I used the iPhone Air for six months — listed here are 5 issues I realized

Yearly when Apple drops a brand new iPhone, I am often tempted to improve to the Professional mannequin. This yr, although, I skipped the iPhone 17 Pro. It isn’t that I did not just like the improve, I simply did not discover the design or colours that interesting, and as a substitute I picked up the iPhone Air.

Now that I have been utilizing the iPhone Air for a bit of over six months, I’ve obtained a fairly good sense of the way it holds up. And actually, I did not anticipate to be this happy with a extra normal iPhone, however over time, the iPhone Air has actually grown on me.

I really like the iPhone Air extra for its measurement, not design

The 6.5-inch display makes it much more fulfilling to make use of every day

When the iPhone Air got here out, all of the hype round it, and even Apple’s key USP, was the design. Apple positioned it as an excellent slim, light-weight iPhone that is simple to hold whereas nonetheless delivering a full iPhone expertise.

And to be sincere, once I first held it, I did not actually discover it that a lot. However now, each time I decide up one other iPhone, I am reminded how skinny and simple this one is to make use of.

Nevertheless, that is not the primary purpose I just like the iPhone Air. I’ve used the iPhone 14 Professional Max and the iPhone 16 Pro as my every day drivers over the previous few years, and whereas I moved away from the Professional Max as a result of it felt too cumbersome, the common Professional began feeling a bit small after some time.

The iPhone Air hits that center floor completely. It has a 6.5-inch show, which sits proper between the 6.3-inch Professional and the 6.9-inch Professional Max. For me, that is the candy spot. It is large enough for watching content material comfortably, however nonetheless compact sufficient to hold round on daily basis with out feeling cumbersome — and the slim design positively helps with that.

I have never missed the cameras one bit — however that does not imply you will not

The setup works for me, however could not go well with everybody

One of many causes I used to be a bit hesitant about switching to the iPhone Air was the shortage of a telephoto lens. I am not an enormous fan of ultra-wide cameras, however I do depend on telephoto fairly a bit. The iPhone Air solely comes with a single 48MP Fusion digicam, just like the opposite iPhone 17 fashions.

To be sincere, I do miss having a telephoto lens. It is one thing I truly depend on. However in my case, it hasn’t been a dealbreaker.

The primary purpose is that I check plenty of telephones, so I am often carrying an Android gadget alongside my iPhone. Whether or not it is one thing just like the Pixel 10 Pro or the Oppo Discover X9 Professional, most of those telephones have nice telephoto cameras.

So, each time I want that lens, I find yourself utilizing my secondary cellphone. That is why I have never missed it as a lot, however it doesn’t suggest you will really feel the identical in the event you’re solely utilizing the iPhone Air.

Having only one speaker makes a much bigger distinction

I miss having a dual-speaker system on my iPhone

In contrast to the opposite iPhones within the iPhone 17 lineup, the iPhone Air solely comes with a single speaker. All different iPhones use a dual-speaker setup for stereo sound, however on the iPhone Air, the one speaker doubles as each the primary output and the earpiece.

I am somebody who actually cares about audio, and after utilizing telephones just like the Oppo Find X9 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which have wonderful audio system, that is one thing I positively miss on the iPhone Air.

It hasn’t been a dealbreaker, however it does take away a bit from the general media expertise, particularly when watching movies or scrolling via apps like Instagram.

I used to be fearful about battery life, however it hasn’t a difficulty

It holds up higher than I initially assumed

Going into this, I used to be positively skeptical in regards to the battery life on the iPhone Air. It has a smaller battery in comparison with different iPhones, particularly the Professional fashions, so I anticipated it to wrestle.

However after utilizing it as my main gadget for the previous six months, I have never actually felt that the battery has been a significant difficulty.

My iPhone 16 Professional’s battery truly degraded fairly a bit over the yr I used it, and that was some of the irritating components of that cellphone. Regardless of being thicker and having a bigger battery, it did not maintain up in addition to I anticipated, particularly in comparison with the Android telephones I used to be utilizing alongside it.

The iPhone Air, however, has held up surprisingly nicely. It does not final so long as I might ideally need, however contemplating I often carry one other Android cellphone with me that shares a few of the load, it hasn’t actually bothered me.

The slim design, lighter weight, and the general measurement stability issues out sufficient that I do not find yourself judging the battery life too harshly.

The worth nonetheless feels onerous to justify even now

It is an amazing cellphone, however it nonetheless feels too costly

Six months later, I nonetheless cannot recover from the truth that this cellphone begins at $1,000. Do not get me improper, I really like utilizing the iPhone Air. The slim design, the dimensions, the general really feel, it is in all probability some of the snug telephones I’ve utilized in a very long time. However at this worth, it simply does not make full sense.

Had Apple priced this nearer to the bottom iPhone 17, I genuinely suppose this could’ve been an enormous hit. It nonetheless works for me, however each time I take into consideration what I paid for it, I can not assist however really feel it is only a bit too costly for what it affords.

Model

Apple

SoC

A19 Professional 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU

Show

6.5-inch 2736 x 1260 pixel decision Tremendous Retina XDR show

RAM

N/A

Storage

256GB, 512GB, 1TB

Ports

USB-C (helps USB 2)

The tremendous skinny iPhone Air is simply 5.6mm thick and encompasses a single 48-megapixel digicam lens. Its show is available in at 6.5-inches with helps for ProMotion 120Hz, and its back and front options ceramic protect building.