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iPhone Air iPhone Air - 1 Month in - My likes, compromises and concerns
- Thread starter Konvictz
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Objectively false but I hope you do enjoy your phone anyway.
Yep, because the best iphone since iphone X is….. the 13 Mini and you better believe it
I hated the iPhone X worst iPhone I’ve owned. Couldn’t wait to get rid of it, the screen alone was horrendous.
Mini and Air owners have some things in common, that's been clear.Yep, because the best iphone since iphone X is….. the 13 Mini and you better believe it
"Best" is a value word and value is always subjective, so it can't be objectively false because it's not objectively anything. You have to accept that you simply have a different opinion and neither of you are "right" or "wrong".
You might say you're right because the majority of people agree with you. Even if that were true, "best" is still subjective opinion, not objective fact. Even if 99% of people's favorite color is yellow, that doesn't make yellow objectively the best color.
Or you might say you get more value with another phone. But again, value is always subjective. What you don't realize you're doing is placing more value on certain qualities than on others--ie. devaluing the qualities of the Air. That's a subjective game, not objective.
Saying the iPhone Air is the best iPhone since the X is not a debatable thing to say.
It is provably false. You can say it's your favorite phone since the X, thats an opinion. Saying it is the best is invalid because it isn't even the best one of this lineup, let alone all the years that passed between the X and now.
It is provably false. You can say it's your favorite phone since the X, thats an opinion. Saying it is the best is invalid because it isn't even the best one of this lineup, let alone all the years that passed between the X and now.
I mean, you're being a little pedantic with the semantics here. You're assuming "best" means one thing, while others might assume "best" means something else.
Come on now, you just cant beat the Mini form factor theres no argument on that right. Also even though its small and compact, it has dual cameras and speakers lol.
My son still has a blue 13 Mini (loved that color). I've thought about replacing the battery in it and stealing it back from him at times...
Although I cannot speak from personal experience with a mini, it’s always seemed like a very good model.
As a very long time Apple customer, I’ve watched the Cupertino company discontinue various computer and iPhone models that seemingly were quite good but didn’t sell in massive numbers. Yet they were popular and if kept in the lineup would continue to sell.
Sure it could be argued that they didn’t generate the profit margins of the top models, yet with Apples vast resources one would think offering them as alternatives would serve the broader market. More choices, more revenue, a broader customer base.
Based on the dictionary definition, it means exactly what I intended it to mean in referencing your previous comment. 🤷♂️
You need a new dictionary then. Hopefully your Air is capable of that.
You need a new dictionary then. Hopefully your Air is capable of that.
No Air here.
Pedantic, context from Merriam-Webster:
"Pedantic is an insulting word used to describe someone who annoys others by correcting small errors, caring too much about minor details, or emphasizing their own expertise especially in some narrow or boring subject matter."
Personally, I felt that's exactly what you were doing by nitpicking "best" vs "favorite" in that previous comment. But hey, who am I to nitpick your words... that would feel a little hypocritical at this point...
Very true, me too….even more innovative but innovation is for those that understand it and not afraid if it…hence keep carrying bricks.
We’re all bored feigning outrage
nwver realized my self esteem is so broken my failing iPhone 13 mini sales would destroy me. Damn who the thought.
basic to me is a lightweighted phone. Not a 200+grams fat phone.
One iPhone isn't really any better than another. Everyone has different use cases. Take myself: I was going to go all-in on the Pro but there was something about the Air I couldn't shake. As a student and practitioner of product design I'm a sucker for a well engineered product and I have a long-standing thing about supporting underdog devices.
I can live without the 0.5x camera as I only really use it for static objects when I might need to communicate something. I find the macro next to useless because you have to actually get close to things and there is no way to manually trigger it. Telemacro would be a welcome jump. The battery is better than my old 16 and I'm not 15 years old and don't listen to music from my phone.
What I gained though is well worth mentioning.
The weight loss is extraordinary for a large-screen device making it a lot easier to hold and use. I found the Max models in the past triggering latent arthritis. This just glides over that. The screen itself is its most underrated feature. Putting the dynamic island those few mm lower (likely to line up with the internals of the camera bar) makes such a difference when gaming or watching a video. On other models there is such a narrow gap with the bezel it may as well be another notch. Its the closest Apple have come to a seamless sheet of glass. The titanium frame makes it the sturdiest model of the current crop, if not ever.
Its not for everyone, but it is for me.
I can live without the 0.5x camera as I only really use it for static objects when I might need to communicate something. I find the macro next to useless because you have to actually get close to things and there is no way to manually trigger it. Telemacro would be a welcome jump. The battery is better than my old 16 and I'm not 15 years old and don't listen to music from my phone.
What I gained though is well worth mentioning.
The weight loss is extraordinary for a large-screen device making it a lot easier to hold and use. I found the Max models in the past triggering latent arthritis. This just glides over that. The screen itself is its most underrated feature. Putting the dynamic island those few mm lower (likely to line up with the internals of the camera bar) makes such a difference when gaming or watching a video. On other models there is such a narrow gap with the bezel it may as well be another notch. Its the closest Apple have come to a seamless sheet of glass. The titanium frame makes it the sturdiest model of the current crop, if not ever.
Its not for everyone, but it is for me.
As a Launch Day Air owner, I also am still loving my Air 1 month in. It's been interesting to see all the recent articles on how it's a "failure", production has been cut, etc. It definitely isn't the right iPhone for everyone - but I think there's a solid minority group where it's fantastic.
- I came from 15 Pro Max, 13 Pro, 12 Pro, and X before this. 15PM was my first big-sized phone - when the PMs were Stainless Steel, it was too heavy for me. The move to Titanium with the 15PM crossed the subjective line for me where it was "light enough". I then came to love having the larger screen size. But one-handed typing was difficult / was still a little big (even caseless, which I've done pretty much my whole iPhone life since the original)
- You can't be a power user. As a guy in my early-40s with young kids, I'm really trying to be more present in my life and use my phone less. I deliberately turn off the Always-On screen (same on my 15PM) to have a similar energy
- As such, battery life has been more than enough for me. Over this last month, I avg about 50-80% battery usage per day. I don't even charge every night over-night. I get 2 x 35min charges while driving to work in my car. And if I'm on the lower side when I wake up in the morning, I plug in while I'm getting ready for work and the fast-charge gets me basically >90% in less than an hour by the time I'm ready to leave
- Camera: I looked through my old photos (a lot of my kids/family). 95% was 1x/2x. 5% was the 5x Telephoto. 0% was the 0.5x UltraWide (never liked it for the warping on the sides, never used macro). In the last month, only one time have I wished I had the Telephoto zoom. It was at my kids soccer game - I wanted to zoom in while taking a video to get just my kid. I settled for a slightly zoomed out 2x (I didn't digital zoom). It was totally fine. I knew this would come up every now and then. I could see if you go to a concert, or a live sports game, and you want to really zoom in with the best quality for a video/photo. This is the one thing I sort of miss, even if it's a small minority of the time, but I find it acceptable.
- Screen: love the size. I think it's the goldilocks at 6.5" between the 6.3" Pro and 6.9" Pro Max. Having the exact same screen specs as the Pros was an absolute-must. I'm way too used to ProMotion (especially on an iPhone) and this would've been a dealbreaker if it wasn't the same.
- Single Speaker. Non-issue for me. I use AirPods for everything, or Sonos at home. Only time it could come up is if you're on speakerphone for a call or Facetime, in a loud environment. This never happens to me so non-issue, but understand that could affect some people
- In-hand feel. I still absolutely love the feel of the phone in-hand. I can easily slip it into my pants backpocket and it doesn't show much at all. The thinness and premium feel of the polished titanium sides feels great. The slightly smaller screen size (and the fact that it's thinner) allows me to one-hand type with either hand, even having to reach my thumb across to a letter on other side of screen. The thinness makes a difference here (and going caseless) as one-handed, you're wrapping your phone around both sides of the phone
- On 3 occasions, I've asked strangers/friends to take photos of me and my family. Every time, the person commented on how thin the phone felt, and it was their first time touching one. It's still only one month in - the majority of ppl haven't felt one before (either in an Apple Store or out and about).
Given all the above, it's definitely not a phone for everyone. The price point also means it's really targeting the Pro/Pro Max user, more so than the regular base iPhone consumer. Even more so, it's not surprising that it's a small minority of folks it makes sense for!
- I came from 15 Pro Max, 13 Pro, 12 Pro, and X before this. 15PM was my first big-sized phone - when the PMs were Stainless Steel, it was too heavy for me. The move to Titanium with the 15PM crossed the subjective line for me where it was "light enough". I then came to love having the larger screen size. But one-handed typing was difficult / was still a little big (even caseless, which I've done pretty much my whole iPhone life since the original)
- You can't be a power user. As a guy in my early-40s with young kids, I'm really trying to be more present in my life and use my phone less. I deliberately turn off the Always-On screen (same on my 15PM) to have a similar energy
- As such, battery life has been more than enough for me. Over this last month, I avg about 50-80% battery usage per day. I don't even charge every night over-night. I get 2 x 35min charges while driving to work in my car. And if I'm on the lower side when I wake up in the morning, I plug in while I'm getting ready for work and the fast-charge gets me basically >90% in less than an hour by the time I'm ready to leave
- Camera: I looked through my old photos (a lot of my kids/family). 95% was 1x/2x. 5% was the 5x Telephoto. 0% was the 0.5x UltraWide (never liked it for the warping on the sides, never used macro). In the last month, only one time have I wished I had the Telephoto zoom. It was at my kids soccer game - I wanted to zoom in while taking a video to get just my kid. I settled for a slightly zoomed out 2x (I didn't digital zoom). It was totally fine. I knew this would come up every now and then. I could see if you go to a concert, or a live sports game, and you want to really zoom in with the best quality for a video/photo. This is the one thing I sort of miss, even if it's a small minority of the time, but I find it acceptable.
- Screen: love the size. I think it's the goldilocks at 6.5" between the 6.3" Pro and 6.9" Pro Max. Having the exact same screen specs as the Pros was an absolute-must. I'm way too used to ProMotion (especially on an iPhone) and this would've been a dealbreaker if it wasn't the same.
- Single Speaker. Non-issue for me. I use AirPods for everything, or Sonos at home. Only time it could come up is if you're on speakerphone for a call or Facetime, in a loud environment. This never happens to me so non-issue, but understand that could affect some people
- In-hand feel. I still absolutely love the feel of the phone in-hand. I can easily slip it into my pants backpocket and it doesn't show much at all. The thinness and premium feel of the polished titanium sides feels great. The slightly smaller screen size (and the fact that it's thinner) allows me to one-hand type with either hand, even having to reach my thumb across to a letter on other side of screen. The thinness makes a difference here (and going caseless) as one-handed, you're wrapping your phone around both sides of the phone
- On 3 occasions, I've asked strangers/friends to take photos of me and my family. Every time, the person commented on how thin the phone felt, and it was their first time touching one. It's still only one month in - the majority of ppl haven't felt one before (either in an Apple Store or out and about).
Given all the above, it's definitely not a phone for everyone. The price point also means it's really targeting the Pro/Pro Max user, more so than the regular base iPhone consumer. Even more so, it's not surprising that it's a small minority of folks it makes sense for!
Price is the interesting one - even though you and I and many others bought one, it’s probably wrong for most because it’s very close to the pro price.
Other Apple air products are way cheapee compared to the pro.
But we are getting a lot of pro features. Screen, main camera, cpu etc.
If they were to gimp the phone then it will really make the air users feel like they’re missing out.
No Air here.
Pedantic, context from Merriam-Webster:
"Pedantic is an insulting word used to describe someone who annoys others by correcting small errors, caring too much about minor details, or emphasizing their own expertise especially in some narrow or boring subject matter."
Personally, I felt that's exactly what you were doing by nitpicking "best" vs "favorite" in that previous comment. But hey, who am I to nitpick your words... that would feel a little hypocritical at this point...
Just a side-note, for future reference: in my language (not a native English speaker), pedantic is used as high praise, never an insult. It means being precise, organized, orderly, clean, on-point with your work - whatever you wanna call it. It's a word used to describe someone who pays a lot of attention to what they do and it is used when mistakes haven't been made.
Point is (unrelated to your particular argument), if I called you pedantic it would be a compliment. Just sayin'.
I've actually been enjoying the simplicity of it. I'm not bothered by the single camera or speakers at all. The screen is still a little bit too large for me. The 14 Pro's screen size was better and I wish they could have kept that size for the Air. I think it's a good mix of modern design and a bit of nostalgia of the earlier iPhones. I don’t use my iPhone enough as a video player, or play any games on it, so the speaker is fine enough for me. The single camera is good enough for me, and it'll even push me to dig out my old DSLR and start using that again.
I wish I was confident enough to use it without a case, but it's just a bit too slippery for that. I compromised with a slim Peel case for now.
I wish I was confident enough to use it without a case, but it's just a bit too slippery for that. I compromised with a slim Peel case for now.
Yeah, but do you temember first gen macbook air? Premium price for premium/new/tech demanding design. Thats exactly what iphone air is.