Two Weeks With the iPhone Air: Is Ultra-Thin Worth the Compromises?

[turbineseaplane]

If y'all don't find these phones heavy ..

Pick up a 13 Mini...

...then go pick up an SE1

All of the new phones are big heavy bricks (less "brick" with Air at least) in my book.

 

[Populus]

In my humble opinion, no, it is not worth the compromise, especially not with that size and weight. If I am looking for something particularly lightweight, I’ll prefer a lighter, more compact 6” device. But I understand that, in order to place the PCB horizontally, they needed that extra width.

Not worth it for me.

Also, the regular iPhone 17 is especially competitive this year. The best deal in a long time.

 

[magicschoolbus]

The battery life would be atrocious, the 13 mini is advertised at 17 hours playback alone

There's always a way.. it could be done.

 

[Macalway]

I'm really happy with the phone, but then I see threads like this and wonder, 'do I really want to go there?'.

nope. But i'll post this

 

[Applewatch42]

There's always a way.. it could be done.

maybe eventually, but not now

 

[WarmWinterHat]

maybe eventually, but not now

One camera, esim, no mmwave, keep the original thickness. pack all that new space with a battery.

 

[cocky jeremy]

The compromises are the worst case scenario for compromises. Battery and cameras.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

The pro have gotten far too thick , to the point where it becomes an annoyance

 

[Applewatch42]

The pro have gotten far too thick , to the point where it becomes an annoyance

In my hands, the 16 Pro is too thin

 

[IJBrekke]

I feel like the lack of the LiDAR sensor isn’t talked about enough. That can impact the quality of photos, as well.

Absolutely this. My 13 Mini is really excellent, but the lack of LiDAR makes any portrait mode shots a huge bummer. It’s a feature that, if not present, is immediately noticeable.

 

[dreinidaho]

This hate of the iPhone Air is annoying. I love mine and still believe the Air is the most innovative phone released in this year's lineup.

 

[Applewatch42]

This hate of the iPhone Air is annoying. I love mine and still believe the Air is the most innovative phone released in this year's lineup.

I think it is innovative, but not for me

 

[turbineseaplane]

This hate of the iPhone Air is annoying. I love mine and still believe the Air is the most innovative phone released in this year's lineup.

Don't worry .. You still get to love it, no matter what strangers on the Internet think!

 

[azentropy]

It’s not that light. 12g lighter than the regular 17.

And actually heavier than the regular 12 was (yes the regular 12 as the 12 mini was significantly lighter)!

 

[WatchTheThrone]

I’ve had the IPhone Air since release day and honestly it’s been the best phone I’ve had since probably the iPhone 6s Plus. It’s the perfect mix of everything you’d want from a portable device. The screen size is perfect, the battery life is much better than my outgoing iPhone 12 Pro, the camera is great for my needs and the weight of it is perfectly balanced so it’s neither top heavy nor bottom heavy so holding the phone even with a case is a pleasure. The speaker is very good for me while on calls or viewing vertical content. When viewing content horizontally (YouTube) it does take some getting used to only hearing the audio from the left side but that’s my only gripe with the phone. Most the time I use headphones so it’s really a non issue for my situation.
Aesthetically ,it’s the best looking phone Apple has released since iPhone 5s but this is all my personal opinion. This is the future and I can’t wait until Apple can fit all the pro features into this size case.

 

[Constable Odo]

Definitely worth it until you bend it and then Steve Jobs sends you an email: “you’re sitting on it wrong.”

If Steve Jobs actually sends you an email now, that would certainly be a miracle and that email would be worth quite a bit of money.

 

[7thson]

Having been pretty skeptical of this during this past year or so of rumors, I’m now curious about it. Love my 15 Pro so I don’t have a strong incentive to “upgrade”, but I think I’d be fine with the compromise on cameras. Not really digging the color options and the muted tones, with black the only saturated color option. Would be much harder to pass if there was a saturated red, but that’s not in fashion at this time so maybe next year. It obviously wouldn’t be much of a consideration if I still used case, but I don’t anymore.

 

[Donkey Man]

You need a new line. I lift weights and I'm not weak.. fun fact, I'm a rock climber and do full pullups with just my index fingers..

I don't like the weight, and I don't want my want phone to weigh as much as it does.

It's nothing to do with being strong or weak - it's about feeling that brick dangling in your pocket and pulling it down, particularly when wearing light shorts.

 

[bluespark]

The battery isn’t a compromise if you’re upgrading from an older phone. My Air gets better battery life than my 15 Pro ever did.

Same — the battery is a huge improvement for me, and it’s also as much as I need, so that to me is not a compromise at all. Completely get that others may have different needs, of course.

 

[Donkey Man]

This hate of the iPhone Air is annoying. I love mine and still believe the Air is the most innovative phone released in this year's lineup.

It's called coping - people regret buying that hideous 17 Pro but can't admit it now.

 

[erikkfi]

This year, as in years past, all the colors suck. Especially embarrassing here on the Air where, as you said, we have three lifeless shades of white, plus black. Apple steadfastly insists on desaturating all colors by 80-90%, with one annual exception. Usually it's red; this year it's orange on the boat-anchor Pro and Pro Max. For the life of me I'll never understand why Apple refuses to provide a colorful iPhone I viscerally want. "Maybe next year" is something I'm used to saying at this point. Till then my 13 Mini and I are making another trip around the sun.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

It's called coping - people regret buying that hideous 17 Pro but can't admit it now.

I saw my first 17 yesterday, a Pro Max, and got to look at for a moment. It wasn't quite as bad as I thought (still not great), but it did have a case that covered the continental shelf, with small cutouts for the camera and flash/lidar.

 

[bluespark]

Not sure what everyone is on about this Air device, I have a 15 pro max and never even noticed that it was heavy.

Maybe more people need to go the gym.

Counterpoint: This is the perfect phone for those of us who hit the gym because it slides easily into gym shorts and doesn’t pull down on the lightweight fabric.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Counterpoint: This is the perfect phone for those of us who hit the gym because it slides easily into gym shorts and doesn’t pull down on the lightweight fabric.

The 15 Pro is lighter than the 16 and 17 Pro.

I was excited with the 15 Pro was released, thinking Apple was lowering the weight of their phones...only to raise it right back to where it was prior with the 16 Pro.

Agreed with gym shorts. Running shorts aren't great either, though I usually use a FlipBelt.

 

[qnssekr]

Is Apple Intelligence activated when using the phone? I’m sure that will kill the battery along with everyday use.