iPhone Air The Air reviews have dropped and the speaker's junk

[tomtad]

iPhone Air review: The thinnest iPhone ever, but at what cost? - 9to5Mac

Every so often, Apple makes a design decision that draws a line in the sand. One that feels like a...

9to5mac.com

• The iPhone Air has a single speaker, located in the earpiece at the top of the device. There isn’t a speaker on the bottom like there is on other iPhone models. This was noticeable right away to me. If you regularly listen to podcasts or music using just your iPhone speakers (especially in the shower), you’ll want to invest in a Bluetooth speaker.

It's a no buy from me

 

[Spinarelo]

I'm sure it's perfectly fine and adequate when listening to it in your house in a quiet environment. And if you're listening to something outside in a noisy environment.... well then you should be on headphones and not one of those annoying people.

 

[Rangers94]

I'm sure it's perfectly fine and adequate when listening to it in your house in a quiet environment. And if you're listening to something outside in a noisy environment.... well then you should be on headphones and not one of those annoying people.

100%. The speaker is a non issue for me. I can’t wait to have a thin, lightweight phone in my pocket.

 

[tomtad]

100%. The speaker is a non issue for me. I can’t wait to have a thin, lightweight phone in my pocket.

It may be a non-issue for you but it was what I was waiting on before I bought. I could put up with it being maybe slightly inferior to the stereo speakers on previous iPhones but for it to be immediately noticeable is a problem. Very disappointing and has made my mind up on getting the regular 17

 

[waquzy]

So are the thermals. Air throttles like crazy, worse performance than the A19 chip

 

[HouseLannister]

It's a phone of many compromises. Not for most people. Pro and Pro Max shipping in early- to mid-October after a few hours of preorders, but Air is still available for a Saturday pickup or delivery next week. Unsure if either they made a ton of them because they overestimated demand or it's just that no one is ordering it.

 

[Knowimagination]

Here's a direct speaker comparison, it id definitely quieter but they all sound terrible. It's plenty for a FaceTime call or some light social media watching which is all it would ever be used for for me.

 

[4sallypat]

Won't affect my decision - speakers are not what I use.

I rely on daily use: email, text, phone calls, AOD for my EV car to unlock.....

 

[Rangers94]

It may be a non-issue for you but it was what I was waiting on before I bought. I could put up with it being maybe slightly inferior to the stereo speakers on previous iPhones but for it to be immediately noticeable is a problem. Very disappointing and has made my mind up on getting the regular 17

I’m glad Apple gives us choices. The Air is for people who want an amazing looking phone in a thin, lightweight form factor without many compromises.

 

[Rangers94]

So are the thermals. Air throttles like crazy, worse performance than the A19 chip

Is that true? You have a link?

 

[vvvvvv]

So are the thermals. Air throttles like crazy, worse performance than the A19 chip

While doing what? How frequently do you do whatever they're doing in said tests to cause it?

 

[valinda]

I’ll be the judge of that when I receive mine. I’m not letting anyone decide for me. I may not like it, I don’t know until I experience it. I do have 14 days to try it out. If I don’t like it. I will get the pro.

 

[digimc]

It's starting to feel like reviewers are literally searching with a fine tooth comb for things to nitpick the iPhone Air over. The speaker? I can't honestly remember any reviews in the past of recent iPhone lines where the speaker quality was even mentioned. Yet now the sky is falling!

It's like people are actually trying to convince you that AirPods (earbuds) don't exist. And as for listening to a podcast in the shower, maybe focus on bathing and getting out of the shower as quickly as you can instead of trying to work in a 10 minute podcast wasting water.

Or take a relaxing bath if it's that important for you to hear what Alex Jones is ranting about this morning.

It's like everybody has jumped on the crazy train because Apple went against the normal steady grain of recent predictable iPhone launches.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Is that true? You have a link?

It's not true. According to this video, the 17 throttles the worst.
See the 9:41 mark

 

[Apple_Robert]

It's starting to feel like reviewers are literally searching with a fine tooth comb for things to nitpick the iPhone Air over. The speaker? I can't honestly remember any reviews in the past of recent iPhone lines where the speaker quality was even mentioned. Yet now the sky is falling!

It's like people are actually trying to convince you that AirPods (earbuds) don't exist. And as for listening to a podcast in the shower, maybe focus on bathing and getting out of the shower as quickly as you can instead of trying to work in a 10 minute podcast wasting water.

Or take a relaxing bath if it's that important for you to hear what Alex Jones is ranting about this morning.

It's like everybody has jumped on the crazy train because Apple went against the normal steady grain of recent predictable iPhone launches.

99% of the reviewers do that all the time. They don't want anything to take away from their Pro / Pro Max loved models.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

It's starting to feel like reviewers are literally searching with a fine tooth comb for things to nitpick the iPhone Air over. The speaker? I can't honestly remember any reviews in the past of recent iPhone lines where the speaker quality was even mentioned. Yet now the sky is falling!

It's like people are actually trying to convince you that AirPods (earbuds) don't exist. And as for listening to a podcast in the shower, maybe focus on bathing and getting out of the shower as quickly as you can instead of trying to work in a 10 minute podcast wasting water.

Or take a relaxing bath if it's that important for you to hear what Alex Jones is ranting about this morning.

It's like everybody has jumped on the crazy train because Apple went against the normal steady grain of recent predictable iPhone launches.

They used to always talk about the speakers. Been less of a focus as everyone has AirPods, but it is still important to a lot of people.

 

[cap7ainclu7ch]

I’ve seen a few reviews mention that it sounds fine, just not as good as the stereo options. This seems reactionary. If you rely on the speaker a lot then it’s clearly not the best choice, but for most use cases it should be good enough. Anyone serious about the sound will be using speakers or headphones anyways.

 

[BB8]

I can't honestly remember any reviews in the past of recent iPhone lines where the speaker quality was even mentioned.

that's definitely not true. reviewers have praised improved speaker quality several times before.

 

[imageneer]

It's not true. According to this video, the 17 throttles the worst.
See the 9:41 mark

Well, according to this review, after a 20 minutes graphic intensive testing, the A19 Pro on the iPhone Air is worse than the A19, and that's after a couple of tests, one of them inside a fridge to keep the Air as cool as possible:

Sounds to me like the A19 Pro version used in the Air is powered down to assist with battery life or something?. Definitely gimmicky.

 

[JPack]

They used to always talk about the speakers. Been less of a focus as everyone has AirPods, but it is still important to a lot of people.

Having AirPods and being forced to wear them are two different things. At home, I don’t need to or want to wear AirPods.

 

[Joseph C]

I’ll be the judge of that when I receive mine. I’m not letting anyone decide for me. I may not like it, I don’t know until I experience it. I do have 14 days to try it out. If I don’t like it. I will get the pro.

Good for you - and I completely agree. I'm swapping my Air out if I miss anything in the first 2 weeks but tbh I think I'm ready for it and can live with its compromises just fine. If anything were to swing me it'd be the back camera situation I think.

The widespread crash out happening over the Air is fascinating from a psychological perspective. It seems a little like some Pro users are a bit mad they can't have the most beautiful model, so have to try and convince themselves the Air is completely appalling.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of reviews show it's a very capable phone, albeit with understandable compromises given its thin profile.

You can have the sexiest iPhone OR the most powerful one. You can't have both this year. Deal with it.

 

[C. Robert]

Id take less speaker for less chunk. The 16 pro's were already too chunky

 

[James6s]

Is that true? You have a link?

Battery life is a none issue as previously said it would be by many. It’s level with the base iPhone 17 and within 10% of the 17 Pro after some 10 hour videos etc.

Also the base iPhone 17 got hotter than the Air after a while.

Battery & thermals not a big issue unless your playing heavy games for prolonged periods.

 

[Apple_Robert]

iPhone Air review: The thinnest iPhone ever, but at what cost? - 9to5Mac

Every so often, Apple makes a design decision that draws a line in the sand. One that feels like a...

9to5mac.com

• The iPhone Air has a single speaker, located in the earpiece at the top of the device. There isn’t a speaker on the bottom like there is on other iPhone models. This was noticeable right away to me. If you regularly listen to podcasts or music using just your iPhone speakers (especially in the shower), you’ll want to invest in a Bluetooth speaker.

It's a no buy from me

No where in that review does it say the speaker is trash. Words have meaning and I think it is wrong of you to create a thread to twist there truth to match your personal agenda.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Well, according to this review, after a 20 minutes graphic intensive testing, the A19 Pro on the iPhone Air is worse than the A19, and that's after a couple of tests, one of them inside a fridge to keep the Air as cool as possible:

Sounds to me like the A19 Pro version used in the Air is powered down to assist with battery life or something?. Definitely gimmicky.

I am not going to be doing a graphic intensive workflow for 20+ minutes all the time on the Air. Like I said, most of the reviewers clearly have an agenda and it is usually not objective. The Air isn't meant to replace the pro which is what the reviewers all make the mistake of comparing.