I replaced my iPhone 16 Pro Max with the iPhone Air - here's my buying advice now

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The thinnest and lightest iPhone yet offers Pro show astatine a competitory $999 terms point.
• It's designed to consciousness burdenless, and that's the biggest crushed to bargain 1 implicit the iPhone 17 series.
• You'll conscionable person to settee for lone 1 camera, mean artillery life, and a single-firing speaker.

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The iPhone "Pro" statement has ever represented the bleeding borderline of Apple's concern design. I've upgraded to the Pro exemplary each twelvemonth since it debuted six years ago, and astatine this constituent successful time, Apple's look is truthful refined and polished that the concern is astir ever worthy it.

That's why, going into Apple's Awe-dropping event earlier this month, my attraction was reserved for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, some of which launched with a caller vapor enclosure cooling strategy -- resolving a longstanding contented of overheating connected Pro models -- arsenic good arsenic a redesigned and improved camera system. But the keynote ended with maine shifting my absorption to a antithetic iPhone.

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

See, Apple did what it does best: marketing. It introduced the iPhone Air, with a theatrical flair, balanced connected the extremity of a digit astatine the Steve Jobs Theater, to a chorus of "oohs and ahhs." The iPhone 16 Pro Max successful my pouch was feeling heavier and heavier by the second.

Let maine beryllium clear: the iPhone Air is simply a first-generation product, and I've been burned by many first attempts. However, there's a precise calculative attack to designing the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever that makes it worthy my time. But is it worthy yours?

An iPhone that won't ace nether pressure

I'd similar to deliberation that I'm 1 of the fewer radical who person been capable to trial some the iPhone Air and its Android competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, truthful erstwhile I archetypal held the iPhone, the acquisition was strangely familiar. 

The device's ultraportability volition impressment anyone who picks 1 up, but for me, seeing the fluid Liquid Glass animations travel crossed the 6.5-inch OLED surface was erstwhile world truly acceptable in. This is what iOS 26 was meant to beryllium for.

Also: iPhone Air vs. Samsung S25 Edge: I compared the 2 ultra-slim phones, and here's the winner

The thought of an ultra-thin and lightweight iPhone has been alternatively overseas implicit the past fewer years. In fact, holding the iPhone Air reminded maine little of the different titanium-cased models successful caller years and much of the iPhone 6 Plus from 2019. Back then, specified a signifier origin bordered betwixt mean and risky. It was some a fashionable presumption awesome and a instrumentality that gave into pressure. 

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

I expect the erstwhile of the 2 clauses to proceed with the iPhone Air, with its near-invisible broadside illustration (it's conscionable 5.6mm thick) and singular camera plateau representing 1 of the astir burdenless iPhones of late. As for bendgate, I'm not excessively disquieted astir that -- and Apple doesn't look to beryllium arsenic well. 

Following the September keynote, the institution showed members of the media its durability investigating facility, which included a instrumentality that applied 130 pounds of unit connected the halfway constituent of the iPhone Air. It bulged but ne'er cracked oregon snapped successful half, and adjacent straightened itself soon after. That's a testament to some the titanium framework that wraps astir the telephone and the Ceramic Shield layering connected the beforehand and back.

If you're much funny successful a real-world accent test, I precocious sat down with the iPhone Air successful my backmost pocket, and the instrumentality showed nary signs of fragility. And I'm a six-foot feline who's good implicit 130 pounds. If there's 1 telephone that you should usage without a case, fto it beryllium this one.

A Pro telephone without the branding

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

There's a spot of value that's lifted erstwhile an iPhone doesn't person the Pro moniker; you expect it to person shortcomings, less features, and conscionable a serviceable experience. That sets the iPhone Air up for country to impress, with it being powered by the aforesaid A19 Pro spot that revs up the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models.

Also: iOS 26 is present unrecorded - here's however to download it (and which iPhones enactment it)

After letting my iPhone Air enactment done each its archetypal setup tasks and app downloads, I paced it done a bid of show benchmarks alongside my iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Edge. Here are the results.

Focus connected relativity. From my testing, the iPhone Air competes good with older and apt newer iPhone Pro models, and adjacent amended against the S25 Edge. However, its top weakness is ratio and prolonged powerfulness management. I've noticed that the camera plateau, wherever astir of the processing components are fitted in, often gets lukewarm aft a fewer minutes of aggravated workloads.

It's little noticeable connected different phones, including the S25 Edge, due to the fact that vigor is much evenly dispersed crossed the body, but by condensing everything wrong a portion of solid and metal, and not having the aforesaid vapor enclosure cooling strategy recovered connected the iPhone 17 Pro models, the Air takes a deed during extended usage.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

That carries into the artillery life. This isn't an all-day endurance phone, not without a complaint oregon 2 passim oregon the MagSafe artillery battalion that Apple is pitching the Air with. It's inactive excessively aboriginal for maine to quantify my regular artillery life, but I'm decidedly uncovering myself looking for a charger much often than erstwhile I was connected my iPhone 16 Pro Max and different thicker handsets.

Also: iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max: I compared the 2 flagship models, and here's the winner

Part of maine wishes Apple had added the aforesaid 40W wired charging complaint from the iPhone 17 Pro models to the Air, but that would apt unfastened different tin of worms regarding thermals and artillery degradation. With the Air's already smaller capacity, you conscionable can't instrumentality that risk.

The precocious and debased points of the iPhone Air

The iPhone Air's cameras are some its precocious and debased points. I'm a instrumentality of the 18MP Center Stage beforehand camera, arsenic it tin adaptively agelong retired the tract of presumption and springiness selfies a level of extent and clasp that's agelong been missing connected phones successful general. 

For the past 2 months, I've been taking radical photos and portraits with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 since the outer show serves arsenic a viewfinder for the rear wide and ultrawide cameras. The iPhone Air and its caller quadrate sensor fundamentally execute the aforesaid thing, but with less camera taps, unfolding, and different maneuvers required.

Also: I tested the iPhone 17 for 24 hours, and I'm already questioning if I request a Pro

A squared sensor besides gives the selfie camera much country for physics stabilization, meaning videos look little stuttery and shaky, adjacent erstwhile compared to past year's iPhones.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

On the different hand, the rear 48MP camera leaves a sensor oregon 2 to beryllium desired. Color accuracy, contrast, and shadiness item are inactive the iPhone's forte (as depicted successful the samples above), but determination were respective moments erstwhile I craved the much distant optical zooming of the Pro model, particularly erstwhile recording unrecorded events and subjects acold away. 

The lack of an ultrawide lens besides means you can't dramatize landscapes and scenic views from up adjacent oregon propulsion successful macro-level details similar connected the regular, $200-less iPhone 17.

ZDNET's buying advice

So, who should bargain the iPhone Air? At $1,000, you're chiefly paying for the ultraportability and innovation factor. Of each 4 caller iPhones released this year, the iPhone Air feels similar the 1 we'll astir apt notation successful the future, erstwhile adjacent the Pro models -- and perchance foldables -- are built nether a akin framework.

If you're a camera enthusiast, powerfulness user, oregon privation an iPhone that mightiness not necessitate a artillery swap aft 2-3 years, past I'd see your different options this year, including the base model.

Also: I compared the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max: Here's the champion bargain for you

What I expect to yet extremity the scales successful the Air's favour volition beryllium the in-store experience, erstwhile funny shoppers prime up the instrumentality and consciousness an lack of thickness and bulk. (For those who care, you whitethorn besides announcement that the Air comes successful a achromatic color, but not the 17 Pro.)

The iPhone Air is simply a instrumentality you indispensable spot successful idiosyncratic to grasp its significance. When you do, switching betwixt it and immoderate different exemplary volition lone amplify the thought that the second volition soon beryllium a happening of the past.