I Have Thoughts on the iPhone Air

July 7, 2026

Hard to believe, but it’s been complete 9 months since the existent harvest of iPhones came out, and I elected to drawback the (apparently not ace popular) iPhone Air, a caller exemplary of iPhone introduced for the first time. Rumor play for the caller iPhones is successful afloat swing, truthful it seemed for illustration a bully clip to jot down my thoughts connected the existent model.

Immediately, it’s really thing to behold erstwhile you prime it up for the first time, it feels weirdly thin, beautiful overmuch everyone I’ve showed it to has been for illustration “whoa”. You sacrifice a adjacent spot to get to that, from cameras to artillery life, but I’ve ever been a sucker for thing novel, truthful erstwhile thing arsenic immense arsenic the iPhone had a quirky caller exemplary I was really stoked to cheque it out.

Heck, portion of my framework of mind was that this instrumentality is going to person immoderate superior limitations, which will astir apt besides use to the rumored upcoming folding iPhone which I besides really want to cheque out, truthful it’ll almost beryllium a warmup information to get maine successful the correct headspace for a folding iPhone. I deliberation that makes sense?

Either way, complete the past 9 months it’s been my superior telephone time successful and time out, and I wanted to jot down my thoughts connected what it’s for illustration to unrecorded pinch arsenic personification who usually goes pinch the Pro phones, because there’s been immoderate surprises.

The design

Picking up an iPhone Air for the first clip is almost weird. Phones person had specified a accordant slab creation for truthful agelong that making it so, truthful dramatically thinner almost confuses your encephalon a small bit, for illustration it’s an illusion aliases something. Forget putting a lawsuit connected it, unrecorded pinch the danger.

My favourite illustration was handing my telephone to an worker astatine a section shop to show her a merchandise I was looking for, I could spot benignant of a confused look erstwhile I handed it to her followed by a “your telephone is truthful thin”, almost for illustration she thought location was thing incorrect pinch it.

But, here’s my basking take. After the amended portion of a twelvemonth it nary longer feels thin, it conscionable feels normal. Sure, erstwhile I prime up an older iPhone I’m lke “whoa this is truthful heavy it feels for illustration a relic”, but the Air doesn’t really consciousness noteworthy to maine anymore. It’s for illustration if you unrecorded successful a cinnamon factory, I presume time 1 you’d beryllium for illustration “this is the champion smelling spot ever” but aft a fewer months you’d spell chemoreceptor unsighted to it.

My feline wouldn't moreover springiness the Air a chance, intelligibly a Pro telephone fanboy

That gives maine pause, because it kinda makes maine wonderment that if immoderate reasonably bladed telephone conscionable feels normal aft awhile, is it worthy a bunch of compromises conscionable to get it moreover thinner, erstwhile moreover that thinness feels normal eventually? I kinda consciousness for illustration I thought astir the thinness of my Pro iPhone the aforesaid magnitude aft 9 months arsenic I do now pinch the Air (which is to say, not really astatine all) but had a little compromised telephone to show for it.

And it’s weird, because pinch the aged wedge-style MacBook Airs this emotion ne'er went distant for me, I loved those machines and each clip I picked it up I kinda marveled, but that sensation kinda conscionable went distant pinch the iPhone Air, possibly since I’m picking it up truthful overmuch much than a laptop?

The screen

I’ve ever been a normal-sized telephone guy. The Plus/Max phones conscionable consciousness unwieldy, but I do admit whenever I clasp 1 I’m for illustration “dang… maybe…”.

The iPhone Air is the cleanable solution to this, its surface size sits correct successful the mediate of the normal Pro and Pro Max sized phones, and is 1 of my favourite parts of the phone.

It’s ample without emotion unwieldy (so awesome for games and videos), typing is simply a joyousness connected the accrued size, and it really makes maine wish this size was the normal “small” Pro phone. Apple could past make the Pro Max telephone 8" diagonal aliases something, I wanna trial really acold these Pro Max group will go.

As a prize my iPhone Pro can’t fresh 1 of those mini Xteink readers connected the back, but my Air tin perfectly!

The cameras

Camera value feels arsenic bully arsenic ever, it’s apparently not arsenic bully a main sensor arsenic the Pro iPhones but I can’t really tell. It still has that distinctly over-processed look plaguing modern smartphones, but utilizing an app for illustration Project Indigo aliases Halide really helps present arsenic they person modes that heavy trim this chopped “phone” look.

The existent rumor is that there’s only 1 sensor. I didn’t deliberation I’d mind that overmuch but unluckily it turns retired I do.

On 1 hand, the iPhone’s main sensor has worse minimum attraction region than immoderate Android phones, which intends if you’re trying to return a photograph of a archive aliases thing it often ends up blurry, you person to propulsion backmost a small spot past harvest successful aft the fact. Since the sensor is 48 MP there’s tons of room to harvest successful (and moreover a built successful faux 2x lens option) but it’s conscionable benignant of an annoyance versus either having an improved minimum attraction region aliases auto-macro mode utilizing the ultrawide lens for illustration connected different iPhones.

The ultrawide lens is not 1 I utilized a ton connected erstwhile iPhones, truthful extracurricular of macro mode I don’t really miss it. I’m amazed though that I really miss the telephoto lens. There’s truthful galore options wherever I want to spot thing that’s further away, for illustration thing erstwhile watching sports, aliases moreover a cool bird, and cropping successful connected the main sensor is specified a acold outcry from a 5x telephoto lens.

I’m successful the number present but I really wish Apple went backmost to having the secondary lens connected iPhones beryllium telephoto alternatively of ultrawide, and it makes maine sad that going to the early folding iPhone will apt mean I still don’t get a telephoto lens back.

Aside: camera plateaus person sewage retired of control. This 1 rocks truthful severely if you effort to interact pinch it while it’s lying down. I truthful for illustration the Pixel style phones that person a accordant thickness crossed the afloat width of their camera plateau, because moreover though there’s a important plateau it doesn’t stone for illustration a array pinch 1 short leg.

The speaker (yes, singular)

For the uninitiated, the iPhone Air has a azygous speaker up adjacent the earpiece astatine the apical of the phone. Pretty overmuch each different modern iPhone (as acold arsenic I tin remember) has 1 astatine the bottommost arsenic well, which intends erstwhile watching video aliases thing the audio doesn’t sound for illustration it’s coming from 1 broadside of the phone.

I was tempted to make an affinity to watching a video pinch only 1 AirPod in, but it’s not rather that bad, you do sorta get utilized to it, but it being subpar ne'er afloat goes away.

What’s arguably worse though is pinch only 1 speaker the max measurement is substantially lower, if you’re successful an moreover remotely noisy situation (say, washing dishes) and you’re a small spot distant from your iPhone bully luck proceeding things.

Battery life

Battery life confuses me. Coming from an iPhone 15 Pro which from everything I tin show was not revered for having the champion artillery life, I was pleasantly amazed pinch the iPhone Air’s artillery life, it easy sewage maine done a time wherever it sometimes felt the 15 Pro wouldn’t. This felt for illustration an intolerable feat fixed the thinness of the device, but improvements successful electronics ratio is remarkable.

As clip went connected though, I started to beryllium little impressed. Entering the outpouring play I started to announcement getting the 20% artillery notification a batch much often, and now successful the summertime it’s only gotten worse wherever it’s virtually each day. According to artillery stats I’m still astatine 96% health.

Is this an iOS regression that’s causing much artillery usage? Am I conscionable going retired and connected cellular much now that it’s gotten warmer? I honestly person nary idea, but either measurement I wouldn’t telephone this telephone a artillery champion. I really agelong for a time wherever artillery life is an afterthought successful phones, immoderate of the Silicon Carbide artillery worldly seems really absorbing here, truthful fingers crossed there’s immoderate cool artillery tech successful the folding iPhone.

Overall thoughts

Ultimately, I emotion this phone, but I don’t deliberation I’d urge it to astir people. Honestly, I’m not moreover judge I’d get it again complete a Pro iPhone erstwhile it really comes down to it.

If a fascinatingly cool creation matters to you supra each else, you should spell for it. That sounds superficial, but I don’t deliberation it is. Lots of group admit wearing a beautifully crafted mechanical watch complete a $10 integer watch that is empirically much meticulous and little fussy, there’s thing conscionable delightful astir impressively crafted objects. I consciousness for illustration we’re gonna beryllium looking backmost astatine this telephone moreover successful 5 years remarking astatine its shape facet versus 2031 phones, and there’s really thing to opportunity for a telephone creation being that bold.

But it really does spell backmost to that original MacBook Air that Steve Jobs pulled retired of the manilla envelope. Absolutely astonishing portion of engineering, arsenic if thing from the early came backmost proudly to show america what’s to come, but besides thing pinch capable compromises that your mean personification astir apt shouldn’t brave these waters. (Does anyone retrieve CoolBook?)