iPhone Air iPhone Air Lack of Popularity

[AppliedMicro]

It is specific for the Air because of the Air's unique shape. One second of googling tells you that

…which (its shape) is precisely the reason for including a smaller battery.

Are you going to say because there were battery packs released with the Pro Max in years past its battery was a problem?

The most powerful phone that carries a “Pro” in its name being more power-hungry and being used for longer recording/gaming sessions is intuitively understood.

It’s not as if there’s a phone that used less power or had a smaller battery that’s comparable to the Pro Max.

But for the iPhone… yeah, there is a comparable phone with longer battery life (the iPhone 17).

 

[Webcat86]

…and Apple having announced - or a salesperson recommending - a tailor-made battery pack made specifically for (only) that phone simultaneously on release isn’t going to help with that perception.

I don’t know an appropriate car comparison - but a car manufacturer preemptively announcing an accessory to address range insufficiencies with its newest model of electric car… I don’t know. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Doesn’t inspire confidence.

Normal people do not watch keynotes. While I agree with your assessment of that announcement, the likelihood of it affecting sales to the everyday consumer are next to nil.

 

[Webcat86]

Thats not exactly fair. The weight of the pro series began as tolerable for most, but each revision subjects us to something heavier and more unwieldy and Apple are not interested in keeping this under control. Everyone has a limit, mine was the 16 Pro Max. Design appears to be going backwards too.l just look at the state of the 17 Pro series.

Agreed. I have been back and forth on whether to keep my 16 Pro or the Air. At one point I compared my 16P with the 17P to see if I could have the new front camera in the same form factor that I’m used to, but I was already feeling the extra bulk of my 16 after holding the Air for the last day. And lo and behold, while minor, the 17 Pro is fatter and heavier than the 16 Pro. It’s a non-starter for me.

 

[AppliedMicro]

Normal people do not watch keynotes. While I agree with your assessment of that announcement, the likelihood of it affecting sales to the everyday consumer are next to nil.

True. They may have seen it in-store, with a friend/family member or read about it in the news though.

 

[Meedoss]

Air phone should come with gym membership

 

[bill-p]

This is where I think you are wrong, and I just do not understand your premise.
As one of the only people in my family who even gives the slightest care about their phone, I can tell you that the majority of regular consumers are not looking at specifications, numbers and features. They don’t care, they barely understand them.
These type of concerns are straight out of the mindset of people who spend time on tech forums. These people are not the regular, these people are not the majority of the two billion Apple customers.
RAM, processor, speed, the material used on the edges of the phone, how many lenses that it has… To the majority of average consumers, this is all just noise, useless information that goes in one ear and out the other.
Someone cracked a joke the other day and I don’t know who it was but, while it wasn’t exactly very funny and kind of insulting honestly, it does have a germ of truth to it, which is that…
The iPhone Air will sell very well to people who have no idea what the difference between cellular data and Wi-Fi is. And that is a lot, a lot of people.

Well, specs are not just numbers on paper. You're thinking of the technical specifications, but specifications also include obvious things to the user that... unfortunately, Apple employees are trained now to tell them.

My experience when I went to pick up the Pro Max (my Air was preordered so it was delivered straight to me via UPS) was reflective of specs-based advertising: the Apple employee assisting me could not stop singing praises about "longer battery life", "bigger screen", "more cameras", "two speakers instead of one", etc...

When I asked her about Air, she praised the design but also told me the device would... have one camera, have less battery life, have one speaker, have worse performance, etc... compared to Pro Max. I did not ask. She just tried to explain it all to me. Heck, Apple's website does the same thing. Right under the order button is a comparison between the phone being purchased versus the base or Pro phones.

So the average Apple user is now "spoon-fed" all of these specifications whether they want to or not. You may not think so but this is all a part of their current campaign and it has nothing to do with the users.

Let's just say some people (like me and maybe you) will intentionally choose to ignore those numbers because Air appeals to us. The same thing cannot be said of the average folks going to Apple Stores to see these devices. They will be told the specs, and most will then see that they're getting "more features" from all other phones in the current line-up.

 

[madrigal77]

If the Air had a better battery capacity and at least 2 cameras like the base 17 I’d have gone for it.

What's wrong with the battery capacity? It's the same as the 16 Pro. No one complained about the 16 Pro's battery last year.

 

[bbates123]

I don’t see the appeal of the iPhone Air. It recycles an old design with the only real change being that it’s thinner. The tradeoff is worse battery life, which is why Apple released a battery pack accessory. It’s also missing a speaker and a camera. And with its relatively large footprint, the thinness hardly feels like an advantage. I’m not surprised that no one is talking about it.

It's for people who value weight reduction in a form factor that doesn't compromise on screen size. That's me. The Pros were getting too big and heavy, big bricks in my shorts pocket. And the 17 Pros are even bigger and heavier! The Air is perfect. Beautiful screen, decent battery life (on par with my 16 Pro). I couldn't care less about the speaker as I use my AirPods. The loss of a camera is my only regret but I can live with that for everything else it brings.

 

[madrigal77]

The speakers come handy for me when I want to share something with a person next to me or just listen to something, like an audio-book, while running errands around the house.

The speakers are totally fine for that.

 

[MarkX]

What's wrong with the battery capacity? It's the same as the 16 Pro. No one complained about the 16 Pro's battery last year.

The 16 pro had a 3582mah battery and the air has 3149mah from what I've read, so not quite the same.

Also, there were quite a few complaining about the 16 pro battery life on here!

 

[kepler20b]

the air I suspect will become a status symbol.


similar in a way to people that use an iPad as their main portable computer for work/life

 

[JPack]

…and Apple having announced - or a salesperson recommending - a tailor-made battery pack made specifically for (only) that phone simultaneously on release isn’t going to help with that perception.

I don’t know an appropriate car comparison - but a car manufacturer preemptively announcing an accessory to address range insufficiencies with its newest model of electric car… I don’t know. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Doesn’t inspire confidence.

That part certainly doesn’t help. In my opinion, there’s quite a lot of friction in order to get a sale with the Air.

The sales strategy some posters basically believe is going to work is, “Love conquers all.” They’ll touch the Air and instantly fall in love with it, just like in a movie. Buyers will completely overlook the camera, battery life, and price.

The reality is, it’s the 18th anniversary of the iPhone. Most people today see iPhone as a practical tool, not a status or design symbol.

 

[surferfb]

The 16 pro had a 3582mah battery and the air has 3149mah from what I've read, so not quite the same.

Also, there were quite a few complaining about the 16 pro battery life on here!

In practice the battery is more than fine. mah isn’t the end all be all, if the Air is more efficient (maybe because of the new modem / n1 chip) then battery life could be equivalent.

I don’t have 16 Pro to test, but the 16 Pro Max’s battery was 25% larger than the 16 Pro’s. My battery life on the Air is about 20% less (was ending the day with 30-40% battery, now ending with 10-20%). That suggests to me the Air and the 16 Pro are pretty comparable. Obviously your mileage may vary based on your use patterns. But as an heavy, but not extremely heavy, user - I’ve been very pleased. (Less pleased with the camera in interest of full disclosure).

 

[Snot Rox]

What's wrong with the battery capacity? It's the same as the 16 Pro. No one complained about the 16 Pro's battery last year.

I’m coming from a 15PM. I just prefer a bigger battery capacity since I use it a lot for my travels as a backup camera and I like to do my photo editing on my phone on the go. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[madrigal77]

I’m coming from a 15PM. I just prefer a bigger battery capacity since I use it a lot for my travels as a backup camera and I like to do my photo editing on my phone on the go. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I'm with you. I upgraded from a 15PM to a 17PM. But my wife got the Air, and I have to say, it's a really nice phone. If the max possible battery is what you want, then the PM is the way to go. I just think the narrative that the Air somehow has a poor battery just because it's not as good as the rest of the 17 line-up is silly. It's still as good as last years pro models. That's pretty good and way better than expected.

 

[bidwalj]

Air phone should come with gym membership

The irony in your post is that anyone that actually goes to the gym will benefit tremendously with the air. The pro max has been a brick for some time now that is cumbersome to carry around at the gym.

 

[JPack]

I'm with you. I upgraded from a 15PM to a 17PM. But my wife got the Air, and I have to say, it's a really nice phone. If the max possible battery is what you want, then the PM is the way to go. I just think the narrative that the Air somehow has a poor battery just because it's not as good as the rest of the 17 line-up is silly. It's still as good as last years pro models. That's pretty good and way better than expected.

It’s simple. Think of it this way:

How many people appreciate their iPhone 14 or 15 used the Pro processor from last year? Why do you think Apple stopped doing that?

Most people don’t want to hear, “You’re buying something as good as last year’s tech.” They’re buying a new phone today. They want this year’s tech.

Most people are upgrading from 3-4 year old phones. They don’t care how 16 Pro performs.

 

[Meedoss]

Yeah you wouldn't want a upgrade for your near $2KAUD lol

 

[G5isAlive]

…which (its shape) is precisely the reason for including a smaller battery.

The most powerful phone that carries a “Pro” in its name being more power-hungry and being used for longer recording/gaming sessions is intuitively understood.

It’s not as if there’s a phone that used less power or had a smaller battery that’s comparable to the Pro Max.

But for the iPhone… yeah, there is a comparable phone with longer battery life (the iPhone 17).

um. I take it you didnt google? I was talking about why they released a battery pack specific for the air, it's because the old one would not fit with the camera bump. again. google. and.. they typically target 60% extra capacity, so thats why it is not even thicker. but you knew that right?

so okay you want to keep arguing what is intuitive to argue why a battery for the iPhone pro is acceptable but iPhone air is not. hard to argue with such a subjective argument, so objectively I think the polite term is 'horse puckey.'

and if you think the iPhone 17 is comparable to the Air, you really are missing the obvious. You do you.

 

[radiologyman]

I bought 2 and looking forward to next iterations of Air. Not sure there is lack of popularity.

 

[teh_hunterer]

Performance/overheating : At one point you say the PM wins the specs war. Yep. Except of course convenience form factor.

I have to say the performance worries are from people's intuitions rather than any real world issues. In my tests the Air outperforms the 15 Pro Max in sustained (20 minute plus stress tests), which is decent.

But even more surprisingly it does this without getting as hot to the touch as the 15PM does.

Unexpected, but it shows that performance and thermals are absolutely not an issue.

Photography: You are right, we don't know how much the lack of an ultra wide is going to impact us. Your angst seems to be, 'but will I miss it later somewhere down the line?' The good news is, you can do a retrospective analysis on what you have now and find out now rather than later.

This is good advice. I don't even need to do this myself because I never took any .5 photos in the first place. I've always disliked how those photos look distorted so I never took them in the first place.

The lack of a telephoto is the one that makes me a little sad, but I'm sure I'll get by.

 

[AppliedMicro]

I was talking about why they released a battery pack specific for the air, it's because the old one would not fit with the camera bump. again. google

The “old one”? You mean their previous MagSafe battery pack that was discontinued 2 years ago?
What has that got to do with the discussion and the iPhone Air?

I don’t need to “google” that stuff. I can just consult Apple’s in-store offerings:

• The iPhone Air is the only iPhone that Apple (the phone’s manufacturer) sells a first-party battery pack for.
• And that battery pack lists only the iPhone Air as being compatible.

And yes, I know that there may be third-party battery packs. Apple could have well left it to third parties providing battery packs for the Air. But they for some reason didn’t - they felt to do their own.

So my point still stands: it looks a bit awkward. As if the manufacturer doesn’t quite trust its battery life is competitive.

and if you think the iPhone 17 is comparable to the Air, you really are missing the obvious

Considering both of these phones do the same things, there’s basically nothing the Air can do that the 17 can’t, and they differ by only a few millimetres in size/dimensions, yes, I believe they are very comparable.

For anyone except the most design-conscious - or people that always need to have the very newest tech - and show it off? (Again, I believe that’s a minority of consumers and the iPhone user base).

 

[ry-guy]

Considering the level of engineering that went into the Air, that’s a rather oversimplified way to frame it.

Maybe. But none of us knows how Apple does their R&D and factors that into each product. They’ve been making thin phones/ipads for almost a decade now starting with the 6 and bendgate. (And slowly getting larger currently) So how many prototypes and ideas/designs they’ve had around we don’t know.

Anyway, I’ve said enough. We’ll see how popular it gets in time.

 

[super chimp]

I’m already content with my 16PM, but just using Apples own compare website, iPhone AIR vs 17. You’re paying $200 more for less, literally. Now people can do whatever they want with their money, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.

I’d turn that round and say why is the Pro less durable than a cheaper phone. I mean why the heck is such an expensive phone as the Pro is, so easy to scratch?

 

[SmugMaverick]

I said month ago it would be a flop but now I actually think it was just a beta device for the foldable next year, no one want to spend $1000 on a single camera iPhone with trash battery when the 17 and 17 Pro's are better value.

Ignore all the sheep reviewers about how the Air is "most premium looking", there is a reason they didn't name it iPhone 17 Air because there won't be another version.

The Air is still using the same old tired design from iPhone 12 with a Pixel camera bump, at least the Pros tried something new and the only ones complaining are old men.