4 causes I am blowing previous the iPhone Air, and why you need to too

As anticipated, the star product of Apple’s September 9 press occasion was the iPhone Air. There wasn’t a lot left for Apple to disclose about it, the truth is — I already knew, primarily based on leaks, that it might be about 5.6mm thick with a 6.5-inch show, and sport a single rear-facing digicam, regardless of the presence of two or three cameras on the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro. I even knew what it might appear like. Not that there was a lot Apple might’ve achieved about that — accent makers wanted blueprints to have merchandise prepared on time.

The telephone is extra tempting than I believed it might be, however I am additionally fairly snug about skipping it. You need to be as effectively, and there are a selection of the explanation why. This is hoping that Apple types issues out by the point the Air 2 rolls round.

4

Thinness comes on the expense of battery life

Kind over perform

Apple / Pocket-Lint

The most important shock is that the battery life on the Air is not as dangerous as rumors predicted. Apple claims that the gadget can deal with as much as 27 hours of video playback, placing it on par with my iPhone 16 Pro. That is partly attributable to the Air’s customized C1X modem, which is extra power-efficient than the third-party modems in earlier units. Apple’s benchmarks by no means correspond on to actuality, in fact — however you need to be capable to get by a day on a single cost if you happen to’re not enjoying Resident Evil or capturing a number of 4K video.

What Apple does not inform you is that the Air charges under all the things else in its 2025 lineup. The iPhone 17 is rated for 30 hours of playback, and the 17 Professional will get as much as 33. The 17 Professional Max delivers as much as 39 hours — which means that with gentle exercise, it might legitimately be a two-day telephone.

None of this may matter if it weren’t for the Air’s $1,000 entry value. You may get a longer-lasting gadget for much less cash, which is the other of how issues usually work. Possibly Apple will slender the hole subsequent 12 months by switching over to silicon-carbon batteries, which supply larger vitality density.

3

You are sacrificing digicam performance

Think twice about the way you shoot photographs and movies

Apple / Pocket-lint

The Air sports activities a 48-megapixel wide-angle digicam, just like the one on the iPhone 17, with the choice of 2x zoom for filling the body just a little higher. For some folks, this can be greater than adequate, permitting them to snap mates, household, and plenty of different topics in excessive element. However not like the 17, there isn’t any ultrawide digicam to talk of. Which means you may’t shoot in cramped areas, and even take macro photographs, which might be a dealkiller if you happen to like to make use of your telephone to take group pics, or save pairing codes and serial numbers.

As soon as once more, the Air’s pricetag comes into play. You’ll be able to really save $200 and get an ultra-wide again if you happen to purchase an iPhone 17. Alternately, by spending $100 extra you may improve to the 17 Professional, which incorporates each an ultra-wide and a 48-megapixel telephoto digicam with 8x zoom. If you happen to’re contemplating an Air, you’d higher suppose lengthy and onerous about your digicam wants — you do not wish to end up lacking key recollections as a result of your telephone lacks fundamental gear. Even the similarly-designed Galaxy S25 Edge has twin cameras.

2

Sturdiness is a big query mark

There’s solely thus far materials selections can go

Apple / Pocket-lint

Apple went to nice lengths to emphasize the toughness of the Air throughout its press occasion. The telephone not solely sports activities a titanium physique — not like the iPhone 17 and 17 Professional, which use aluminum — however Ceramic Defend glass on each the entrance and the again, meant to cut back the specter of scratches and cracks. The entrance particularly makes use of Ceramic Defend 2, claimed to have 3 times the scratch resistance of its predecessor.

None of this instantly addresses the most important concern with ultra-thin telephones: bending. Titanium could also be stiffer than aluminum, but it surely’s not resistant to stress, and there is solely a lot structural rigidity Apple can present in a tool so skinny. Presumably Apple has discovered the teachings of Bendgate, which plagued the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus — but it isn’t onerous to think about somebody warping or cracking their Air by unintentionally sitting on it. We’ll have to attend for reviewers to show issues a technique or one other.

I feel I converse for lots of people once I say that I would fairly have a thicker, heavier telephone that is rugged than one which (briefly) impresses me with how slim and light-weight it’s. For the sake of patrons, I sincerely hope that Apple’s advertising and marketing is greater than hyperbole.

1

It skimps on 5G, graphics, and USB tech

The iPhone 16 Professional may very well be a greater deal

One thing I’ve discovered through the years is to pay shut consideration to Apple’s specs sheets, as a result of the corporate is not all the time clear with its forward-facing press supplies. Whereas it brags concerning the iPhone 17 having a 120Hz adaptive refresh charge, as an example, I needed to delve into specs to substantiate that this allows always-on show (AOD) capabilities like lockscreen widgets and StandBy. I assume Apple considers this all commonplace now, though you continue to get a locked 60Hz with out AOD if you happen to purchase an iPhone 16 or 16e.

If you happen to’re weighing an Air in opposition to a 17 Professional, chances are you’ll be shocked by a few of its compromises, which transcend digicam and battery tech. Whereas each merchandise use an A19 Professional chip, the Air has one much less graphics (GPU) core, which might harm its efficiency in some video games. It additionally does not help the quickest model of 5G, mmWave, and might solely sync wired knowledge at sluggish USB 2.0 speeds. That final level is pathetic, frankly. The two.0 spec dates again to the 12 months 2000, so there isn’t any excuse for any iPhone to have it at present, given the sizes of contemporary music, video, and backup information. USB 3.1 ought to be handled at the least — not a Professional luxurious.

Take into account this: the bottom Air is supplied with 256GB of storage. USB 2.0 might make some backups take over an hour, whereas USB 3.1 would shorten that to lower than seven minutes. I get that most individuals depend on Wi-Fi and cloud sync lately, however that is no excuse for leaving USB customers within the Darkish Ages.