In case anybody else is on the fence like me, I figured this might be helpful.
TL;DR: it's the cameras.
Upgrading from the 16 Pro Min. I couldn't decide between the Air (black) and the 17 Pro (Blue) and ended up ordering both of them to compare. I set them both up, restoring from backup without porting my number. (Yes, I realize this is pretty deranged fanboy behavior in these latter days of Apple, but that's where my head was at.)
I spent way too much time switching back and forth over the weekend, and it was a REALLY REALLY tough call. You all know the thought process: form factor of the Air + slightly larger screen is so nice. But oh, the battery/cameras/monospeaker/random-assortment-of-other-things-that-probably-don't-matter. Blue vs black. Scratchgate. Etc.
Ultimately, it came down to the cameras for me. How big is the difference in practice?
To assess, I took both phones to the park with my kids on Sunday, one in each front pocket, and took a bunch of photos and videos as they ran around.
Here's the verdict from a not professional photographer, not tech influencer, etc. Just a dad who wants the best photos of his kids.
- Main cameras are basically equivalent when the subject is stable and you’ve got focus locked in. However, the lack of lidar on the Air seems to result in slower focus pulling and more quick/impromptu shots ended up out of focus. E.g., running children. I suspect this would actually matter over the long haul.
- Apart from that, the lack of cinematic video and telephoto (which—the new 4x is a much better camera than the old 16 pro 5x, and took some of the best portraits of the day) were big. I just found I had a lot more flexibility to get good shots at varying distances with the Pro. And consequently, I found myself reaching for it much more often than the Air.
I looked at everything on a Studio Display later. Overall, the set from the Pro came out significantly better. Totally unscientific, but that was my experience. Fewer blurry shots, some great portraits and action shots from the 4x/8x, and the cinematic videos were standout.
So I say, that’s the dealbreaker for me!
And yeah, the Pro body feels really nice in the hand, it’s maybe slightly snappier for general use than the Air because the CPUs aren’t throttled (could be my imagination). Overall, it’s not worse
enough in terms of form factor to make me give up the photography benefits.
All that being said, if photography isn't a big concern, I'd say the Air is a no brainer. That thing is so sweet.
