After many years of using ‘Pro’ iPhones, this year I bought an iPhone Air instead. My first impressions were very positive, but I knew there might come a time I missed the Pro’s battery life and cameras. But a recent trip to Disney World with the iPhone Air brought surprising results.
Putting iPhone Air to the test at Disney World
The iPhone Air is a beauty to see and hold. But it comes with some definite shortcomings compared to Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro:
there’s only one rear camera, no Telephoto or Ultra Wide
battery life isn’t as good as the much thicker Pro models
and it has just a single speaker
I almost never use my iPhone’s speaker, but I expected cameras and battery life might be the biggest challenges to using iPhone Air as my daily carry.
As beautiful as the ultra-thin iPhone is, obviously it needs to be practical too.
In my first week using iPhone Air, I was consistently impressed by areas that were expected to be weaknesses. And it became clear pretty fast that in “normal life,” the Air is the right model for me.
But where I thought it would come up short is during vacations.
Last week, however, I went to Disney World. If ever there was a place that could make me want the iPhone 17 Pro’s cameras and battery, this was it.
But it turns out, iPhone Air passed the test with ease.
Cameras and battery officially passed the test
I thought being at Disney would make me miss the Telephoto camera desperately. I even brought my old iPhone 16 Pro with me a couple days, just in case.
Surprisingly, I found the iPhone Air’s single camera totally fine for my needs.
I used the Air’s 2x zoom often, but I can’t recall a time when I missed being able to zoom more. In the times I wasn’t close enough to something, I just walked closer to it. Imagine that.
Battery life was similarly a champ. I brought the Air’s new MagSafe battery with me, fully expecting to use it every day.
I didn’t use the MagSafe battery once.
I will confess that on some days I charged a little in the middle of the day when back at the hotel. But that was more out of habit than need. I have always done the same when traveling with my Pro model iPhones, simply because I use my iPhone so much on vacation for photos, videos, outdoors with high display brightness, and on cellular.
I was surprised not only by how well the Air’s battery stood up during the trip, but also on travel days.
Often, travel days are when I experience the biggest battery drain and need to monitor my use closely.
But on the day I traveled home, I went from 7:30am in Orlando to 10:00pm in New York without charging once—and had 25% battery left.
iPhone Air’s biggest test: wrap-up
I’m not here to try to convince anyone to buy an iPhone Air. Everyone has their own priorities and usage patterns that should inform their choice.
But for me, the iPhone Air has proven so much better than I expected. There’s now zero chance I’ll trade it in for an iPhone 17 Pro.
I thought I’d have to live with some shortcomings for the sake of a futuristic, ultra-thin design.
Instead, I’ve found that this is just an all-around excellent iPhone. And its drawbacks barely impact me—even when put to the Disney World test.
What has your experience with the iPhone Air been like so far? Better than expected or worse? Let us know in the comments.
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