I Have Thoughts on the iPhone Air

26 points | by janandonly an hour ago

24 comments

  • shelled 23 minutes ago

    I will never stop yearning for iPhone Mini phone/screen sizes. But I've stopped asking for it because that would be pointless at this point.

      mrweasel a few seconds ago

      [delayed]

      PlunderBunny 12 minutes ago

      I’m still on my iPhone 12 mini, so when I have to eventually replace it, I’ll upgrade to a iPhone 13 mini.

        codetiger 7 minutes ago

        Am on my 11 Pro, its not giving up yet.

      jbverschoor 17 minutes ago

      The air is the new mini. With the same amount of low sales.

      It's under appreciated because of the "Pro" label of the Pro, and because of battery-hell.

      birdfood 15 minutes ago

      I too (like the other repliers) am using a 13 mini. And I likely will replace it with another refurbished one when I must.

      michielt 18 minutes ago

      Same! I still using my iphone 13 mini. Only the camera sucks when I look at somebodys else his holiday pictures on their phones.

      frizlab 21 minutes ago

      Same. I still use the 13 mini, and will probably buy it again refurb when mine dies.

  • petercooper 9 minutes ago

    I bought one as it was on sale at the same price as the normal iPhone. Pretty good: 8/10. I have no interest in photos, don't need long battery life, and the lighter/thinner the better.

    That said, I'd prefer something smaller but thicker with no protrusions/camera bump at all. I hate the wonkiness of all modern iPhones when sat on a table. I think the last totally flat one was the iPhone 5s!

  • vichoiglesias 21 minutes ago

    Got the iPhone Pro Max in beautiful orange... and could't get use to it. It feels heavier that the previous titanium versions, so sold it and got the Air. The lack of telephoto is indeed one of the things i miss the most, but the single speaker is surprisingly good IMO. Really enjoying the design of it, feels like what i remember felt holding one of this really cool iPod nano back in the day, like old Apple magic.

  • NetOpWibby 31 minutes ago

    The iPhone Air is super compelling to me but my Pro iPhone doubles as my camera. The single camera on the Air is too much of a compromise for me.

    Hopefully Apple can improve the Air.

  • boredishBoi 13 minutes ago

    In Australia the price difference between an air and a 17 is only $50 which imo makes it great value.

  • ctippett 11 minutes ago

    > typing is a joy on the increased size

    Huh.

    I hate typing on my phone (iPhone 16e). It actually never occurred to me that maybe I'd have a better time with a larger screen. Although I don't remember ever feeling the disdain I have for typing back when I had an iPhone 3GS which had a much smaller screen than the one I have now.

      hdgvhicv 8 minutes ago

      I have a 12 mini. I did have an XR briefly but had to send it back because it was terrible - far too large.

      When the 12/13 minis stop receiving updates I guess I’ll stop carrying a phone around. Which will actually be a good thing

      Nothing (handheld) is as good as typing as my old blackberry curve though. Not even my psion5

      bkaae 7 minutes ago

      Did you get older over the last few years? That might make a difference.

  • artisinal 38 minutes ago

    I’d buy it if it had a SIM-card slot and video-out. Shame those had to be sacrificed for thin-ness. I travel plenty and those features are really nice to have. The regular 17 is better suited for me now.

      throwaway270925 23 minutes ago

      Try the S25 Edge, it has both! Also DEX and a better camera setup too!

  • kotaKat 34 minutes ago

    The iPhone Air is a weird phone but that's mainly because it's a test device in production.

    Everything on the Air is something Apple wanted to test ahead of the foldable iPhone. The weird big battery, the single speaker, the mainboard under the bump, and all of the custom silicon they threw at it (from the modem to the WiFi chipsets).

    Same reason the 16e existed, not to sell a cheap iPhone, but to test the C1 modem in production as a "finally ready to ship in beta" product they didn't slap the beta label on.

  • hk__2 39 minutes ago

    For anyone wondering, it’s 5.64 mm thick vs. 8.75 mm for the Pro version.

  • formerly_proven 42 minutes ago

    Not having a second camera is insanity on a smartphone with a four-digit price.

  • da_grift_shift 42 minutes ago

        >thinnest iphone ever
        >slaps 0.2" thick xteink ereader on back
      cromka 15 minutes ago

      "As a bonus my iPhone Pro can’t fit one of those tiny Xteink readers on the back, but my Air can perfectly!"

      Seriously, what do you find SO ironic about what they said?

      This sarcastic, no-effort criticism on HN these days is seriously annoying.

      timothyduong 8 minutes ago

      Because it’d be even thicker with a thicker device?

  • ballooney 20 minutes ago

    > I’ve always been a sucker for something novel, so when something as huge as the iPhone had a quirky new model I was really stoked to check it out.

    This is just... not a life well-lived.