I replaced my iPhone 16 Pro Max with the iPhone Air – here’s my buying advice now

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The thinnest and lightest iPhone but provides Professional efficiency at a aggressive $999 value level.
• It is designed to really feel burdenless, and that is the largest cause to purchase one over the iPhone 17 sequence.
• You will simply should accept just one digicam, common battery life, and a single-firing speaker.

extra shopping for selections

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The iPhone “Professional” label has at all times represented the bleeding fringe of Apple’s industrial design. I’ve upgraded to the Professional mannequin yearly because it debuted six years in the past, and at this cut-off date, Apple’s formulation is so refined and polished that the funding is sort of at all times price it.

That is why, going into Apple’s Awe-dropping event earlier this month, my consideration was reserved for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, each of which launched with a brand new vapor chamber cooling system — resolving a longstanding concern of overheating on Pro models — in addition to a redesigned and improved digicam system. However the keynote ended with me shifting my focus to a special iPhone.

Additionally: I compared the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max: Here’s who should upgrade

See, Apple did what it does greatest: advertising. It launched the iPhone Air, with a theatrical aptitude, balanced on the tip of a finger on the Steve Jobs Theater, to a refrain of “oohs and ahhs.” The iPhone 16 Professional Max in my pocket was feeling heavier and heavier by the second.

Let me be clear: the iPhone Air is a first-generation product, and I have been burned by many first attempts. Nevertheless, there is a very calculative method to designing the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever that makes it price my time. However is it price yours?

An iPhone that will not crack underneath strain

I might prefer to suppose that I am one of many few individuals who have been capable of take a look at each the iPhone Air and its Android competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, so once I first held the iPhone, the expertise was surprisingly acquainted. 

The gadget’s ultraportability will impress anybody who picks one up, however for me, seeing the fluid Liquid Glass animations circulate throughout the 6.5-inch OLED display was when actuality actually set in. That is what iOS 26 was meant to be for.

Additionally: iPhone Air vs. Samsung S25 Edge: I compared the two ultra-slim phones, and here’s the winner

The concept of an ultra-thin and light-weight iPhone has been quite international over the previous few years. In reality, holding the iPhone Air jogged my memory much less of the opposite titanium-cased fashions lately and extra of the iPhone 6 Plus from 2019. Again then, such a kind issue bordered between regular and dangerous. It was each a modern standing image and a tool that gave into pressure. 

I anticipate the previous of the 2 clauses to proceed with the iPhone Air, with its near-invisible facet profile (it is simply 5.6mm thick) and singular digicam plateau representing one of the crucial burdenless iPhones of late. As for bendgate, I am not too nervous about that — and Apple would not appear to be as properly. 

Following the September keynote, the corporate confirmed members of the media its sturdiness testing facility, which included a machine that utilized 130 kilos of power on the middle level of the iPhone Air. It bulged however by no means cracked or snapped in half, and even straightened itself shortly after. That is a testomony to each the titanium body that wraps across the telephone and the Ceramic Protect layering on the back and front.

Should you’re extra enthusiastic about a real-world stress take a look at, I not too long ago sat down with the iPhone Air in my again pocket, and the gadget confirmed no indicators of fragility. And I am a six-foot man who’s properly over 130 kilos. If there’s one telephone that you must use with no case, let it’s this one.

A Professional telephone with out the branding

There is a little bit of weight that is lifted when an iPhone would not have the Professional moniker; you anticipate it to have shortcomings, fewer options, and only a serviceable expertise. That units the iPhone Air up for room to impress, with it being powered by the identical A19 Professional chip that revs up the iPhone 17 Professional and Professional Max fashions.

Additionally: iOS 26 is now live – here’s how to download it (and which iPhones support it)

After letting my iPhone Air work by all its preliminary setup duties and app downloads, I paced it by a sequence of efficiency benchmarks alongside my iPhone 16 Professional Max, iPhone 16 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Edge. Listed here are the outcomes.

Deal with relativity. From my testing, the iPhone Air competes properly with older and certain newer iPhone Professional fashions, and even higher in opposition to the S25 Edge. Nevertheless, its biggest weak point is effectivity and extended energy administration. I’ve seen that the digicam plateau, the place a lot of the processing parts are fitted in, usually will get heat after a couple of minutes of intense workloads.

It is much less noticeable on different telephones, together with the S25 Edge, as a result of warmth is extra evenly dispersed throughout the physique, however by condensing the whole lot inside a strip of glass and steel, and never having the identical vapor chamber cooling system discovered on the iPhone 17 Professional fashions, the Air takes successful throughout prolonged utilization.

That carries into the battery life. This is not an all-day endurance telephone, not with no cost or two all through or the MagSafe battery pack that Apple is pitching the Air with. It is nonetheless too early for me to quantify my each day battery life, however I am positively discovering myself in search of a charger extra usually than once I was on my iPhone 16 Professional Max and different thicker handsets.

Additionally: iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max: I compared the two flagship models, and here’s the winner

A part of me needs Apple had added the identical 40W wired charging charge from the iPhone 17 Professional fashions to the Air, however that might doubtless open one other can of worms relating to thermals and battery degradation. With the Air’s already smaller capability, you simply cannot take that danger.

The excessive and low factors of the iPhone Air

The iPhone Air’s cameras are each its excessive and low factors. I am a fan of the 18MP Middle Stage entrance digicam, as it may possibly adaptively stretch out the sphere of view and provides selfies a degree of depth and embrace that is lengthy been lacking on telephones generally. 

For the previous two months, I have been taking group pictures and portraits with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 because the outer show serves as a viewfinder for the rear broad and ultrawide cameras. The iPhone Air and its new sq. sensor basically obtain the identical factor, however with fewer digicam faucets, unfolding, and different maneuvers required.

Additionally: I tested the iPhone 17 for 24 hours, and I’m already questioning if I need a Pro

A squared sensor additionally offers the selfie digicam extra room for digital stabilization, that means movies seem much less stuttery and shaky, even when in comparison with final 12 months’s iPhones.

Then again, the rear 48MP digicam leaves a sensor or two to be desired. Colour accuracy, distinction, and shadow element are nonetheless the iPhone’s forte (as depicted within the samples above), however there have been a number of moments once I craved the extra distant optical zooming of the Professional mannequin, particularly when recording live events and topics distant. 

The absence of an ultrawide lens additionally means you possibly can’t dramatize landscapes and scenic views from up shut or pull in macro-level particulars like on the common, $200-less iPhone 17.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

So, who should purchase the iPhone Air? At $1,000, you are primarily paying for the ultraportability and innovation issue. Of all 4 new iPhones launched this 12 months, the iPhone Air feels just like the one we’ll almost certainly reference sooner or later, when even the Professional fashions — and probably foldables — are constructed underneath an analogous framework.

Should you’re a digicam fanatic, energy consumer, or need an iPhone which may not require a battery swap after 2-3 years, then I might contemplate your different choices this 12 months, together with the base model.

Additionally: I compared the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max: Here’s the best buy for you

What I anticipate to finally tip the scales within the Air’s favor would be the in-store expertise, when curious buyers decide up the gadget and really feel an absence of thickness and bulk. (For individuals who care, you might also discover that the Air is available in a black colour, however not the 17 Professional.)

The iPhone Air is a tool you will need to see in individual to know its significance. If you do, switching between it and some other mannequin will solely amplify the concept that the latter will quickly be a factor of the previous.