Iphone Air Vs. Iphone 17 Pro: Which One Is Right For You?

Now that we've seen nan existent iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models — they were revealed astatine nan Apple iPhone event coming — it's clip to determine if you're fresh to upgrade to 1 of nan newer devices. If you watched Apple's keynote aliases pored done Engadget's liveblog, you astir apt noticed nan Air and 17 Pro stock rather a fewer similarities — galore of nan specs are identical, aliases astir so.

For starters, some tally nan caller A19 Pro chip, giving each of them a capacity separator complete nan non-Pro A19 successful nan baseline iPhone 17. And their screens, bodies and basal characteristic sets — high-refresh ProMotion screens, Apple Intelligence, scratch-resistant Ceramic Shield beforehand and back, Camera Control button, MagSafe wireless charging — are each mostly aligned, too. And there's only a $100 delta successful their value tags, pinch nan iPhone Air starting astatine $999 and nan iPhone 17 Pro astatine $1,099.

But these 2 phones person 2 very different audiences. The Pro, arsenic usual, is designed to beryllium nan no-compromise iPhone, while nan Air is overmuch much of a manner statement. It's nan thinnest iPhone ever, and that comes pinch immoderate notable compromises.

To that end, let's return a heavy dive connected nan cardinal areas wherever nan recently introduced iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro diverge. (For much of today's Apple releases, cheque retired our hands-on pinch nan caller AirPods Pro 3 and nan Apple Watch Series 11.)

Size and weight

The iPhone Air is Apple's thinnest telephone yet, astatine conscionable 5.6mm thick. In comparison, nan iPhone 17 Pro is 8.75mm heavy — that's much than 3mm thicker than nan Air! I'm almost definite nan Air would get mislaid betwixt my sofa cushions connected time one.

When it comes to nan surface size, nan iPhone Air has a 6.5-inch display, which is larger than nan 17 Pro's 6.3-inch screen. (If you want larger still, nan iPhone 17 Pro Max is simply a whopping 6.9 inches diagonally). But nan surface tech uses nan identical Super Retina XDR exertion pinch each nan aforesaid bells and whistles — ProMotion precocious refresh rate, P3 colour gamut, True Tone. They should look beautiful overmuch identical.

As for weight, nan Air pinch its titanium casing tips nan scales astatine conscionable 5.82 ounces (165 grams), while nan iPhone 17 Pro weighs 7.27 ounces (206 grams) pinch an aluminum chassis. That's a tad much than nan iPhone 16 Pro's weight of 7.03 ounces (199 grams), astir apt owed to nan newer model's larger battery.

If you determine to upgrade to nan 17 Pro Max instead, it has a larger 6.9-inch show and weighs a whopping 8.22 ounces (233 grams).

But agelong communicative short, nan Air's superthin creation and wispier weight is beautiful overmuch nan logic you're buying this phone.

Cameras

Here's wherever nan biggest differences lie: nan cameras. While nan iPhone 17 Pro has 3 rear 48MP cameras, nan iPhone Air has conscionable 1 (also 48MP, though it serves arsenic 2 cameras successful one). Here's what they include:

iPhone 17 Pro rear cameras: The Pro boasts a triple array "Pro Fusion camera system," wherever nan 3 48MP cameras harvester to connection .5x, 1x, 2x, 4x and 8x optical zoom options. The Pro besides offers macro photography, spatial photos and tin sprout successful ProRAW image mode. Video offerings are besides full-tilt, pinch 4K Dolby Vision video signaling up to 120fps, on pinch a litany of blase options that will entreaty to much superior video shooters (ProRES Raw, Genlock support, cinematic mode and more).

iPhone Air rear camera: By comparison, nan Air has a azygous 48MP Fusion camera strategy that delivers only 2x optical zoom successful summation to standard. That besides intends it lacks moreover nan ultrawide (.5x) mode recovered successful nan baseline iPhone. Video signaling is likewise constricted to conscionable half nan Pro's framerate, albeit still successful 4K Dolby Vision.

Both phones person nan new Center Stage 18MP front-facing "selfie" camera, which eliminates nan request to rotate your telephone to return a scenery photo. You alternatively conscionable pat to grow nan section of view. And erstwhile others subordinate nan photo, nan camera automatically expands nan view. And erstwhile you're connected a video call, nan camera uses artificial intelligence to set nan frame. They besides some connection Dual Capture, truthful you tin sprout from nan beforehand and backmost cameras simultaneously.

Still, nan camera compromises are arguably nan Air's biggest shortfall. Don't get this telephone if you for illustration agelong zooms, ultrawide shots aliases top-notch video quality.

Battery life

Battery life ratings should ever beryllium taken pinch a atom of salt. That said, Apple claims nan Air will present up to 27 hours of video playback and tin get up to a 50% complaint successful 30 minutes. The bully news is that fundamentally matches nan artillery claims of past year's iPhone 16 Pro. The bad news is that it falls good short of nan caller and improved artillery specs connected this year's 17 Pro. That exemplary is rated up to 33 hours of video playback and up to a 50% complaint successful conscionable 20 minutes pinch a 40-watt charger.

Now, dissimilar nan cameras, there's a workaround for nan Air's shorter artillery life. Apple offers an add-on iPhone Air MagSafe artillery which snaps connected to nan Air's backside and gets you up to 40 hours of video playback. But it costs $99 and fattens up your superthin telephone — doesn't that kinda get you backmost to quadrate one?

Price

The iPhone Air starts astatine $999, which matches nan value astatine nan 256GB tier of nan iPhone Plus exemplary it's replacing (which conscionable truthful happens to beryllium my favorite). So that's $100 much than nan starting value of past year's 128GB Plus, but pinch nan retention doubled, I conjecture I can't kick excessively much.

For 512GB, it'll costs you $1,199; and if you splurge connected 1TB, you'll beryllium paying $1,399. And nan Air is disposable successful 4 lighter colour palettes.

On nan different hand, nan iPhone 17 Pro starts astatine $1,099 pinch 256GB, which is conscionable $100 more. You tin besides take 512GB for $1,299 aliases 1TB for $1,499. (The iPhone 17 Pro Max starts astatine $1,199 for 256GB and goes up to $1,999 for 2TB.) The Pro comes successful only 3 colors, though nan Cosmic Orange is unusually bold for nan iPhone Pro line.

iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro: How to choose

As I suggested above, nan iPhone Air is surely eye-catching, but you really request to make judge you're fresh to judge those camera and artillery compromises. The iPhone 17 Pro is overmuch much of a "no compromise" choice, albeit 1 that's little of a looker (depending connected really you consciousness astir that caller "camera plateau" astatine nan top). That said, retrieve you tin ever default to nan baseline iPhone 17, which is arguably amended than ever — and has immoderate bully feature one-ups connected nan Air, to boot.

If I were choosing betwixt nan Air and nan Pro, I cognize which 1 would beryllium nan clear victor for maine — but I'll time off that determination up to you because I'm holding retired (and hopeful) for a foldable iPhone successful 2026. In nan meantime, you tin cheque retired Engadget's first hands-on impressions of nan iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and baseline iPhone 17, arsenic good arsenic our afloat reviews of those models coming successful nan adjacent future.

Full specs comparison