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Phones · Apple iPhone

Apple iPhone Air

10owners with an opinion
50%of verdicts positive
5/5positive/negative since 2024
0happy after 3+ years

Praised for portability and battery; criticized for performance and ergonomics.

What owners wrote

Doesn’t like it
A lot of their devices do that, but I doubt there is space in the iPad mini bump to fit anything. The big examples are iPhone Air and iMac. From my experience, the iPhone bumps are a lot more noticeable than their iPad siblings.
Doesn’t like it
Golden gate has been ok-ish for me. I am more annoyed by the constant render stutters in iOS. It got worse with iOS 26 (tested on iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air) and it is still pretty bad with iOS 27 (tested on iPhone Air and iPhone 18 Pro). Some apps like the App Store or Mastodon are a complete stutter fest, even when you let them preload all assets. But it even happens in very basic apps like the Settings app. Meanwhile my woefully underpowered Pixel 10 Pro (on par with a flagship from a few years ago) with GrapheneOS is butter smooth in nearly every app.
Doesn’t like it
I have an iPhone and an Android phone and I don't see the gap at all when it comes to software. Quite the opposite, I think iOS regressed a lot with iOS 26 to the point where I see quite a lot of render stutters on an iPhone Air and 17 Pro. Besides that, Android is much more configurable (especially OneUI). Apple is still the indisputable leader when it comes to hardware though. Great SoC, great cameras, great build quality. Too bad it doesn't have GrapheneOS :).
Likes it
You can bash the Air all you want, but it's the iPhone I love the most by far, and I had many iPhones since the 3G. It's such a pleasant phone to hold and the screen size is lovely. If they release a second version with a ultrawide and maybe tele camera, it would be perfect.
Doesn’t like it
As a mini fan, I don't know when I'll get my next iPhone. I've tried (and returned) the 16 and the Air. I don't want a phone that I can't type on one-handed, and for me that means sticking with the mini. I hate that Apple is no longer providing security updates on iOS18 except to devices that cannot run 26 (like the X). Everyone says that 26 is lousy on all but the newest devices, so I am not going to update. But that means that my new AirPods don't have Find My, and I can't use the new AirTags either. Ticky-tack moves like this tell me that Apple knows adoption is slow, and they're doing everything they can to force people to upgrade OS (or device). For us small-phone lovers, it's a no-win situation.
Likes it
I recently switched from an iPhone 16 to an Air and my experience is the opposite. I type way more accurate on the Air (even when both dictionaries are reset and have no screen protector what could make the touch less sensitive). I do not know why.
Doesn’t like it
I was still using my iPhone 13 mini until last week when I bought an Air. As a city dweller without a car, I'm constantly in situations where I'm carrying something in one hand and need to pull out my phone for something. Now with this huge form factor I can't comfortably do that. For example, I was traveling internationally and was carrying my duffel bag in one hand and needed to get information out of the Airbnb app on my phone, and I almost dropped it. The mini would have been (and was always) fine in these circumstances. The Air doesn't even fit in my jeans comfortably, I have to carry it in my jacket now (what do I do in summer?). I'm considering returning it and switching back to my mini until it just can't run anymore. Apple needs to realize the user base that wants a portable, one handed phone isn't the same market that wants a cheap phone. I paid more for a worse spec'd phone (Air vs 17), solely hoping it would be easier to use as a mobile, out in the world device. It's not. If they launched the same exact mini with a processor bump at $1k or more I'd be fine paying it.
Doesn’t like it
I was just talking to my wife about this, literally 5 minutes ago. I just moved from the 13 mini to the Air and am hating that it doesn't comfortably fit in my jeans, to the point where I might go return it today. My young cousin was wearing her iPhone on a cross body sling, and I was commenting that we've gotten to the point where the phones are so big that you need bags or extra things to carry it comfortably.
Likes it
here i am replying from my iphone air. My favorite iphone to date, by far. I “downgraded” from a 16 pro. Phone feels like a feather. Fits so nicely into my cross body bag as well! Battery life has been better than expected.
Likes it
(comment 2/2) I got the Air to solve a very specific problem: taking up less space in my hip pack. It more than exceeded my expectations in this regard while also being _shockingly_ light. I have not been this excited about an iPhone since the X, and I felt like the hype was warranted. This phone is a masterpiece. It is finally a worthy successor to my Minis.
Doesn’t like it
Got my air yesterday and it definitely gets hot. Will see how it does after a few days as I expected the heat due to the initial sync and transfer, and iOS indexes everything for a day or two. I have one, too, and you're right that the heating is just what happens while it restores its data and settings and whatnot. I believe it also re-scans your entire photo library to re-identify dogs, cars, people, etc. with whatever improved algorithm comes with the new chip/OS. This happens every time you get a new iPhone. Depending on how much it has to sort through, it can take a couple of hours to a week. I always leave the case off for the first few days.
Likes itHasn’t owned it
The mini was released six months after the SE2 was released, which many SE1 owners holding out for a new smaller iPhone had already migrated to. Then Apple presented the mini in a joke-y manner in the keynote, didn’t do any publicity afterwards, and neither did the carriers (because the mini was lower-margin for them I presume). Lastly, the iPhone 12 gen had particularly bad battery life, which also hurt the mini. With today’s battery improvements, it would be much better (as demonstrated by the iPhone Air’s good battery life). Apple could at least have taken the option to make the “e” line mini-sized.
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
Last Stand? This is rather strong language and overselling the situation, for clicks I guess. You might re-title the article instead, "The iPhone holds its ground", and it would be a more realistic title. But perhaps garnering less clicks. I've always thought Ben Thompson is strong on enterprise and b2b topics but super weak on everything consumer related, he simply doesn't seem to understand consumer behavior (he has zero empathy or ability to project his mind into the average person's mind) E.g. Ben was sure iPhone air would be a massive hit because he himself loved it. (It's struggled as people don't like the smaller battery life). Ben was sure the Vision Pro would be a huge hit because he himself loved it. (It was a total failure as the average person doesnt want to pay huge amounts for a ridiculous looking dork helmet). Ben raving about Meta's hand controller which he was sure was going to be the future of consumer electronics (The Neural Band). He was discussing how you could use it while your hand is in your jeans/pants pocket. Not quite thinking about how this would look while you're sat on the subway with someone sat opposite you. Ben discussing how the future of watching sports is in VR. Not considering how weird it would be to go to a friends house to watch the game and everyone has their own VR headset. Also not considering the fun of watching sports is doing it with other people. Basically, he has a huge issue with extracting his own liking of techy products to…
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
Apple's hardware (at least when it comes to their best selling products) is behind the times though. Relatively old and small camera sensors, no new battery tech and falling behind manufacturers using silicon-carbon (most evident on the mediocre iPhone Air battery runtime), no design innovation, no alternative form factors etc
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
The most important thing Jobs did (and he mentioned this) is to say No to great ideas. Like this, like iPhone Air, like Apple Vision Pro, etc.. Apple without Jobs is now much like it was before Jobs in the 90s, only this time it has a lot more momentum than it had before. Still though Apple is back to throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks.
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
The iPhone Air was a turn in the wrong direction. What people like me wanted was an iPhone 13 mini that's a bit thicker so it can have a bit more battery capacity. And with the 120 Hz PWM nausea fixed. The iPhone Air has worse battery life. And it has a larger screen. And it's worse to handle one-handed. Coming from the 13 mini, it's not an improvement.
Likes itHasn’t owned it
I bought a Pro Max for myself and an Air for my wife, who had a Mini before. The Air is DAMN SMALL. You really should try holding it. Yes the 2D dimensions are as large as a normal modern phone but it’s hardly there otherwise. It’s a good compromise. I’d want it myself but I shoot ProRes Video.
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
"thinnest iphone", well no, i am sure the Iphone (2007) or iphone 3g was slimmer. Only a big part of the device is slim with iphone air. And to not put your phone on the camera lens, I would put it in a case that is as thick as the thickest glass part, which looks not that slim.
Likes itHasn’t owned it
I think it's funny how expectation defying the Air is. Most people were assuming that being so thin would mean it's super easy to bend by hand. Zack certainly isn't a weak man and he was unable to easily bend it by hand. People have also been assuming the battery must be terribly small, but its capacity is larger than the iPhone 15 battery was and only 100 mAh smaller than the iPhone 16 battery was. Apple has seriously good engineers to be able to make that happen in a device that's so thin.
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
Not once do I remember thinking "I would like this phone to be thinner", yet I wish that this thing would have a bigger battery almost daily. Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge was first with a thinner phone (and some Motorola that most people have probably never heard of?). But it is also quite misplaced, since they just released the 27 Pro, which moves the (stacked) logic board close to the camera to be able to fit a larger battery, going from 3582 mAh in the 16 Pro to 4252 mAh in the 17 Pro (both US eSIM capacities, 18.7% more!). But they also used the space to add a vapor chamber for better sustained performance. The Air is just a different market. The Air and Pro optimize for almost the opposite: - Thinness vs. battery life. - Thinness vs. an additional GPU core. - Thinness vs. sustained performance. - One back camera vs three back cameras. I like this year's line-up because there is much more choice: getting the absolute thinnest phone, getting an absolute performance monster with a large battery and plenty of cameras, or getting a great middle ground, which is almost as light as the thin phone, but has longer battery life, and one more camera, and no lousy 60Hz display this year.
Likes itHasn’t owned it
I go caseless just because of sheer amount of bulk cases add, even the "thin" ones. It significantly impacts how easy the device is to hold and pocket. The Air I might consider putting a bumper case on since its thinness offsets the bulk increase, but it's specifically made to be resilient to drops so it's a coin toss even with that. I barely drop my phone though, it happens maybe twice a year, usually on carpet. In the last decade my phones might've had a run-in with concrete or pavement 2-3 times, tops.
Likes itHasn’t owned it
It weighs a lot less. My pinky hurts and 99% of my photos are selfies, so I’d rather have less mass than more camera; I’ll rent a Leica if I want truly excellent photographs. Also my purse is hella full all the time so every less millimeter of phone makes it easier to get stuff out of the pockets, get phone out of purse, etc. Also it’ll fit with less bulge into my side-thigh pockets and pull less on the waistband, which is handy for my skirts and leggings and undershorts that all that have that.
Likes itHasn’t owned it
The valid comparison is against the phone with the features I want. In my case ip14pro is a great phone but too thick and heavy and iPhone air has all the features I care but its thin and lightweight
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
Yeah I was first very excited to see a smaller iPhone again, but was very very disappointing that is about the thickness. NO BODY cares about the thickness!!! I want something that I can hold like the iPhone 5!!!! Or iPod touch size!! Don't want a big screen to watch netflix!!! This is freaking phone for god sake, back in the old iphone days there were a balance. Stuff like this is what turns me back to dump phone. I want a phone, not a freaking computer in my hand!
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
Their obsession with camera bumps has left them blind to good design, this thing is a grotesque, ugly monster Since the iPhone 5, no phone sits steady on a flat surface anymore, wich is sad