I tested the iPhone Air for a week, and here’s why 17 Pro Max users shouldn’t sleep on it

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 motive to purchase one over the iPhone 17 collection.
• You will simply need to accept just one digicam, common battery life, and a single-firing speaker.

extra shopping for decisions

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The iPhone “Professional” label has all the time 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 method is so refined and polished that the funding is nearly all the time value 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 problem 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 tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and here’s one big reason for a year-over-year 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 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 calculated method to designing the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever that makes it value my time. However is it value yours?

An iPhone that will not crack beneath stress

I might wish to assume that I am one of many few individuals who have been capable of check each the iPhone Air and its Android competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, so after I first held the iPhone, the expertise was unusually acquainted. 

The machine’s ultraportability will impress anybody who picks one up, however for me, seeing the fluid Liquid Glass animations stream throughout the 6.5-inch OLED display screen 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 relatively 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 type 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 — standing image — 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 vital burdenless iPhones of late. As for bendgate, I am not too anxious about that — and Apple would not appear to be both. 

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 Defend layering on the back and front.

If you happen to’re extra all in favour of a real-world stress check, I lately sat down with the iPhone Air in my again pocket, and the machine confirmed no indicators of fragility. And I am a six-foot man who’s effectively over 130 kilos. If there’s one telephone that you need to use and not using a case, let or not 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 means of all its preliminary setup duties and app downloads, I paced it by means of a collection of efficiency benchmarks alongside my iPhone 16 Professional Max, iPhone 16 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Edge. Listed below are the outcomes.

Concentrate on relativity. From my testing, the iPhone Air competes effectively with older and sure newer iPhone Professional fashions, and even higher in opposition to the S25 Edge. Nevertheless, its best weak spot is effectivity and extended energy administration. I’ve seen that the digicam plateau, the place many of the processing elements are fitted in, typically 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 every little thing inside a strip of glass and metallic, and never having the identical vapor chamber cooling system discovered on the iPhone 17 Professional fashions, the Air takes a success throughout prolonged utilization.

That carries into the battery life. This is not an all-day endurance telephone, not and not using a cost or two all through or the MagSafe battery pack that Apple is pitching the Air with. The massive takeaway is that I am undoubtedly discovering myself searching for a charger extra typically than after I was on my iPhone 16 Professional Max and different thicker handsets. However that is to be anticipated from a telephone so skinny.

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 probably 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 Heart Stage entrance digicam, as it could adaptively stretch out the sphere of view and provides selfies a stage 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 for the reason that outer show serves as a viewfinder for the rear vast 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 provides the selfie digicam extra room for digital stabilization, that means movies seem much less stuttery and shaky, even when in comparison with final yr’s iPhones.

Alternatively, the rear 48MP digicam leaves a sensor or two to be desired. Coloration 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 after 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 can buy the iPhone Air? At $1,000, you are primarily paying for the ultraportability and innovation issue. Of all 4 new iPhones launched this yr, the iPhone Air feels just like the one we’ll most definitely reference sooner or later, when even the Professional fashions — and doubtlessly foldables — are constructed beneath an analogous framework.

If you happen to’re a digicam fanatic, energy consumer, or need an iPhone which may not require a battery swap after 2-3 years, then I might think about your different choices this yr, 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 in the end tip the scales within the Air’s favor would be the in-store expertise, when curious consumers choose up the machine 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 should see in individual to understand its significance. Once you do, switching between it and another mannequin will solely amplify the concept the opposite mannequin will quickly be a factor of the previous.