iPhone Air 评测：苹果给自己的答案

I've been using the iPhone Air for a few days.

Finally, I understand what level this phone is at.

And which group of users it's suitable for.

How good is its hand feel?

Which aspect of it I can't accept?

In today's video,

we'll talk about this future Apple design.

The first part of today's video:

What is the level of the iPhone Air's hand feel?

Apple has been endlessly pursuing thinness.

Pursuing the perfect hand feel when held.

So, just how thin is the iPhone Air?

Let me compare it with previous iPhones.

This is the thickness of the first-generation iPhone.

The thickness of the iPhone 3Gs.

The thickness of the iPhone 4.

The thickness of the iPhone 5.

The thickness of the iPhone 6.

The thickness of the iPhone X and iPhone Xs.

The thickness of the iPhone 11 Pro.

The thickness of the iPhone 12 Pro.

The thickness of the iPhone 15 Pro.

The thickness of the iPhone 17 Pro.

Do you still remember

a product from a few years ago called the iPod touch?

It was incredibly thin and light,

with an amazing hand feel.

And now,

the iPhone Air is even thinner than the iPod touch.

Among Apple's current products, only the iPad Pro

is slightly thinner than the iPhone Air. 32 00:00:56,200 --> 00:57:900 But it's really just a tiny bit thinner.

For a long time,

Apple's ultimate dream

has been to create a device for users

that feels like holding a glass panel.

I guess it's probably similar to the transparent glass phone

seen in *Iron Man 2*.

The iPhone Air's back panel is made of ultra-ceramic glass.

This is the first time in iPhone history that this material has been used on the back.

Drop resistance has been greatly improved (4 times better).

The back has a fine matte texture,

while the raised platform is a glossy reflective glass.

The metal protective ring around the rear camera matches the color of the phone's back.

When light hits the back panel,

it creates a soft shadow.

The titanium frame adopts the polished titanium technology

successfully tested on last year's Apple Watch.

Apple's three years of titanium exploration

resulted in three completely different titanium frame textures.

Apple added beveled curves to the frame edges

to improve hand feel.

Of course, it must be said that

the glossy titanium is prone to fingerprints.

All four colors are affected.

But even with fingerprints,

it still looks much better than the titanium of the previous two generations.

When light glides across it, it shines like jewelry.

This phone weighs only 164 grams,

nearly 70 grams lighter than the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

And because of its large screen,

the weight distribution

makes it feel

even lighter than the iPhone 17 in hand.

Combined with the ultra-thin thickness

and the frame's hand feel,

Truly, this is a product that brings you joy the moment you pick it up from the table.

You can genuinely feel happiness holding it.

It's worth noting.

Although the iPhone Air is very light and thin,

it is not a small phone.

Its screen size is 6.5 inches.

When holding it with one hand,

it's still a bit difficult to control the entire screen.

This experience

is completely different from the iPhone 13 mini.

Some users are concerned,

that being so thin,

would it break or bend too easily with a slight impact?

Alright, let me test it for you now.

Here are two pieces of data for you.

The pressure a grown man can typically apply by hand

is about 30kg of force (equivalent).

The iPhone Air can withstand approximately 60kg of force (equivalent).

The second part of today's video

is about discussing the most concerning aspects: battery life and performance.

Here are some scenarios I tested:

Watching 1080P online videos + comments for 4 hours.

The iPhone Air consumed 41% of its battery.

This is close to the iPhone 16 Pro.

But it is clearly weaker than the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max.

Recording 4K 60fps videos simultaneously,

battery consumption was 9%.

However, the Air's heat wasn't effectively dissipated across the entire body.

Most of the heat gathered at the top of the device.

Meanwhile,

using mobile data + WiFi + always-on display

for 8 hours of standby,

The iPhone 17 Pro Max consumed 12%.

The 16 Pro consumed 17%.

And the iPhone Air consumed 20%.

While using TikTok for an hour,

the iPhone 16 Pro consumed 8%.

The iPhone Air consumed 7%.

And the iPhone 17 Pro Max consumed 5%.

Playing *Genshin Impact* for 30 minutes,

the Air's frame rate was quite stable.

However, its heat generation was noticeably higher compared to the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max.

But it was slightly better than the 16 Pro Max.

Overall,

the iPhone Air's battery life

can be considered comparable to the iPhone 16 Pro.

But strictly speaking,

it is still slightly weaker than the iPhone 16 Pro.

In my opinion,

this battery performance is suitable for three groups of users.

The first group is users who don't use their phones heavily on a daily basis.

The iPhone Air's battery life

is significantly better than the iPhone 15 Pro back in the day.

The second group

is users who use the Air as a secondary device.

With two phones sharing usage time.

The third group

is users who spend most of their time

in environments with easy charging access.

For example, desk charging at the office,

or charging in the car while commuting.

To improve the iPhone Air's outdoor battery life,

Apple has specially introduced a wireless power bank this time.

According to my tests,

the power bank, when fully charged,

can provide a 64% charge to the iPhone Air.

This is not a lot,

but in Apple's philosophy,

you can think of the iPhone Air

as achieving modularization of its battery

through its ultra-thin body.

In other words,

when using the iPhone Air for most of the day,

it remains an ultra-thin device.

During one hour of charging,

this phone becomes thicker and heavier than other iPhones,

with a magnetic power bank attached,

to achieve battery life beyond the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

So, regarding this power bank,

you can essentially consider it as an integral part of the iPhone Air.

In fact,

it cannot charge iPhones other than the Air.

This power bank,

theoretically,

can charge other phones via MagSafe.

can charge other phones via MagSafe.

However, because the magnetic alignment isn't precise,

it cannot secure itself properly.

As a result, it tends to fall off during use.

Third-party wireless power banks can charge the Air.

So, you can freely choose in this regard.

From my personal experience,

wireless power banks charge too slowly.

This is a major drawback.

Using a wired charger,

you can charge over 50% in just 30 minutes.

Plus, with the power bank priced at 799 yuan,

I would personally prioritize third-party

cheaper wired power banks.

Additionally, I specifically tested

Apple's new 40W charging adapter.

In tests, it charged 54% in 30 minutes.

This speed is sufficient.

However, unlike the Pro series,

it cannot activate the adapter's maximum 28W charging power.

So, for Air users,

a 35W dual USB-C adapter should suffice.

Regarding the battery performance of the iPhone Air,

my personal feedback is that it’s definitely not outstanding,

but slightly better than expected.

The third part of today's video

answers another question from you all:

How does the iPhone Air perform as a primary device?

Despite its extreme thinness and lightness,

the Air still features an always-on display.

The screen still has an anti-reflective coating.

The front camera also supports Center Stage.

It includes physical camera mechanical buttons and an Action Button.

It also features an X-axis vibration motor.

These features are all excellent.

The first key difference, however, is its imaging capability.

The iPhone Air has only one lens.

This lens is roughly equivalent to the main lens of the iPhone 17.

It includes a new portrait photography algorithm.

It features new pearlescent colors.

Using machine learning,

it can take quite good portrait photos with background blur.

It can record front-and-back simultaneous videos.

It can shoot 4K 60fps Dolby Vision videos.

However,

features like RAW format photos found in Pro models,

and ProRes RAW professional video formats, are absent.

If you're considering using it as your primary device,

I believe there are two core scenarios where the iPhone Air has shortcomings.

The first shortcoming is the lack of an ultra-wide-angle lens.

Objectively speaking,

the ultra-wide-angle lens isn't used frequently by many average users.

There are users who might never use it,

even once, after buying the phone.

I think this might be one reason

why Apple had the confidence to remove the ultra-wide-angle lens.

However, for slightly more advanced users,

like myself,

who have some video recording needs,

the lack of an ultra-wide-angle lens becomes very noticeable.

The ultra-wide-angle lens is an excellent choice

for indoor shooting.

It provides a very wide field of view

along with excellent stabilization.

In this wide field of view,

it maintains a great proportion between people and indoor spaces.

So, even though I really love the Air,

and its lightweight and thin design,

the lack of an ultra-wide-angle lens

means I can't use this phone

as my primary device.

However, for regular users,

there's one detail here:

If you enjoy shooting selfie vlogs,

the front camera this time is actually an ultra-wide-angle lens.

To some extent,

this compensates for the lack of a rear ultra-wide-angle lens.

In other words,

when you use the front camera for video selfies,

its field of view and proportions are just right.

The front camera is equivalent to a 20mm focal length lens,

the same focal length as the DJI Pocket 3 (with additional cropped stabilization).

In selfie vlog scenarios,

it can serve as a supplement to the ultra-wide-angle lens.

The second obvious shortcoming

is, of course, the speaker.

The iPhone Air has only one speaker,

located in the earpiece.

This means it functions as an earpiece during calls

and as a speaker for video playback.

While testing,

I found that

when watching short videos in portrait mode with the single speaker,

the sound quality feels thin.

There is a noticeable difference compared to the iPhone 17 Pro series.

And if I turn the phone to landscape mode to watch movies

or TV shows,

the external speakers of the iPhone 17 Pro series

become even more advantageous.

Not only is the sound quality better,

but when playing Dolby Atmos content,

you'll notice one key difference:

With the Pro series,

You will feel that voice

It's not coming from the phone speaker.

You feel that the sound is spatial.

And for iPhone Air

When you play horizontally

Not only does it sound thinner.

Panorama has also become mono

And it's mono tilted to the left

You could say that.

Among the many features of iPhone Air

Some functions are not available.

That is no

But as long as this function exists

It will definitely meet Apple's standards

Only this speaker

It's the one part that I don't think meets Apple's standards this time

Of course, in this position

If you have a AirPods 4

Or AirPods Pro headphones

Then the sound quality and space production issues will be perfectly solved

AirPods Pro its bass performance

Better than iPhone 17 Pro Series speakers

I think the birth of Air this time

Because of AirPods seamless connection

It is because of MagSafe

Magnetic accessories that minimize presence

Only then can Apple modularize some scenes

The fourth part of today's video

Let's talk about eSIM

Apple introduces eSIM feature for the first time on iPhone Xs

That only took eight short years.

The National Bank version implements support for the eSIM function

About the National Bank version of eSIM

entry

Details branch a lot

Everyone's questions are also very scattered

Here I use as simple language as possible

Make it clear to everyone

First, let's talk about the process

It's actually quite simple

That is, you take your ID card to the business hall.

Connect to a WiFi or hotspot first.

Then the staff will ask you to call up a certified QR code on your mobile phone.

After he scans this code

Your phone pops up with an "available eSIM".

You choose

Just a minute

The mobile phone has a signal (activated eSIM successfully)

It's over

You can understand it this way

In the vast majority of scenarios during use

eSIM and now physical cards

It's almost the same experience.

Just like your physical card replenishment card.

After you change to eSIM

You can still use the previous number and plan.

No need to choose a new number.

If you want to change your mobile phone plan

It's like a physical card.

Just operate it directly on the mobile Unicom business hall app.

You can open eSIM remotely.

You can also replenish the card eSIM in different places.

For example, I am from Shanghai.

Or Hebei's card support.

It also supports card opening or replacement in Beijing.

Opening an eSIM is like replenishing a physical card.

Once your eSIM is activated

Then the previous physical card will be invalid immediately.

So don't think about saying that I keep this physical card.

Then use both cards at the same time

corresponding

It can also prevent you from losing your phone later.

The bad guys took out the eSIM card

Then commit a crime

iPhone Air can use up to two eSIM numbers

These two numbers

You can come from two different carriers

You can also write mobile phone cards with two different ID cards.

For example, my dad has a data card with unlimited data

Then put it on my phone for me to use

You need your father to do it with his ID card.

If you buy iPhone Air

Then you go to activate the eSIM first.

Then I went home to transfer the data of the old phone

Then when restoring the new phone

You can choose to keep the eSIM card

Just like a physical card slot

After your phone is restored

The eSIM will also be automatically restored.

For example, when you go abroad

You can also use this phone.

Direct purchase of overseas eSIM packages

Then by saying scan code and other forms

Quickly complete the activation of overseas packages

Like I just said

It is the same as the domestic physical card.

The National Bank version only supports storing up to two eSIM card numbers in the mobile phone.

So if you go abroad before

You already have two numbers in your phone.

You need to delete a number first.

Write another card number overseas.

So you get the idea.

The physical card function you are currently using

On iPhone Air

There are no functional limitations.

So here's the problem.

What are the imperfections of the current eSIM?

The link of messing with users

In fact, the most troublesome point at present is that

As long as it's in your iPhone Air

Do you want to add any number?

Then you need to bring your ID in person

Go to the business hall to handle it.

You have the need to frequently insert and unplug the mobile phone card to change the device.

For example, I often test mobile phones

The new phone has arrived.

I'll just change the phone card.

That's not possible now.

I have to bring my ID myself.

Go to the business hall to activate this eSIM card.

Or go to the business hall and give this eSIM card number.

Exchange back a physical SIM card

In this scene

It was supposed to be an advantage scenario for eSIM

Now it is more troublesome than the physical card.

Of course, here it is.

We also need to be objective

After all, this is the first time that Bank of China's mobile phone has opened the eSIM business

So now the trouble

It doesn't mean the future is also troublesome

For example, the eSIM function of the iPad

And you know what?

When the iPad eSIM function was just launched in November 23

The only way to change the package

It is you who cancel the current eSIM card number.

Then reopen a new card number.

You can choose another package.

Now, that sounds magical, right?

And now, two years later

Now the eSIM of the iPad.

Still can't change the package.

If you want to change it

I still have to cancel the number.

So the third problem with eSIM

iPhone outside the National Bank

For example, an overseas version iPhone Air

What is their full eSIM experience like?

In this link

Because I haven't used it for a long time myself

I will briefly say it according to my own understanding

If you say it wrong

You can correct me.

First of all, if you are a non-national version

Like the Zimbabwean version of iPhone

Exactly.

Zimbabwe two or three years ago

They have also implemented the full blood version of the eSIM function

At that time, a brother in the comment area of Weibo left me a message.

At that time, there was a little shock in my heart

Then after you turn on your phone for the first time

iPhone Air will automatically detect your vicinity

The phone number of the old phone under the same Apple ID

Then ask if you want to transfer it

At this time, if you choose to transfer

It instantly puts the mobile number next to you

I sucked it on this phone for you.

In addition, the non-national version of the iPhone Air

It can store up to 8 eSIMs.

It is the mobile phone card of carriers around the world.

You can store it in your phone.

But at most, only two can be used at the same time.

So just for now

National Bank version eSIM

It just keeps it safe.

And more space inside the phone, bigger battery

These two advantages

For more convenient

Especially those that people are more concerned about

When traveling around the world

Free switching of data plans

On the contrary, it is more troublesome than a physical card.

But like I just said

Now the three major carriers

After all, I have just started this business.

I think we can still look forward to it

After all, we have only been waiting for the eSIM function for 8 years.

Just waiting

What everyone needs to do now

Just exercise

Stay healthy.

The fifth and final part of today’s video

is about who the iPhone Air is for.

Without a doubt,

the iPhone Air

is not a product suitable for the average, general user.

In the face of this year’s epic upgrade of the iPhone 17

and the repositioned iPhone 17 Pro series,

the sales of the iPhone Air are likely negligible.

In my opinion,

the target audience for this product

is those who have a passion for aesthetics

and a pursuit of design.

Or to be more specific,

those who genuinely love digital products.

Because only these users understand

how much effort is needed

to create such a device.

For the average user,

it’s not easy to grasp the mindset of these enthusiasts.

Is ultra-lightweight

more important than 3 extra hours of battery life?

Is the ultra-thin feel

more valuable than staying cool during intense gaming?

Good design —

can it put food on the table?

But the pursuit of aesthetics

and the passion for design and craftsmanship

is an indescribable,

unique feeling that resides deep in each individual.

If the repositioned Pro this year,

with its unleashed performance,

is Apple’s answer to the masses,

then

the iPhone Air is Apple’s answer to itself —

an answer driven entirely by design.

And that’s it.

That’s all for this video.

I’m Zhong Wenze.

See you in the next video.