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Two Weeks With the iPhone Air: Is Ultra-Thin Worth the Compromises?
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In theory, yes. That is because 6.5-inches is the size of the screen diagonally, so the depth of the Air has nothing to do with the screen size.
You can be thankful the Air is not 6.5-inches thick.
The phone is 5.64mm thick. That thickness/thinness does NOT including the camera bump/plateau, where all of the motherboard also resides.
I said a brand new iPhone 15. And there are people happy with their current iPhone 13 with degraded battery. Do I know how or understand them? No. Is it good enough for them. Yes.
Well my real world scenario is that my air lasts a lot longer than my 15 pro, so I’m happy.
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In two to three years time, Say 2027, I hope Apple could offer Silicon Carbon Battery as standard on Air and Pro. I am happy to pay $100 extra for it. Just bump the starting price by a $100.
Well surely we can at least agree that $200 is a lot to pay for going from 128GBy to 256Gby!
Apple have always charged premium prices for memory upgrades on all products. I should imagine they pay around $10 more for a 256GBy chip compared to a 128GBy one. (Apple get better prices then you or I get when buying one-off.)
Apple have always charged premium prices for memory upgrades on all products. I should imagine they pay around $10 more for a 256GBy chip compared to a 128GBy one. (Apple get better prices then you or I get when buying one-off.)
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It's amazing to see people complain about lack of features on Air when it is not the phone they want or need. Apple has options for everyone. If Air does not have what you want then buy a Pro and move on.
Think of it as choosing to eat a buffet for $20 or a juicy piece of Ribeye for $30. You are eating less food for more money. It is not about three cameras or more battery all the time. Some people like change and Air offers that this year.
I currently have both 17 Pro and Air. In another thread, I said that I might be returning my Air because of speaker but I still cannot make up my mind. 17 Pro, to me, just feels like any other phone I have used in the past but Air just feels different. I couldn't care less about cameras because when I travel, I always have my mirrorless setup.
Think of it as choosing to eat a buffet for $20 or a juicy piece of Ribeye for $30. You are eating less food for more money. It is not about three cameras or more battery all the time. Some people like change and Air offers that this year.
I currently have both 17 Pro and Air. In another thread, I said that I might be returning my Air because of speaker but I still cannot make up my mind. 17 Pro, to me, just feels like any other phone I have used in the past but Air just feels different. I couldn't care less about cameras because when I travel, I always have my mirrorless setup.
Yes, we can absolutely agree that Apple charges too much for storage upgrades.
They charge like wounded bulls!
By they do have the world’s most magnificent retail stores to maintain, and creating the future that everyone else copies can’t be cheap.
Storage is the one area they can get away with stinging you.
It’s a shame they couldn’t make 256gn the price of 128gb, or rather, they didn’t choose to do that.
But going to 256gb is a good thing, 128gb is getting too small, and the
Move to eliminate 128gb allows thek
The ability to say they didn’t raise prices, because when it comes to the 256gb tier, they didn’t.
But they did stop selling 128gb
There has been inflation under Trump’s Covid PPP spending,
Then Biden, and now Trump’s tarriffs have also had an effect, although inflation has officially come down, which is a good thing.
Anyway, Apple isn’t a charity and they don’t operate on razor thin margins like the Chinese.
People voluntarily pay Apple’s prices because they know it’s worth it. Even if they grumble. They know it’s worth it.
So we can absolutely agree that Apple does charge very high prices for storage, but it’s the one area they can really get away with it.
Plus you know you are buying quality storage backed up by an impeccable warranty.
You do pay, but as they say, you get what you pay for!
Not that I was considering an Air because I already knew it’s too big just based on the specs, but I appreciate a fellow mini user sharing their experience.
I really hope Apple considers a small version of a similar spec product in the future
Go to the Apple Store, buy an iPhone air, film yourself bending it and I will pay you back twice.
I kept my old pro instead of trading it in for the rare cases where I need the lidar sensor (3d scanning)
Start with the battery is better than my last year iPhone 16pro. The camera with its limitations is not an issues. Photos are amazing. They truly have brought back the magic of the iPhone with the air. The cellular chip I don't even notice a change. Truly remarkable device.
Technically, the iPhone Air is actually a great device. But that 3,149 mAh battery is just too small, and many people don't want to carry even a small 5,000 mAh power bank just to keep the phone "topped up." Hopefully, the 2026 model will have a 4,000 mAh battery pack using new battery chemistry.
What's a paragraph? This is MacRumours. We don't read articles, we skim headlines.
Interesting note about the width. Did you have an iPhone 11 back in the day, by any chance? I went from a 6 to the 11 in 2019 and after about 2 years upgraded to the 13 Mini because the 11’s width caused me regular hand pain. The 13 mini solved it. I now have a 16 Pro but haven’t had any pain issues. I don’t know if the 11 was unusually wide or anything.
I've come to accept they'll never do another Mini.
I just don't think they'd be willing to sacrifice the size of the battery to fit the camera modules and processing needed for the newer OS into a 6.5x13mm box, regardless of depth.
Although, I've taken some measurements and found that adding 4mm to the depth of the Mini could accommodate the camera on the Air to make it completely flush. That might add enough room for a headphone jack!
Having owned multiple regular and pro iPhones, and coming from a 12 mini > 13 Pro Max > 15 Pro Max, I am in love with the Air.
I do, however, miss the video Cinematic Mode, and watching videos in landscape mode isn’t ideal in terms of audio quality without AirPods or headphones.
With that being said, it’s slim & light, has a beautiful screen, great camera, is responsive and snappy, and has very decent battery life for my use (averaging 5-9 hrs of Screen Active time & 14-18 Screen Idle time for the past 10 days), ending the day at 9pm with ~15-20% battery.
I do, however, miss the video Cinematic Mode, and watching videos in landscape mode isn’t ideal in terms of audio quality without AirPods or headphones.
With that being said, it’s slim & light, has a beautiful screen, great camera, is responsive and snappy, and has very decent battery life for my use (averaging 5-9 hrs of Screen Active time & 14-18 Screen Idle time for the past 10 days), ending the day at 9pm with ~15-20% battery.
Actually went from iPhone X to iPhone 12 Pro and then iPhone 14 Pro which was heavy and felt uncomfortable with the weight that time. I guess using iPhone X sort of conditioned me in using wider phone. In your case, it was a bigger jump from 6 to 11 in terms of width.
I was excited when iPhone 15 Pro was released since it was slightly lighter and I used it without any issues for 2 years without cover for most part. It never felt uncomfortable.
iPhone Air felt a nice change on that front but I overlooked the width factor.
Having said that, I think iPhone 5/5s was probably my sweet spot. Never got a chance to use mini. I would gladly try one if they release in the future.
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I had the 15 pro max and for me it's the same crappy battery and it gets hot like the old one did. sigh. not happy.
Another Mini user with an opinion here! I actually have the opposite problem - this thing fits too well in my pocket. More than once, I've felt like I left it behind because I cannot feel it in my pocket!
Battery life is maybe surprisingly better than the Mini. Not fantastic, but certainly tolerable.
It feels downright exquisite in-hand. Pick it up and it feels unreal.
My biggest complaint is the width. Still, I've got 10 days left to return it. We'll see how I feel closer to that deadline.
I'm surprised that the Air does not have "Silicon Carbon" batteries. Last year's Honor Magic 6 had them, as does this year's Honor Magic 7, and the reviews (of the battery life) are excellent. After all, at $999 + sales tax, the Air is a premium phone in my book.