. Other alternative: iPhone Air + mirrorless camera. You don’t need professional camera most of the time, do you?

I did also research that. For a long time I carried various compact pocket Canons (all puns intended) and I frequently went for the ones that had the widest lens option.

Then the phone cameras became prominent and it was one less thing to carry around.

A search these days shows a dearth of point and shoots with wide angle. I think I found one Sony and it was $1,000.

Manufs only want to make superzooms.

But how can any of them compare to a 300 prime on a 7D dslr from up high 😁

-

 

[James6s]

First day with the 17 Pro after sending the Air back, it’s left a little hole in my heart NGL! Lol.

Battery life is slightly better than the Air but it’s only the first day and things are still going on in the background, so it should improve. We’ll see.

The battery charges the fastest of any iPhone I’ve had previously, surprisingly quick! And this is with an Apple 30w charger, not the full 40w that it can take.

It’s nice to have to versatile camera system back again, although the 1x and 2x shots from the Air’s excellent camera are easily comparable to the 17 Pro in point and shoot.

The 17 Pro isn’t as comfortable to hold due to the extra thickness and weight, but being more compact it’s easier to wrap your hand around the Pro.

Both the Air and 17 Pro perform pretty much identically with the A19 Pro & 12GB RAM.

The only reason to choose the 17 Pro over the Air would be for the feature packed camera system with the ultra wide and telephoto, also potentially longer battery life.

Other than that the Air is a superb device & definitely the more premium of the two in looks and in hand feel.

The 17 Pro is growing on me and I’m loving the deep blue colour.

 

[thatJohann]

Posted this on the Air impressions thread, but worth adding here, in case anyone is in the same boat:

I still have both the iPhone Air and the 17 Pro here. Close to making a decision...

Here's my logic. I’ve broken it down into two clear factors:

1. Comfort in the hand (Air) → impacts your experience 100% of the time.
2. Camera quality (17 Pro) → impacts your experience maybe 15% of the time.

By weighting these factors, I've essentially run a cost-benefit analysis: if a phone feels wrong in your hand every single time you use it, that’s a constant negative. Cameras, while great, only add value in specific moments. So even though the 17 Pro cameras are objectively better, the daily comfort of the Air has a much bigger impact on your happiness overall.

Put another way:

• Air = consistent joy (comfort every use, plus decent camera).
• 17 Pro = occasional joy (amazing camera, but constant discomfort in hand).

My conclusion is to lean towards the Air, especially since “phone in hand” is the baseline experience so I am prioritizing the factor that affects my daily life most.

 

[ArchEtech]

Posted this on the Air impressions thread, but worth adding here, in case anyone is in the same boat:

I still have both the iPhone Air and the 17 Pro here. Close to making a decision...

Here's my logic. I’ve broken it down into two clear factors:

1. Comfort in the hand (Air) → impacts your experience 100% of the time.
2. Camera quality (17 Pro) → impacts your experience maybe 15% of the time.

By weighting these factors, I've essentially run a cost-benefit analysis: if a phone feels wrong in your hand every single time you use it, that’s a constant negative. Cameras, while great, only add value in specific moments. So even though the 17 Pro cameras are objectively better, the daily comfort of the Air has a much bigger impact on your happiness overall.

Put another way:

• Air = consistent joy (comfort every use, plus decent camera).
• 17 Pro = occasional joy (amazing camera, but constant discomfort in hand).

My conclusion is to lean towards the Air, especially since “phone in hand” is the baseline experience so I am prioritizing the factor that affects my daily life most.

I am in the same boat, but you do leave some things out. I've been using both.

1) Comfort goes to the Air, I've been using the Pro Max so that was an even bigger thing. Comfort and weight are used 100% of the time no doubt. The design is just better on the phone.
2) Camera goes to the Pro - we all know that.
3) The Air gets hotter charging and while in use. Its a factor when you're using a battery pack.
4) The battery life won't be an issue for some, but might be an issue for others. I used the Promax for a week and it had only 3 cycles on the battery. The Air had 4 cycles in 2.5 days under my use scenario. I don't know what it means long term, but you will be charging the phone 2-3x more. It should last a day for most people though that isn't a problem. It also charges fast so topping it off is easy in car trips or at your desk - you don't have to worry about battery. BUT under heavy use the battery drains much faster. The Air is 10x better overall than the mini.
5) Charging is noticeably slower.
6) The speaker will be an issue for some. I don't think its a huge thing on the mono vs. stereo but it just doesn't get as loud and does cut through background noise. I do use the speaker a lot because I don't always want to wear Air Pods. For just phone use the AIR speaker is just fine on calls.

If the Air was available in an even smaller screen size maybe just 1mm thicker and maintained a really compact light weight package, I would 100% keep it as a user of the mini for 3 years. THAT form factor at the time made up for its issues.

The Air is much lighter, but I like the regular pro size overall. The thinness is great, but its weight in the pocket that really speaks to me with the Air. The Pro Max is too larger and heavy for me now, and with the added thickness went too far. I am likely going to end up with the smaller Pro, and look heavily at the Air 2 which will likely solve every issue anyone complained about in the Air 1 (even if its still behind the 18 Pros in specs - that won't matter to me, I just want a bit more battery, a better speaker, and a bit more adequate camera. They probably won't offer it in a smaller size but one can dream).

 

[thatJohann]

I am in the same boat, but you do leave some things out. I've been using both.

1) Comfort goes to the Air, I've been using the Pro Max so that was an even bigger thing. Comfort and weight are used 100% of the time no doubt. The design is just better on the phone.
2) Camera goes to the Pro - we all know that.
3) The Air gets hotter charging and while in use. Its a factor when you're using a battery pack.
4) The battery life won't be an issue for some, but might be an issue for others. I used the Promax for a week and it had only 3 cycles on the battery. The Air had 4 cycles in 2.5 days under my use scenario. I don't know what it means long term, but you will be charging the phone 2-3x more. It should last a day for most people though that isn't a problem. It also charges fast so topping it off is easy in car trips or at your desk - you don't have to worry about battery. BUT under heavy use the battery drains much faster. The Air is 10x better overall than the mini.
5) Charging is noticeably slower.
6) The speaker will be an issue for some. I don't think its a huge thing on the mono vs. stereo but it just doesn't get as loud and does cut through background noise. I do use the speaker a lot because I don't always want to wear Air Pods. For just phone use the AIR speaker is just fine on calls.

If the Air was available in an even smaller screen size maybe just 1mm thicker and maintained a really compact light weight package, I would 100% keep it as a user of the mini for 3 years. THAT form factor at the time made up for its issues.

The Air is much lighter, but I like the regular pro size overall. The thinness is great, but its weight in the pocket that really speaks to me with the Air. The Pro Max is too larger and heavy for me now, and with the added thickness went too far. I am likely going to end up with the smaller Pro, and look heavily at the Air 2 which will likely solve every issue anyone complained about in the Air 1 (even if its still behind the 18 Pros in specs - that won't matter to me, I just want a bit more battery, a better speaker, and a bit more adequate camera. They probably won't offer it in a smaller size but one can dream).

Those factors are valid, but no dealbreakers for me.

• Air gets hotter - minor annoyance, not a dealbreaker, all I do is text and browse internet, take photos, so it doesn't get too hot for me, I don't do gaming or anything resource-intensive.
• Air's shorter battery - minor annoyance, not a dealbreaker, I have a magsafe battery pack in my sling bag
• Slower charging - non-issue for me
• Single speaker - non-issue for me, sounds fine enough to me for YouTube in bed or speakerphone calls at home, rest of time I use Airpods.
• Larger display - actually a pro for me, when I hold the 17 Pro and Air side by side, I always prefer the Air's more immersive larger display. Even though it's larger, I find the Air easier to hold given it's grippier due to glossy sides and the light weight which makes holding it feel like you're holding a feather. The 17 Pro is so slippery to me and feels like a fat brick.

I want to stress that this is my personal opinion, everyone's will differ.

 

[thadoggfather]

Those factors are valid, but no dealbreakers for me.

• Air gets hotter - minor annoyance, not a dealbreaker, all I do is text and browse internet, take photos, so it doesn't get too hot for me, I don't do gaming or anything resource-intensive.
• Air's shorter battery - minor annoyance, not a dealbreaker, I have a magsafe battery pack in my sling bag
• Slower charging - non-issue for me
• Single speaker - non-issue for me, sounds fine enough to me for YouTube in bed or speakerphone calls at home, rest of time I use Airpods.
• Larger display - actually a pro for me, when I hold the 17 Pro and Air side by side, I always prefer the Air's more immersive larger display.

I want to stress that this is my personal opinion, everyone's will differ.

It sounds like all things factored in, coupled with winning the panel lottery after a frustrating round of losses, means you should keep the Air. And if you change your mind you can probably always get a Pro regular with a good screen with relative ease. Of course going to take a bit of a hit in resell.

I really liked the Air, but the lack of ultra wide was my ultimate deal breaker.

I think if speaker improves and there's two cameras next year's Air 2 or whatever, it will be that much more compelling to me.

It also could be even longer before Air 2 arrives, like 18 months vs expected 12 for mainline models. never know.

 

[MaxVerstappen]

First day with the 17 Pro after sending the Air back, it’s left a little hole in my heart NGL! Lol.

Battery life is slightly better than the Air but it’s only the first day and things are still going on in the background, so it should improve. We’ll see.

The battery charges the fastest of any iPhone I’ve had previously, surprisingly quick! And this is with an Apple 30w charger, not the full 40w that it can take.

It’s nice to have to versatile camera system back again, although the 1x and 2x shots from the Air’s excellent camera are easily comparable to the 17 Pro in point and shoot.

The 17 Pro isn’t as comfortable to hold due to the extra thickness and weight, but being more compact it’s easier to wrap your hand around the Pro.

Both the Air and 17 Pro perform pretty much identically with the A19 Pro & 12GB RAM.

The only reason to choose the 17 Pro over the Air would be for the feature packed camera system with the ultra wide and telephoto, also potentially longer battery life.

Other than that the Air is a superb device & definitely the more premium of the two in looks and in hand feel.

The 17 Pro is growing on me and I’m loving the deep blue colour.


View attachment 2560508
View attachment 2560509

The phone looks stunning on these pics mate.

 

[thatJohann]

It sounds like all things factored in, coupled with winning the panel lottery after a frustrating round of losses, means you should keep the Air. And if you change your mind you can probably always get a Pro regular with a good screen with relative ease. Of course going to take a bit of a hit in resell.

I really liked the Air, but the lack of ultra wide was my ultimate deal breaker.

I think if speaker improves and there's two cameras next year's Air 2 or whatever, it will be that much more compelling to me.

It also could be even longer before Air 2 arrives, like 18 months vs expected 12 for mainline models. never know.

I will say I can't remember the last time I wanted to use the ultra wide.

I will miss macro photos as I do take many macro pics of flowers, but after testing them side by side, the difference in close up shots isn't as extreme as I thought, it's fine.

Air:


17 Pro:

 

[James6s]

Man I’m really struggling here & feel like a right idiot! Second guessing myself and reading the recent posts in here sounds like me! My Air is all packaged up booked for collection tomorrow… I feel I may regret letting the Air go

One thing that has cast huge doubt is the in hand comfort, the Pro heavier, thicker and is making my hand hurt (carpel tunnel & surgery for it) the Air gave me no pain at all.

I’m stuck 🙈😭

 

[MaxVerstappen]

Man I’m really struggling here & feel like a right idiot! Second guessing myself and reading the recent posts in here sounds like me! My Air is all packaged up booked for collection tomorrow… I feel I may regret letting the Air go

One thing that has cast huge doubt is the in hand comfort, the Pro heavier, thicker and is making my hand hurt (carpel tunnel & surgery for it) the Air gave me no pain at all.

I’m stuck 🙈😭

If you want something light then you should keep the Air. Being 40 grams lighter is a huge difference in real life, as you are finding out yourself. But blimey, you should have just kept the Air in the first place at least for a year and then get the 18 Pro/Air 2 or whatever.

 

[James6s]

If you want something light then you should keep the Air. Being 40 grams lighter is a huge difference in real life, as you are finding out yourself. But blimey, you should have just kept the Air in the first place at least for a year and then get the 18 Pro/Air 2 or whatever.

It is a huge difference and it’s certainly been noticeable over 24 hours of using the 17 Pro. So mad at this situation I’ve put myself in!

 

[ArchEtech]

If you have carpal issues, not just the weight could be an issue, how far you have to reach one handed could also be an issue. There isn't a huge difference in weight between the Pro and Air, but they feel totally different in hand and in use.

 

[CaféPicasso]

It is a huge difference and it’s certainly been noticeable over 24 hours of using the 17 Pro. So mad at this situation I’ve put myself in!

I feel your pain!
Could the iPhone 17 be the solution? I'm sure you contemplated about this 1000 and more times already and I know it's the boring phone but it's lighter than the Pro and has a better camera than the Air...
What am I telling you!? You all know this already..

 

[NauticalDan]

It truly was easier when I had the 15 Pro, I clearly thought the Pro Max was too big and was never wishing for anything else.

No matter what now, there is going to be something you give up or a trade off you have to accept. There will always be situations the “other” phone is better for.

I think with the Air, I came to realize it’s more like 1-2% of the time the Pro would be better for me and the lightness and big screen I’d choose 98% of the time.

But there really isn’t a right answer! Just a choice to settle on. I’ve been picking up the air to do something, then pickup my old 15 Pro to do the same thing. It’s almost always a slightly better experience on the Air.

 

[ArchEtech]

Used the 12 mini from release until the 15.

For the 15, the Pro Max was just too big and heavy. I went with the Pro.

For the 16, the Pro Max was lighted and premiumed up enough that I went with the Pro Max, and thought I would try a maximized battery and screen. I really fought myself between the Pro and Pro Max.

For the 17 I started with the Pro Max, but its just too much of a brick and the green screen tint sort of annoyed me enough that I didn't love it. The 17 Pro Max does seem a LOT bulkier than the 16, and since I gravitate to smaller phones, its just past what I'm willing to live with.

After spending time with the Air, it has the right form factor for what I really want, but I'm still on the fence that it has too many compromises. I'm also not super impressed with the screen, but otherwise love the design. The regular Pro being just a tad more heavy, but going back to smaller physical dimensions without really any compromise might be the answer. I'm going to get a pro tomorrow probably and see.

 

[Rangers94]

It is a huge difference and it’s certainly been noticeable over 24 hours of using the 17 Pro. So mad at this situation I’ve put myself in!

I’m torn as well. I absolutely love the Air and how light it feels and how comfortable it is in hand. I also have a feeling of how the 17 Pro will feel in the hand since my wife has a 15 Pro. The 17 Pro is basically the same size and weight but a whole mm thicker.

I have 2 children who are 7 & 8 so the camera is kinda important to me but at the same time I’m looking back and most of my pics are from the main camera. However, I do miss the .5 uw lens and not being able to zoom in 5x or beyond when I want to.

I’m going to go into the Verizon store and just feel the 17 Pro in hand and try to weigh the difference and see if it’s worth it. If it weren’t for the camera system I would 100% have no doubt about keeping the Air. The battery on the Air is fine and the 1 speaker is more than enough. I use AirPods when I’m out and about at the gym or wherever.

Stay tuned..lol

 

[James6s]

If you have carpal issues, not just the weight could be an issue, how far you have to reach one handed could also be an issue. There isn't a huge difference in weight between the Pro and Air, but they feel totally different in hand and in use.

The Air is so light and comfortable to hold that hand gymnastics weren’t even an issue reaching about. The weight of the 17 Pro is heavier and noticeable and more uncomfortable, it is easier to reach all the screen though because of its size.

 

[MaxVerstappen]

I’m torn as well. I absolutely love the Air and how light it feels and how comfortable it is in hand. I also have a feeling of how the 17 Pro will feel in the hand since my wife has a 15 Pro. The 17 Pro is basically the same size and weight but a whole mm thicker.

I have 2 children who are 7 & 8 so the camera is kinda important to me but at the same time I’m looking back and most of my pics are from the main camera. However, I do miss the .5 uw lens and not being able to zoom in 5x or beyond when I want to.

I’m going to go into the Verizon store and just feel the 17 Pro in hand and try to weigh the difference and see if it’s worth it. If it weren’t for the camera system I would 100% have no doubt about keeping the Air. The battery on the Air is fine and the 1 speaker is more than enough. I use AirPods when I’m out and about at the gym or wherever.

Stay tuned..lol

Actually the 17 Pro is almost 20 grams heavier than the 15 Pro. It’s noticeable. I went from 14 Pro to 15 Pro and I noticed the lighter feel of the 15 Pro immediately.

Just for reference:

14 Pro - 206 grams
15 Pro - 187 grams
17 Pro - 204 grams