Apple’s Pro users lay out their biggest problem with the iPhone Air

The iPhone Air, which I still believe is intended to become the go-to iPhone for Apple users, has not sold particularly well for a myriad of reasons. In a recent poll, we asked you what it would take for you to switch to the iPhone Air over the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro, and the answers were pretty much what everyone expected.

The cameras just don’t hit right

With the iPhone 17 Pro, Apple decided that it didn’t really care if its Pro models became thicker each generation or if they had a contentious design. In fact, the new aluminum chassis is very prone to denting and scratching from the shortest of falls, but it was designed to be like that for a reason.

The Pro models are now aiming for truly professional use. A divisive redesign for optimal photography and videography and a softer chassis for better heat dissipation are now non-negotiable.

And that’s where the iPhone Air fell apart. Almost 21 percent of you said that the iPhone Air won’t be on your radar until it features a complete suite of cameras on the back instead of one singular main camera.

Around just as many voters, meanwhile, argued that the iPhone Air should match the battery life of the Pro models. Something that is impossible due to the lower battery capacity of the smaller cell that is fitted inside the slim body of the phone.

The iPhone Air isn’t as refined

Almost seven percent of respondents said that they might consider the iPhone Air once it is able to match the performance of the Pro models. As the Air uses a slightly weaker chip — a lower GPU core count — and does not have the vapor chamber or the aluminum chassis of the iPhone 17 Pro, it cannot match the Pro in these aspects, either.

Lastly, a little over 3.1 percent of you said that the iPhone Air would need to come with a larger screen size to get you to buy one. With a screen that is 6.5 inches across, I kind of agree.

I’m one of those people that has always appreciated smartphones getting larger each year because most of my media consumption is done on my phone. I definitely think that, were I considering the iPhone Air, the display size would turn me off of buying one. It’s why I’ve never particularly liked the base Galaxy and iPhone flagships in the past, either.

The iPhone Air could be a Pro, but then it wouldn’t be the Air

However, the highest number of votes went to the fifth option on the poll. Over 48 percent of voters said that Apple needed to address all of the aforementioned aspects to make the iPhone Air something that is worth considering. What about you?



More cameras, a larger battery, better performance, and a larger display. Some of these issues the company is reportedly addressing with the iPhone Air 2, which will come out next year alongside the base iPhone 18 model as well as the iPhone 18e.

For example, the iPhone Air 2 will feature two cameras instead of one as an ultra-wide lens is allegedly being added on the rear of the phone. In addition, though the precise screen-on time can only be guessed at for now, the phone is apparently getting a better battery as well. One report from a very reputable source claims to have leaked the exact battery capacity of the iPhone Air 2.

Performance, though likely better than the first-generation Air, will still lag behind the iPhone 18 Pro. The screen will also remain roughly the same size.

This all makes perfect sense because this is the iPhone Air 2, not the iPhone 18 Pro. If the Air 2 featured all of these qualities, then it would just be the Pro model, complete with the issues and problems that plague said Pro models. And it certainly wouldn’t cost less than the Pro, either.

I know what I’m choosing

If I was being unrealistic, I would also wish for all of the above from the iPhone Air line, but that’s not how it works. The MacBook Air isn’t as feature-rich as the MacBook Pro and neither is it as powerful, but it is still the most popular Apple laptop by far. This is what the company is hoping for with the iPhone Air, in my opinion.

Still, if I had to pick one option from all of the above, I’d probably go for a complete camera setup as well. I know that the average customer probably uses ultra-wide cameras more for group photos at events and gatherings, but a telephoto lens is just too important to me to just give up on when buying a new phone.

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