The iPhone air is so light, I forgot it was in my pocket

After using the iPhone Air for 10 days, I can confirm what everyone is wondering: yes, it’s really light and thin. But what’s more interesting is whether Apple’s thinnest phone, at just 5.64 millimeters, is worth the compromises it requires.

I’ve used the iPhone 15 Pro Max as my primary phone for over 18 months now, and my secondary phones are often flagship Android phones, so I know what a substantial smartphone feels like. Meanwhile, the iPhone Air is so light that when I picked up the iPhone 17 Pro Max after using the Air, the Pro Max suddenly felt heavy. This contrast tells you something about what Apple has accomplished here and what you might give up.

Friends who have held the iPhone Air say how exquisite it looks and feels in hand, even though the phone weighs just 12 grams less than the iPhone 17. I share the sentiment. I find myself picking up the phone from my table just to feel that feeling again. Granted, the novelty of building a phone will come to fruition, but for now, I’m enjoying it.

The phone is not small. It is easier to hold because it is thin. (Sorry, iPhone Mini Fans.) But if you have trouble using phones with large screens with one hand, this one won’t be too different due to its 6.5-inch screen.

As the title suggests, when the iPhone Air is in my pocket, I often forget it’s there. If you have trouble fitting larger phones in your pocket, the iPhone Air will probably fit. If you don’t have any problems, your pockets will just feel lighter.

Although the phone is thin, it is quite sturdy. I dropped the phone off the level of a nightstand, and it was fine. I once sat on it by mistake, and it didn’t lose any shape. There are plenty of videos to suggest that this will do just fine in most everyday conditions.

I generally use most phones without a case, and I didn’t want to add any bulk or thickness to the iPhone Air with a case – although you’ll need one if you plan to use Apple’s new crossbody. And if you want extra protection, you can use Apple’s bumper case without adding much weight.

Given the iPhone Air’s slim build, there has been a lot of discussion about its battery life. I noticed that the phone often starts to get hot after intense gaming or video streaming, especially around the camera plate area, which prompted me to check the battery percentage more often than I should.

The phone has the processor chops to let you play graphics-intensive games, but if you plan to use the phone extensively during the day, having a $99 Magsafe battery pack from Apple – which fits on the back of the phone – is a good idea, as it will easily get you through the day. An added benefit of carrying the pack is that you can top off the battery with MAGSAFE compatible AirPods if needed.

Overall, the iPhone Air’s battery life is fine if you plan to do tasks like make a few calls, watch videos, scroll through your feeds, and respond to emails while connected to a Wi-Fi network. I carried the phone on a two-hour flight and watched a movie downloaded from Netflix, and I didn’t see a significant drop in battery level. But keep in mind that this is a new phone, and the battery will drain over time, which could be a concern if you plan to keep this phone beyond a year or two.

Another drawback of the iPhone Air is in the camera department, with its single-lens rear camera setup. The phone has a 48-megapixel sensor with an f/1.6 aperture, just like the base iPhone 17. The 26-millimeter focal length camera has sensor shift stabilization to capture good images in most lighting conditions. Although the details in the photos are good, I noticed that the iPhone’s camera post-processing often makes the background much brighter than what you see with your eyes.

There’s no dedicated telephoto lens, and you’ll have to make do with a 2x crop from the main sensor. However, outside of low light conditions, the zoom works well. I have three pets, and over the years I’ve really appreciated the good zoom so I can capture their goofy and cute poses without moving from my house. I missed this option with the iPhone air.

The omission of a wide-angle lens might pinch you if you travel often or go to places where you might want to capture expansive landscape photos.

Apple has changed the selfie camera sensor across the new lineup with a new square 18-megapixel sensor. This allows you to take selfies in different formats without having to hold the phone in landscape mode. With Center Stage, when more people obstruct a frame, the camera automatically chooses a wider aspect ratio. But you can also manually control zoom in/out and orientation. If you’re shooting videos for different creative channels, the new iPhones also have an option to simultaneously shoot a clip using feeds from the front and rear cameras.

A side note: the Air has the camera control button just like previous iPhones, but I didn’t bother using it much.

There is a third, albeit smaller, drawback, which is its single speaker. The Iphone Air is designed in such a way that Apple could not accommodate speakers at the bottom. When you play games, listen to music, or take calls on speakerphone, you will only hear sound from the speaker at the top of the screen. I personally use AirPods most of the time, but I missed having two speakers while watching the odd video without the headphones.

While Apple has nailed the hard part – engineering an amazing phone – now comes the hard part, which is convincing people to buy one. The Air fills the fourth spot in the company’s annual four-iPhone lineup, which was occupied by the Mini and Plus previously. For Apple, the job of the air is to do better than that. But the question is, who is the phone for?

Just as my colleagues Amanda Silberling and Julie Bort wrote on launch day, it’s easy to swing by the iPhone because of its appearance. You might be more convinced once you have the phone. When I first got the iPhone, I told a friend of mine that it was a “mood phone” – one with more swag and feel than practicality.

This isn’t a phone you can charge in the morning and completely trust to last all day without any additional battery support. But if aesthetics or portability matter more to you than all-day battery life or a multi-lens camera system, the iPhone Air delivers. Otherwise, the rest of the iPhone range is for you.