a week with iPhone Air

I bought the iPhone Air on launch day. Three days later I returned it and bought the iPhone 17 Pro. Then, a week after that, I bought the Air again.

Under almost every post from someone who bought an iPhone Air, haters show up in the replies talking about what a terrible phone it is — as if there are no alternatives and it's the only option Apple showed this year.

I think more options is always better. There's the minimal and affordable iPhone 16e — the cheapest, simplest entry point into the ecosystem. There's the iPhone 17, which is perfect for most people. There's the 17 Pro for those who need a third camera and more processing power. There's the Pro Max for those who want the biggest screen, the most storage, and the biggest battery.

And then there's the Air. For those who want a thin phone, something new, and are willing to make trade-offs. And which nobody is forcing you to buy.

I've said before that it feels like an engineering marvel in your hand (I held the S25 Edge — it's not the same). It's thin, it's light — after using it, every other phone feels like a heavy brick, something from the past.

Durability

The phone genuinely doesn't bend (there are plenty of YouTube stress tests). Apple calls it "the most durable iPhone ever" — and judging by the JerryRigEverything video, that holds up. iFixit also gave it a 7/10 repairability score (same as the 16e and 17 Pro). That's a solid result. For comparison, the Pixel 10 gets 6/10.

Speaker

There's one speaker. Yes, it's worse than the Pro. Not catastrophic, but noticeably quieter. For Reels and watching an anime episode before bed — it's fine. Not many people talk about the haptics, but they're also weaker than on the Pro. If it weren't for my Apple Watch, I'd probably miss notifications — the phone is so light you barely feel it in your pocket.

Mono sound doesn't bother me, but I'm deaf in one ear, so my opinion on this doesn't really count. If you often watch things through the speaker or listen to podcasts in the kitchen — the Air might not be for you. In most other cases, the speaker is enough.

Camera

This is my main pain point and the biggest reason for hesitation. One camera. It's good. The 2x crop is also fine. But over the past couple of years I've gotten used to a telephoto, and on the new 17 Pro it's 4x (with a usable crop up to 8x). Without it, things get hard. Especially at a concert where you want to get closer to the artists.

shots from the iPhone Air camera

I barely use the ultrawide, but I see people on r/iPhoneAir missing it. There's a funny workaround — the front camera is wide-angle, so you can use it to replicate a wide shot. People are getting creative, shooting with their Apple Watch front camera as a substitute for ultrawide. But honestly, it sounds pretty janky.

The front camera itself is great, no complaints there.

Saw a good tip: sort your photos by lens and see how often you actually used the ultrawide or telephoto before buying the iPhone Air.

Battery

There are a lot of jokes about "two hours of screen time" and the MagSafe battery pack being a required accessory — that's all bullshit.

I used the iPhone Air as my main phone for a week. I tried not to pick up my iPad (except for one day — more on that below).

Monday–Wednesday: took it off the charger at 8am — lasted until midnight or 1am. Average of 5–7% remaining with around 6 hours of screen time. I only used the MagSafe battery once — on Monday, when I went out to walk the dog at 1am and my mom called on Telegram.

Thursday: tried to use it as little as possible — a couple of calls, a podcast in the car, a bit of Twitter and Slack. Used 37% all day.

Friday: went to a festival, phone was connected to the car — listening to music and podcasts.

Saturday and Sunday: the festival itself, taking photos and videos, heavy use. Battery lasted, didn't need the MagSafe. Same 6 hours of screen time.

I didn't turn on Low Power Mode, didn't turn off 5G. I do have Always On disabled, but on the Air it's off by default.

Every day there were hundreds of moments where I could have charged the phone — in the car or at home — but I never did.

iPhone Air and the very first iPhone

I think all the trade-offs will feel relatively minor if you're upgrading from an iPhone 13 Pro or older — the out-of-box battery is better. The lack of a telephoto is offset by the fact that the crop from the single camera produces better results than the dedicated telephoto on older iPhones. It'll feel especially good after an iPhone mini (which, as I recall, was dying by lunchtime).

And it's also a great phone for anyone who just wants something new and is ready for trade-offs. It really is beautiful. And it's the first iPhone in a long time — I think since the iPhone X — that gave me a genuine "wow."

The screen is a sweet spot between the Pro and Pro Max. Big, but not huge. Funny that the diagonal is the same as the iPhone Xs Max — that phone felt enormous at the time, now it's just normal. Everyone's just gotten used to giant phones.

For myself, I'm still not sure. I want to use it — it makes me feel something. But I'm tired of carrying two phones. And not having a telephoto at the festival hurt more than I expected. I'll spend the next week with the Pro, maybe write about that one too.