Maybe I’m just out of touch, but I don’t understand who this is for, and I think it’s going to flop.

First of all…who is asking for thinner phones?

Secondly, the price. This is not an Air SE. This thing is only $100 less than a full-fat iPhone Pro, and $200 more than iPhone base (which is a particularly good value this year).

And what do you get for that price?

  • 2 fewer lenses than the pro, and 1 fewer than the base
  • Titanium frame, I guess?
  • Less powerful processor than the base
  • Inherently more fragile frame
  • Less battery life than even the base model (this was often cited as the shortcoming of the iphone Mini)
  • Slower charging speed than both models
  • no cinematic video mode

Are people really clamoring for thinner phones so badly that they’ll spend more money for less features?

https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone-17-pro%2Ciphone-air%2Ciphone-17

    • Ulrich@feddit.orgOP
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      3 days ago

      It’s the same processor as the Pro but it doesn’t have the vapor chamber or aluminum chassis, and it has less thermal mass, which will inevitably cause thermal throttling and decreased performance.

      • blitzen@lemmy.ca
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        3 days ago

        And technically one fewer GPU core than the Pro phones. But you said compared to the base; while you’re right that the Air won’t match the Pro (owing in part to thermals), it’s not going to underperform the base 17.

        • Ulrich@feddit.orgOP
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          3 days ago

          it’s not going to underperform the base 17

          Disagree. Why wouldn’t it? They put a more powerful processor and then removed more of its capacity to dissipate heat.

          Can’t say anything for certain but it sure seems unlikely.