Maybe I’m just feeling out of shape, but the new iPhone Air feels like it would be my worst nightmare. The all-new iPhone 17 Thin and Light version was the star of Apple’s “Awe Dropping” September event, and Apple was bragging they made a model that’s just 5.6mm thick, about the size of three stacked credit cards. But I have to ask: did anyone really ask for a super-thin iPhone?
Apple has loaded the iPhone Air with better battery life and faster processing power thanks to the A19 Pro chip. It also has a 48-megapixel Fusion camera and a 12-megapixel 2x telephoto camera. Apple says this is the most efficient phone it has ever made. This is likely to be a value-packed iPhone—or at least it should be, with prices starting at $999 for 256GB. But none of that matters if the phone breaks, bends, or shakes.
I’m not a total klutz, but I do drop my phone from time to time. I’ve thrown it in my bag while running out the door, stuck it in my pockets while running, and dropped it on the counter while cooking. I need a phone that can take a little bit of a beating. I’m not sure Apple’s thinnest model ever will be able to withstand all that, despite the company calling it its “most durable design.”
I have precedent to back up my concerns. When Apple released the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2014, the thinnest Apple models ever made, early adopters reported that the device would bend when they were kept in their pockets — a phenomenon known as Bendgate. Apple said it only happened to a few iPhone owners at the time, but history tends to repeat itself.
Read more: iPhone Air: Previous Apple’s thinnest phone is live. Save up to $1,000
“The iPhone 17 Air is an impressive feat of engineering, and Apple went into great detail with the design of the device. Given the challenges faced by the iPhone 6 Plus, resulting in the ‘Bendgate’ controversy, Apple clearly wants to put minds at ease,” said Ben Wood, analyst at CCS Insight.
Perhaps Apple’s presentation would have eased my concerns about the iPhone’s air-tightness if it had mentioned something practical about its testing and development beyond the marketing fluff. If a company wants us to spend a thousand dollars on a new iPhone in this economy, we deserve to know that it won’t bend or break after a few uses. (Luckily for us, CNET plans to test that soon.)
I appreciate what Apple is trying to do, and I’m sure the iPhone Air will appeal to some folks who want a lighter device. But thinner isn’t always better.
To learn more, check out everything Apple announced at the iPhone 17 event.
