When I was drafting the last post on iPhone 16 Pro I was a little worried this process of writing about the last year with the newest iPhone would become derivative. I don’t want to speak on your behalf but from my side I’m pleased to report we’re making it through another year unscathed.
Last year I had such a hard time deciding between the iPhone Air and the Cosmic Orange Pro that I ended up buying both, you can read about that here. Originally I’d thought I would dual wield them for the year, whipping out which ever one felt right for the moment. However pretty quickly after handling the Air I was so smitten by it that I wiped the Pro and haven’t looked back, even once. I love this thing. In fact so much so that I’m not really sure if I’ll ever buy another Pro iPhone again. I think I’m an amateur iPhone user for good now.
Design
There probably hasn’t been a day go by where I haven’t at some point marvelled at how thin and nice to hold the iPhone Air is. I know I sound a little saccharine but honestly it’s wild how thin it is, yet still sturdy and powerful, I haven’t felt that about the design of an iPhone since the iPhone X.
I’ve really enjoyed the larger screen as well, which surprised me. I’d never really been taken by the Max size previously, but something about it being paired with the thinner frame works really well. If I were forced to, I’d probably say my hands are on the larger side so I haven’t had any issues reaching across the screen or holding the phone like I’ve seen other people mention.
Another thing I’ve been surprised by is the shiny side rail, I’m typically not a fan of shiny things, I was pleased when the titanium Pros were introduced and Apple did away with the flat reflective rails. For some reason with the Air and its thin slight curve I’ve been into it this year. The rail has also held up remarkably well, a year case-less and it still has hardly any visible scratches on it, on any surface for that matter. The materials team at Apple are magicians.
One drawback of the Air is the speakers, or to be technically correct - speaker. They’re (it’s) really not great. That drawback comes with two upsides though; now other device speakers sound amazing and it also means that the Air has a smaller speaker grill at the top. The 17 Pro speaker grill is about three times as wide and boy does it swallow crumbs (I will not stop going on about this).
Camera
One of the big unknowns about switching to the Air was what life was going to be like without a wide angle and telephoto lens. For me this ended up actually being a total non-issue, which I wouldn’t have predicted. It might sound silly, but I’ve actually really enjoyed having a simple camera setup on my phone. This year I’ve been taking my camera out with me a lot more often. It’s interesting, when you have a really good set of cameras in your pocket, it’s much easier to leave the camera at home, knowing you’ll be able to capture whatever you need to. Having less flexibility with the phone camera system widens the gap between what I can capture on my phone versus a dedicated camera. I hadn’t realised how much I loved and missed using a real camera to capture events with family. It’s been quite refreshing to simplify what sort of photos I use my phone for and spend some more time enjoying the tactile experience of a dedicated camera.
Over the course of the year I only missed the telephoto camera once and that was on a recent trip when we saw some seals, there was no way the single shooter was getting close enough to capture the lil guys.
Normally I’d share some photos that I’ve taken through the year with the phone, but instead here are a few I’ve taken on my camera instead, most of them were of family and friends but here are a few sans people.
Battery
In the first few months the battery was totally serviceable and had no problem getting through a day. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been running betas for the second half of the year but I’ve noticed a real downward trend in how long the battery lasts recently. I work from home so its not a big deal, but I definitely have to charge it somewhere in the afternoon to make it comfortably through a day now, which is a shame. If I were out more often I think that would become a bigger barrier than it is right now.
Closing Thoughts
Anyway, its been really refreshing using the iPhone Air and really quite a testament to Apple’s designers and engineers that this many years into the iPhone they can come up with something that has felt so different and fresh to use. I really do think this is the best iPhone Apple has made. However, it’s also not one that I’d recommend, which is a bit odd. It’s only the best iPhone ever made if you really truly care about design and the shape of things. For anyone that’s going to put a case and screen protector on their phone, this just isn’t for them and that’s most of my friends, certainly the ones that ask for my advice on which phone to buy.
That is the strange tension of this device, it’s both the very best iPhone and also not the one most people should buy. But I do think it hints at the future of the regular iPhone. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the regular iPhone line get thinner and thinner over the next few years and perhaps at some point become indistinguishable from the Air you can hold now.
I was planning on using the Air for another year. Honestly! That was until the iPhone Duo was announced and boy howdy. It reminds me of the early iPod Touch/iPhone era, Both in the quirky ways the software works and in their marketing. I’ve been noodling around with the SDK today and I just can’t wait to try this thing out for myself, it seems so fun.
Maybe I’ll dual wield the Air and Duo this year. Stay tuned.