After using the iPhone Air for the past 10 days, I can confirm what everyone’s been wondering: Yes, it really is that light and thin. But what’s more interesting is whether Apple’s thinnest phone ever, at just 5.64 millimeters, is worth the trade-offs it demands.
I have used the iPhone 15 Pro Max as a primary phone for over 18 months now, and my secondary phones are often flagship Android phones, so I know what a substantial smartphone feels like. Meanwhile, the iPhone Air is so light that when I first picked up the iPhone 17 Pro Max after using the Air, the Pro Max suddenly felt heavy. That contrast tells you something about what Apple has accomplished here, and what you might be giving up.
Friends who’ve held the iPhone Air say how exquisite it looks and feels in hand, even though the phone weighs just 12 grams less than the iPhone 17. I share the sentiment. I find myself picking the phone up from my table just to experience that feeling again. Surely, the novelty of a phone’s build will wear off, but for now, I’m enjoying it.
The phone is not small. It is easier to hold because it is thin. (Sorry, iPhone Mini fans.) But if you have trouble operating phones with large screens with one hand, this one won’t be too different because of its 6.5-inch screen.
As the headline suggests, when the iPhone Air is in my pocket, I often forget it’s there. If you have trouble fitting larger phones in your pocket, the iPhone Air will likely fit. If you don’t have any trouble, your pockets will just feel lighter.
While the phone is thin, it is pretty sturdy. I had the phone fall from the level of a bedside table, and it was fine. Once, I sat on it by mistake, and it didn’t lose any shape. There are plenty of videos out there to suggest it will do just fine in most day-to-day conditions.
I typically use most phones without a case, and I didn’t want to add any bulk or thickness to the iPhone Air with a case — though you’ll need one if you are planning to use Apple’s new shoulder strap. And if you want extra protection, you can use Apple’s bumper case without adding a lot of heft.
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Given the iPhone Air’s slim build, there has been a lot of talk about its battery life. I noticed that the phone often starts to get hot after intense gaming or video streaming, especially around the camera plate area, prompting me to check the battery percentage more often than I should.
The phone has the processor chops to let you play games with intensive graphics, but if you plan to use the phone extensively during the day, having Apple’s $99 MagSafe battery pack — which fits the back of the phone — is a good idea, as it will get you through the day easily. One added advantage of carrying the pack is that you can top up the battery of MagSafe-compatible AirPods if needed.
Overall, the battery life of the iPhone Air is fine if you are planning on doing tasks like making a few calls, watching some videos, scrolling your feeds, and answering your emails while being connected to a Wi-Fi network. I carried the phone on a two-hour flight and watched a downloaded movie on Netflix, and I didn’t see a significant drop in the battery level. But keep in mind that this is a new phone, and the battery will deplete over time, which might be a concern if you plan to hold on to this phone beyond a year or two.
Another drawback of the iPhone Air is in the camera department, with its single-lens rear camera setup. The phone features a 48-megapixel sensor with an f/1.6 aperture, just like the base iPhone 17. The 26 millimeter focal length camera has sensor shift stabilization to capture good images in most lighting conditions. While details on the photos are fine, I’ve noticed that the iPhone’s camera post-processing often makes the background a lot brighter than what you see with your eyes.
There is no dedicated telephoto camera, and you will have to make do with a 2x crop from the main sensor. However, apart from in low-light conditions, the zoom works well. I have three pets, and over the years, I have really appreciated good zoom so I can capture their goofy and cute poses without moving from my place. I missed having that option with the iPhone Air.
The omission of a wide-angle lens might pinch you if you travel often or go to places where you might want to capture vast landscape photos.
Apple changed the selfie camera sensor across the new lineup with a new square 18-megapixel sensor. This enables you to take selfies in different formats without having to hold the phone in landscape mode. Thanks to Center Stage, when more people cram into a frame, the camera automatically chooses a wider aspect ratio. But you can manually control the zoom in/out and orientation as well. If you shoot videos for different creative channels, the new iPhones also have an option to shoot a clip using feeds from both front and back cameras simultaneously.
One side note: The Air has the camera control button just like previous iPhones, but I haven’t bothered using it much.
There is a third, albeit smaller, drawback, which is its single speaker. The iPhone Air is designed in such a way that Apple wasn’t able to accommodate speakers at the bottom. When you are gaming, listening to music, or taking calls on the speaker, you will hear sound only from the speaker atop the screen. I personally use AirPods most of the time, but I did miss having dual speakers while watching an odd video without the earbuds.
While Apple nailed the tough part — engineering a stunning phone — now comes the harder part, which is convincing people to buy one. The Air is filling the fourth slot in the company’s four iPhone yearly lineup, which was occupied by the Mini and the Plus previously. For Apple, the Air’s job is to do better than that. But the question is, who is the phone for?
Just like my colleagues Amanda Silberling and Julie Bort wrote on launch day, it is easy to get swayed by the iPhone Air because of how it looks. You might be further convinced once you hold the phone. When I got the iPhone Air, I told one of my friends that it is a “vibe phone” — one with more swag and feel than practicality.
It is not a phone you can charge in the morning and wholly trust to last the whole day without any extra battery support. But if aesthetics or portability matter to you more than all-day battery life or a multi-lens camera system, the iPhone Air delivers. If not, the rest of the iPhone lineup is for you.
