At 5.6mm, the Apple iPhone Air is incredibly thin, and this look could be the future of iPhone design. Similar to how the iPhone X kicked off a major change in the iPhone back in 2017, we could see a thinner iPhone become the norm from here on out. The new design might not be as thin, but certainly Apple learned quite a bit about squeezing components inside its handsets when it developed the iPhone Air.
Bend test quashes some fears about the iPhone Air
JerryRigEverything's Zach Nelson, known for putting phones through various durability tests, including bend tests, put the iPhone Air through his torture tests. What he discovered was that the iPhone Air shouldn't bend in your pockets as many feared. That's because it took close to 216 pounds of force, concentrated in one area of the phone, to crack the display. Since pressure applied to the device while in your pocket would be distributed throughout the phone, the iPhone Air is probably safe in your pocket.
Sure, the iPhone Air looks impressive, but when Zach cracked the screen, something even more impressive took place. The handset continued to function normally despite the crack. Interestingly, when he first tried to bend the phone and crack it with his hands, the device would give a little, but then snap back to its original shape That led Zach to say, "The iPhone Air has no business being this indestructible."
Do you remember #Bendgate?
In the back of its mind, Apple executives had to be thinking about #Bendgate when designing the impossibly thin iPhone Air. Back in 2014, Apple released the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The larger model had a weak point near the volume buttons, and when the phone was placed in a tight pocket, it had a tendency to bend. Apple responded by saying that it had received only nine complaints.
#Bendgate went viral, and Apple was not very pleased when a video of the iPhone 6 Plus bending appeared in Europe's top-selling computer magazine at the time, Computer Bild. In a move that seems very much in line with how Apple handles bad publicity,the company immediately pulled the magazine's credentials and said it would no longer send the magazine review units.
Finally, some signs of innovation for the iPhone
The iPhone Air is an important product for Apple because after years of being criticized for repeating the same design, we finally have an exciting new look for the company's most important product. Yes, there are some compromises that buyers have to deal with, such as the lack of an ultra-wide camera and a telephoto camera. The phone uses computational photography, notably a sensor crop from the 48MP main camera, to create what passes for a 2x zoom.
Apple isn't asking iPhone Air buyers to make too many concessions to own an iPhone that is arguably the first new iPhone model to grab the attention of random bystanders since the iPhone X was launched. The latter was also the first iPhone to be priced over $1,000 as the base model with 64GB of storage went for $999. The variant with additional storage (256GB) cracked the $1,000 barrier for the first, but certainly not the last time.
Would you worry about the iPhone Air bending if you owned one?
Yes. Look at it! It's so thin.
33.33%
No. Apple knows what it is doing.
66.67%
And here is another area where the iPhone Air might blow your mind. Despite the new look, the base iPhone Air model, with 256GB of storage, is priced at $999. That is the same price as the base iPhone X cost when introduced in 2017. That was the last time that Apple dropped an innovative new style into iPhone buyers' hands.
Now we need to see Apple apply this innovation to other hardware such as the iPhone's battery. The Chinese manufacturers are well ahead when it comes to the use of larger cells and faster charging speeds. Apple cannot be content to sit on its laurels with the iPhone Air. Maybe I'm wrong here, but if Apple were to bring the amazing charging speeds that Oppo offers to U.S. iPhone owners, it would result in a surge to iPhone sales in the U.S.
"Iconic Phones" is coming this Fall!
Good news everyone! Over the past year we've been working on an exciting passion project of ours and we're thrilled to announce it will be ready to release in just a few short months.
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"Iconic Phones: Revolution at Your Fingertips" is a must-have coffee table book for every tech-head that will bring you on a journey to relive the greatest technological revolution of the 21st century. For more details, simply follow the link below!
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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