iPhone Air, One Month Later: My Camera and Battery Fears Have Been Put to Rest
When I started using the iPhone Air a month ago, I prepared myself to make compromises. Can I get by with just one rear camera? Would I constantly worry about the phone bending? A battery this thin would surely keep me looking for a charger. RIGHT?
Turns out my experience with Apple’s thinnest phone wasn’t quite so black and white.
This wasn’t my first time using a high-end ultra-thin phone. I also tested the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge earlier this year and had similar concerns that were generally alleviated. But things could still be different with Apple’s attempt to create a slim phone. Still, I fell in love with the sleek design of the $999 iPhone Air the moment I first held it at Apple Park, which motivated me to have an open mind about the apparent compromises compared to the rest of the new iPhone lineup.
I quickly realized that I could live with them just fine – for the most part.
A single 48-megapixel rear camera does the heavy lifting.
The solo camera (especially) pulls its weight
Moving from the iPhone 16 Pro Max to the iPhone Air seemed like a big step forward in terms of camera, since the Air only has a single 48-megapixel wide-angle camera on the back. But it turns out I don’t use an ultra wide angle or telephoto lens at all. that a lot.
Don’t get me wrong: I love having the ability to zoom up to 0.5x for wider landscape photos. When I went to a Jonas Brothers concert a few weeks ago, I kept my iPhone Air safely in my pocket most of the time, opting instead for the 5x optical zoom on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. (You can get an even closer 8x photo on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but I worked with what I had.) And honestly, if you’re spending close to $1,000 on a phone, you should have more flexible camera options than you’ll get out of the box.
Watch this: iPhone Air, one month later: camera and battery issues resolved
But I could probably count on one hand the number of times I felt like the Air’s camera wasn’t up to what I needed. It admittedly took me a while to stop towing the 16 Pro Max for photos and videos. But once I fully embraced the Air, I came to appreciate the sharp, detailed images it consistently captured, and they left virtually nothing to be desired. I’m also glad that features like Center Stage, which can automatically change your selfie from portrait to landscape orientation without you having to rotate your phone, are available on the iPhone Air (as well as the base iPhone 17), instead of just the 17 Pro models.
Here are some of my favorite photos I’ve taken on the iPhone Air over the past month:
Tea time + portrait mode = Abrar’s signature shot.
This portrait keeps the focus not only on the candles in the foreground, but also on each bar of the cage – although things get a little blurry in the upper right corner because of the curved metal embellishments of the cage.
Get spooky seasonal vibes in this dark room. The image is still sharp and clear in the dark.
The sharpness of this photo is so satisfying.
Even on cloudy days, the colors are vibrant.
Center Stage can automatically adjust the framing of a selfie so that everyone is visible.
However, I’m not letting Apple off the hook completely. If Samsung can pack a wide And ultra-wide camera in its thin Galaxy S25 Edge, I hope Apple can do the same. Maybe next year.
The iPhone Air is only 5.6mm thick.
The iPhone Air is thin but powerful
When Apple launched the iPhone Air in September, there was widespread apprehension about the durability of this slim device. Even with its titanium frame, the phone’s 5.6mm thickness raised concerns that it would bend or break. Those fears were largely assuaged when Apple showed me and a handful of journalists how much force the phone could withstand.
In a demo room at Apple Park after the company’s fall keynote, I saw a machine apply more than 130 pounds of force to the middle of the iPhone Air. It bent under pressure to avoid breaking, but once the force was lifted, the phone sprang back into shape, as if nothing had happened. I then looked at the front and back of the phone and saw no cracks or fractures. I was impressed and figured that meant I could slip it into my back pocket without folding it.
Indeed, I bravely went caseless last month, and the Air held up surprisingly well. It didn’t bend, even when I tried to warp it just to see what it could handle. And aside from a few light scuffs on the corners from an immersion test in what happened to be a stone-bottomed fountain, I didn’t notice any scratches.
If you’re looking to upgrade to a case for peace of mind, there are plenty of fine options to choose from. I tried Apple’s Clear MagSafe option for a few days; it’s less than 1mm thick and has the added benefit of evening out the protruding camera bump so the phone doesn’t wobble on a table. But if you don’t want anything to come between you and your sleek new iPhone, my experience should hopefully give you some reassurance.
The iPhone Air battery can usually last a day of regular use.
The battery is solid. Except when it’s not
Battery life is where I felt the biggest difference between an iPhone Pro Max and the Air, which isn’t surprising. But it wasn’t as glaring a problem as expected.
On days of lighter use, especially when I stayed home and used Wi-Fi, the iPhone Air typically had around 20% battery available at the end of the night. But on the busiest days, when I was on the go, I absolutely had to charge my phone when I got home.
Somehow this wasn’t as much of an inconvenience as I had anticipated. If you’re like me, you’re probably in the habit of charging your phone at night (or before you leave in the morning) anyway. So needing to plug in the Air every day probably won’t put a damper on your routine. I continued to use and charge the Air as I would any other phone, and there were only a few times where I looked at the battery level with apprehension while walking around town.
It helps that the Air charges quickly, despite the meager 20-watt maximum charge. In a 30-minute load test, it went from dead to 54%. The Air also supports Qi2 wireless charging at up to 20 watts, and went from 17% to 64% in half an hour. So you can recharge the battery quite quickly when it comes time to recharge it.
Apple also sells a slim $99 MagSafe battery pack designed specifically for the iPhone Air. I don’t like the idea of relying on an external battery to keep my phone alive, no matter how sleek it is, and luckily I’ve only had to use it a few times in the past month. I actually almost never carry it, but it’s nice to know it’s there, like if I need to go out quickly and don’t have time to charge my phone. On the rare occasions I used the MagSafe battery, it took my phone from 1% to 69% before running out.
I’m a heavy phone user and I like knowing that my phone’s battery will last well beyond a day of regular (and slightly heavier) use. So while I can certainly get by with the iPhone Air’s battery, and it holds up well for me, I still prefer the larger capacity on something like the iPhone 17 Pro Max, so I don’t have to keep an eye on battery levels as much. But I’m happy with how the iPhone Air held up to its thinness, and if you’re a light to moderate phone user, you shouldn’t have any problems.
To take a closer look at the battery life of each of Apple’s latest phones, you can check out CNET’s detailed breakdown.
Holding the Air to watch videos is a more comfortable experience due to the phone’s light weight. But the single speaker is a major drawback.
One of the biggest compromises surprised me
There’s one drawback with the Air that wasn’t even on my radar before I started using it: the thin phone only has one speaker, rather than the dual stereo speakers you’ll get on other iPhones.
Most of the time, I barely notice that the sound is a little quieter than on the iPhone 17 or 17 Pro models. But when I’m lying in bed listening to Better Call Saul or watching YouTube videos instead of falling asleep at a normal time, I notice how unbalanced the sound is. That’s why I usually end up looking for another phone for watching movies and TV shows, even though I prefer the lightness of the Air.
It’s not a major red flag and the phone audio is still sufficiently clear and loud, but I prefer to have a more balanced sound. If you’re not as particular about these things as I am, this probably won’t be a problem. But it’s good to know if you’re buying a phone that costs almost $1,000.
I’ve gotten so used to the sleekness of the iPhone Air that switching to something else requires some adjustment.
Express my final thoughts
A testament to the iPhone Air’s design is that it made me reconsider my priorities when it came to long battery life and top-notch cameras. To be clear, the Air didn’t dazzle me to the point of completely overlooking the importance of these features. But it showed me that I was willing to give up more than I thought in exchange for something light and elegant.
Like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, it was refreshing to use something that’s different from most phones on the market. I quickly got used to the Air’s build, but it reminded me how unique he is every time someone else marvels at him. (My favorite description someone gave it was “delicate.”)
Ultimately, the iPhone Air is a first-generation product, and there will be some kinks to work out in future models. I hope Apple adds more rear cameras, extends battery life, and doubles the number of speakers to provide a more premium experience that matches the price of the Air. Or, as analysts have speculated, it could be a stepping stone to a foldable iPhone, which would also be a welcome – and long-awaited – release.
But until then, the iPhone Air more than pulls its weight.
