Apple made things tricky this year. Between the iPhone 17 and the brand-new iPhone Air, the choice isn’t as simple as “pay more, get more.” The Air is thinner, lighter, and packs the A19 Pro chip… but after looking at the trade-offs, I keep coming back to the iPhone 17 as the smarter everyday pick. Here’s why.
The $200 Question
The iPhone Air starts at $999, while the iPhone 17 starts at $799. That’s a $200 gap right out of the gate, and it’s not just spare change.
Think about what $200 can do in Apple’s world:
- Upgrade your iPhone 17 from 256 GB to 512 GB storage (no more “iCloud full” pop-ups). The 512GB model is priced at $1,029.
- Buy a third-party MagSafe portable charger or a fast-charging power bank to cover those long days out.
- Put it toward a pair of AirPods or a protective case + screen protector, which is honestly smarter than relying on the Air’s ceramic back. The latest AirPods Pro 3 start at $249, but the Pro 2 can be snagged for $199 on Amazon right now.
- Or just keep it aside, because phones don’t get cheaper year over year.
For me, this alone makes the iPhone 17 more appealing—you get to re-invest the savings into stuff that actually improves day-to-day use.
Cameras That Actually Matter
Here’s the dealbreaker: the iPhone Air only has one rear camera. At $1,000, that feels like a compromise I don’t want to make.
The iPhone 17 gives you an ultrawide lens, macro photography, and spatial video support, all missing from the Air. Unless you literally never zoom out, never shoot macro, and never care about Apple’s spatial media push, the iPhone 17’s setup is just more useful.
Battery Life Beats Thinness
Yes, the iPhone Air is the thinnest iPhone ever. But the trade-off is shorter battery life: 27 hours of video playback vs 30 on the iPhone 17. It doesn’t sound huge, but in practice, shaving hours off your day isn’t worth the bragging rights of a thinner phone. And remember, adding a battery pack to the Air makes it… thicker than the iPhone 17 anyway.
Suggested: iPhone Air vs iPhone 17 vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Which One Lasts the Longest?
Here’s the real kicker: the iPhone Air charges slower than the iPhone 17, topping out at 20W max vs 25W when charging via MagSafe… and via USB-C as well.
Performance vs Practicality
The A19 Pro chip in the Air sounds tempting, but most people won’t notice the difference compared to the A19 in the iPhone 17. Unless you’re editing 4K video or pushing graphics-heavy games daily, the “Pro” power is more spec-sheet brag than real-world win.
Also worth noting, is the fact that the A19 Pro in the Air features a 5-core GPU compared to the 6-core GPU in the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.
Final Thought
The iPhone Air is a cool experiment, it shows what Apple can do with thinness. Apple’s even gone so far as refering to it as a device that can be worn… you know, like jewllery. But for $200 less, the iPhone 17 gives you:
- More camera flexibility
- Better battery life
- Faster charging
- More color options
- And money left over for things you’ll actually use every single day
For me, that’s an easy call.
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