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

[JPack]

When Apple started selling unlocked iPhones in the US, the base model was $649 (iPhone 5) and it stayed at that price up to the iPhone 7.

The iPhone 8 went slightly up to $699.

In other words, prices never dropped nominally. The Air isn't going to drop a single dollar unless sales are very horrible.

Again, would Apple leave a $400 gap in their product stack?

I think the Air can indeed go down in price if Apple wants it to replace the vanilla iPhone. They are getting away with charging a higher price now because the tech is so new.

Those prices you quote are a result of natural inflation over a long period of time.

The X had brand new tech and Apple never dropped a dollar. At $899, you're suggesting not only zero inflation, but deflation.

What Apple did was they launched the XR the following year. It was a fatter version of the X with a single camera and cheaper materials intended to replace the vanilla iPhone 8. What's a fatter, aluminum version of Air? It's the iPhone 17.

 

[blairh]

In other words, prices never dropped nominally. The Air isn't going to drop a single dollar unless sales are very horrible.

Again, would Apple leave a $400 gap in their product stack?




The X had brand new tech and Apple never dropped a dollar.

What Apple did was they launched the XR the following year. It was a fatter version of the X with a single camera and cheaper materials intended to replace the vanilla iPhone 8. What's a fatter, aluminum version of Air? It's the iPhone 17.

Apple is rumored to not be releasing the iPhone 18 until the Spring of 2027. Why would they do that? Because it will matter less in their lineup with the Air getting better year over year. In due time, maybe even by next year, the Air will have dual cameras and stereo speakers. At that point, what importance does the vanilla iPhone even offer Apple beyond being able to offer it as a lower price point than the Air?

I'm confident Apple wants their vanilla iPhone in the near future to be as thin and light as the Air.

In 2026 we get the Air still at $999 with dual cameras and stereo speakers. In 2027 we get the Air with the same features as the previous year but with a new chip and better battery for $899. At that point, they can ditch the vanilla iPhone entirely. Wouldn't surprise me.

 

[JPack]

Apple is rumored to not be releasing the iPhone 18 until the Spring of 2027. Why would they do that? Because it will matter less in their lineup with the Air getting better year over year. In due time, maybe even by next year, the Air will have dual cameras and stereo speakers. At that point, what importance does the vanilla iPhone even offer Apple beyond being able to offer it as a lower price point than the Air?

I'm confident Apple wants their vanilla iPhone in the near future to be as thin and light as the Air.

In 2026 we get the Air still at $999 with dual cameras and stereo speakers. In 2027 we get the Air with the same features as the previous year but with a new chip and better battery for $899. At that point, they can ditch the vanilla iPhone entirely. Wouldn't surprise me.

Splitting up the launch cycle allows Apple to reduce the cost of components going into the base model.

Chips are becoming more and more expensive with each node. Apple tried doing n-1 with iPhone 14 (A15) to reduce costs, but customers did not like it. The alternative is to delay product release by 1/2 cycle until costs catch up.

The engineering reality is if Apple wants to keep the Air at 5.6mm or thinner, a second camera isn't happening. The camera sensors require a certain amount of z-height (depth). This is why you don't see UW or the Air using the primary sensor from the Pro.

 

[blairh]

Splitting up the launch cycle allows Apple to reduce the cost of components going into the base model.

Chips are becoming more and more expensive with each node. Apple tried doing n-1 with iPhone 14 (A15) to reduce costs, but customers did not like it. The alternative is to delay product release by 1/2 cycle until costs catch up.

The engineering reality is if Apple wants to keep the Air at 5.6mm or thinner, a second camera isn't happening. The camera sensors require a certain amount of z-height (depth). This is why you don't see UW or the Air using the primary sensor from the Pro.

The S25 Edge has dual cameras and UW. It's 5.8mm thick.

 

[JPack]

The S25 Edge has dual cameras and UW. It's 5.8mm thick.

It also has stereo speakers and a SIM slot. Apple was willing to compromise a lot to get to 5.56mm.

 

[blairh]

It also has stereo speakers and a SIM slot. Apple was willing to compromise a lot to get to 5.56mm.

Okay. But that doesn't mean they won't make improvements moving forward, either.

 

[JPack]

Okay. But that doesn't mean they won't make improvements moving forward, either.

I agree improvements will be made. But to make the Air the base model is very unlikely in my opinion. Not only does Apple have to make compromises (that most don’t want) to the feature set, but they have to use titanium to maintain rigidity. For a mass market device, why would Apple do that? Apple would rather sell fewer premium units at a higher margin.

 

[blairh]

I agree improvements will be made. But to make the Air the base model is very unlikely in my opinion. Not only does Apple have to make compromises (that most don’t want) to the feature set, but they have to use titanium to maintain rigidity. For a mass market device, why would Apple do that? Apple would rather sell fewer premium units at a higher margin.

The Air is going to get much better in a relatively short time. When it does, the only reason to keep around the vanilla iPhone is price. Could they do that? I guess. But the vanilla iPhone is going to look a lot less enticing to customers when the Air can pretty much offer the exact same experience in a slimmer and lighter device. And pushing the vanilla iPhone to the spring will only make it look like less of a priority for Apple moving forward.

(Also, the Air is 5.64 mm.)

 

[JPack]

The Air is going to get much better in a relatively short time. When it does, the only reason to keep around the vanilla iPhone is price. Could they do that? I guess. But the vanilla iPhone is going to look a lot less enticing to customers when the Air can pretty much offer the exact same experience in a slimmer and lighter device. And pushing the vanilla iPhone to the spring will only make it look like less of a priority for Apple moving forward.

(Also, the Air is 5.64 mm.)

Price is pretty darn important, isn't it?

If it weren't, why would Apple bother with 16e? Apple could have easily used the excuse iPhone 17 is now 256GB standard, so we want $899 for it. But they didn't do it. Most people are sensitive to price.

$799 to $999 is a huge jump, especially at the low end. Apple didn't even increase the base price by $50.

 

[DougiePhresh]

It’s actually worse than what we had before. An earpiece is smaller and quieter than a bottom firing speaker.

I’d love to see some data on that

 

[grovertdog]

Splitting up the launch cycle allows Apple to reduce the cost of components going into the base model.

Chips are becoming more and more expensive with each node. Apple tried doing n-1 with iPhone 14 (A15) to reduce costs, but customers did not like it. The alternative is to delay product release by 1/2 cycle until costs catch up.

The engineering reality is if Apple wants to keep the Air at 5.6mm or thinner, a second camera isn't happening. The camera sensors require a certain amount of z-height (depth). This is why you don't see UW or the Air using the primary sensor from the Pro.

You make a very good point. 5 or more years ago Apple could dominate foundry space at TSMC, the best semiconductor manufacturer on the planet, simply by the scale of their order commitment. Enter Nvidia. As Nvidia's volume has scaled logarithmically over the past decade, and given how expensive, complicated and profitable their GPUs are, Apple sometimes gets second tier fab allocation.

The iPhone upgrade cycle is by far the most important component of their revenue model and they are going to be careful as &$%. Over half of their revenue is from iPhones, and they have to keep the public hungry for more. It will be interesting to see if they do as you're suggesting in terms of staggering future releases.

 

[aperfectcircle]

Will see - tomorrow, I shall make many speakerphone voice and facetime calls and see how the speaker sounds..

The speaker is a lot better than I was expecting. No issues with volume for FaceTime calls and it’s decent enough watching a few music videos and reviews on YouTube. It’s not as rich sounding as my 14PM but after the low expectations I’m quite happy with it for my needs.

 

[JPack]

You make a very good point. 5 or more years ago Apple could dominate foundry space at TSMC, the best semiconductor manufacturer on the planet, simply by the scale of their order commitment. Enter Nvidia. As Nvidia's volume has scaled logarithmically over the past decade, and given how expensive, complicated and profitable their GPUs are, Apple sometimes gets second tier fab allocation.

The iPhone upgrade cycle is by far the most important component of their revenue model and they are going to be careful as &$%. Over half of their revenue is from iPhones, and they have to keep the public hungry for more. It will be interesting to see if they do as you're suggesting in terms of staggering future releases.

Even without customers in the picture, TSMC wafer costs for N7 to N2 went from $10k to $30k. R&D costs for each new node are increasing by 50%.

The price of base model iPhone hasn't changed since 2020. Something's gotta give. Apple could raise prices for base models, but they probably don't want to. The option they've chosen is to raise prices on Pro/Air and let those customers pay for first dibs. Then once the yield is up, let the mainstream iPhone buyers join the party.

 

[super chimp]

Then the Air should work nicely for you, dare I say you may be a target audience?

Monaural is quite appropriate for spoken word. The entire and only point of stereo is to create an illusion of a soundstage of music. Not to broadcast an unaccompanied voice. One of the primary reasons talk shows remained on AM radio for decades after FM took over for music.

With that said, definitely get the phone you want. You don't have to justify your decision to anyone, and there really aren't bad choices these days.

For me the speakers only have to do two things be clear for voice and loud. And to keep that clarity as best they can with the volume. Still surprised by the volume on the 13 Pro speakers considering that it’s still a relatively compact handset.

 

[super chimp]

I do not think there will be a second version. I think the iPhone Air was made for Apple to prove they could fit all that tech in that small of a frame, and next year the foldable iPhone is going to be two iPhone Air’s put together. If there is no foldable iPhone next year, then yes, there most likely will be another Air, but the reports as of now are foldable iPhone in 2026.

Apple will pay close attention to what works on the Air, and what needs some refinement/attention and fix it for the iPhone Air Foldable or whatever they will call it.

Just my prediction!

The Edge was clearly a template for the Fold for Samsung. But that hasn’t stopped them putting forward the S26 Edge which we’ll see next year. Which is my long way of saying I think you’re wrong and we will see an Air 2.

 

[eddie_ducking]

well my Air's arrived and just listening to music on it in the lounge and it sounds amazing ... lots of bass, plenty of separation, great room filling audio ... oh wait a minute, I was AirPlaying to my Naim / dual HomePods setup

TBH, the speaker is OK. Watching video in portrait, everything could be heard fine. It's a bit strange in landscape with the sound only coming from one side, but it's not a dealbreaker in any shape or form

The biggest "problem" so far is that I can't tell I've got it on me, I keep having to check

 

[blairh]

Price is pretty darn important, isn't it?

If it weren't, why would Apple bother with 16e? Apple could have easily used the excuse iPhone 17 is now 256GB standard, so we want $899 for it. But they didn't do it. Most people are sensitive to price.

$799 to $999 is a huge jump, especially at the low end. Apple didn't even increase the base price by $50.

I already said previously that they could offer the Air at $899 in a few years. In due time, the 'standard' iPhone is going to go up in price.

 

[blairh]

I’d love to see some data on that

You need data to know if a tiny earpiece speaker is quieter than a much larger bottom speaker?

This community is really hilarious sometimes.

 

[bobjonesco]

They could have just added another plateau on the bottom half but with 3 extra speakers instead of a camera if you ask me.

 

[Knowimagination]

You need data to know if a tiny earpiece speaker is quieter than a much larger bottom speaker?

This community is really hilarious sometimes.

If there is such a difference in the quality of the two locations wouldn’t it be noticeable even on the phones with a stereo pair?

 

[blairh]

If there is such a difference in the quality of the two locations wouldn’t it be noticeable even on the phones with a stereo pair?

Not clear regarding the wording of your question.

I just handled the Air. It's amazing in-hand and makes the Pro Max feel like a dated tank. The speaker is terrible though, of course.

 

[sp44]

Not clear regarding the wording of your question.

I just handled the Air. It's amazing in-hand and makes the Pro Max feel like a dated tank. The speaker is terrible though, of course.

If I didn't have Airpods I would not get it.

 

[derek33]

I think it just got more powerful. Although two full-range speakers are much better.

 

[Dirk Pieters]

If Samsung released a garbage speaker it'd be a field day around here.

When Apple does it ... "I don't really mind a crap mono speaker in the earpiece!"

😂

Can't make this stuff up.
The double standard with deference to whatever Apple does is really rather hilarious.

I honestly couldn’t care less about speaker quality.

Speaker quality is probably at the absolute bottom of my list of things to consider when buying a smartphone. No device that small has great speakers.

They’re just less crap.

 

[robotphood]

Looking forward to picking up the Air today and comparing to my 16P. I think the 16P has surprisingly good speakers for a smartphone. I'm sure the Air will be a downgrade but I think the level of compromise will certainly depend on what you use them for. I'm not doing any real listening on mine; just quick FaceTime/Calls and short social media videos. I'd obviously rather have better speakers but we're choosing the Air for other reasons.