Are you ready to pay the price for an incredibly thin iPhone?

I'm not going to lie; I'm a Pro Max kinda guy. Ever since Apple released the 11 Pro Max, I've naturally gravitated towards the biggest, mostest iPhone. The iPhone Air then is the kind of phone I'd expectedly veer away from, the antithesis of the Pro Max, a phone that prioritized slimness and hand-feel over camera versatility and battery life. But, three weeks of testing the Air has me reconsidering my priorities, appreciating the in-the-hand benefits I'd long forgotten.

- By Tushar Kanwar

Just as there's no getting around the iPhone 17 Pro Max's bulk, the Air's wispy thin 5.6mm profile and 165 grams weight rewards you each time you pick it up, a testament to the fact that slimming a phone down can have a very visceral impact on how it feels in the hand. With its curved edges and polished titanium frame, the Air comes closest to just holding a screen in your hands, with the rest disappearing away from view. Handing it to friends and family (and random strangers who would come up to hold the phone) and the reaction was similar - “Is this for real? Where did the rest go?” Spoiler: much of it is in the camera plateau, where it's a much more realistic 9.5mm. And by now, you'd probably know that the Air isn't going to suffer the same bendgate fate as the iPhone 6, and the use of titanium and the new Ceramic Shield 2 screen protection has held up well in the few tumbles the phone has taken. It won't bend in your back pocket, that's for sure...though I do wish it had the fun colors of the Pro lineup this year.