Help, I have been charmed by the iPhone Air

Summary

It’s my fifth year in a row writing about Apple’s annual iPhone event, and I have never actually been tempted to buy the latest and greatest iPhone. Like my colleague Julie Bort, I’ve always waited to upgrade my phone until it’s absolutely necessary. But then the iPhone Air came along. I want it. Apple’s new iPhone 17 line is impressive in its own right, but this generation of devices marks the first time that Apple has made an iPhone Air. Like the MacBook Air, it’s a thinner, sleeker device, which emphasizes style over its tech specs. While I can appreciate a state-of-the-art chip, what really makes me want to buy a new phone is that it looks cool. And, boy, is that iPhone Air cool. In the announcement video, Apple showed off the phone as it sat delicately atop someone’s finger, which is wider than the phone itself. It’s a cool visual that is going to make Apple billions of dollars. Image Credits:Apple At first, I wasn’t particularly moved by the idea of an iPhone Air, because I assumed that in order to be so small, it would have to be technically weaker than the iPhones I’m used to. Plus, the second I saw how gloriously slim it is, I feared that I would drop it on the sidewalk and destroy it (it’s 5.5 millimeters, or a little thicker than three quarters stacked). Apple guessed that this would be how most customers would react. The iPhone Air was revealed with a beautiful video illustrating how strong it is; compared to previous iPhones, the company says that the screen has 3x better scratch resistance, while the back glass is 4x more resistant to cracks. In his presentation, Apple’s SVP of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, even proclaimed that it’s “more durable than any previous iPhone.” The iPhone Air also exceeded my expectations when it comes to its specs. The iPhone Air actually has a more powerful processor and slightly larger ProMotion display than the iPhone 17. Apple actually called the iPhone Air’s A19 Pro chip the “fastest CPU in any smartphone.” “This...