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iPhone Air not a hit [1]

['Rob Beschizza']

Date: 2025-11-14  

The Wall Street Journal reports that the iPhone Air is a flop despite positive coverage and reviews.

The Air is billed as Apple's thinnest smartphone yet. Just one in 10 iPhone 17 buyers in the U.S. opted for it in the early weeks of sales, according to one consumer survey. Some users have complained online about the Air's weaker camera, sound quality, battery and price tag. Other iPhone 17s have been back-ordered up to three weeks while the Air is available right away, according to Apple's website.

The single camera seems to be a particular pain point; John Gruber points out that it's actually a good camera. But users are now accustomed to phones auto-switching to telephoto lenses and such, so find themselves annoyed by shots taken from afar. This reminded me of a scene from the Red Dwarf episode "D.N.A," where a robot is given a human body and must have its limitations explained to him.



Kryten: My optical system doesn't appear to have a zoom function.

Lister: Human eyes don't have a zoom.

Kryten: Well then, how do you bring a small object into sharp focus?

Lister: Well, you just move your head closer to the object.

Kryten: I see. Move your head … closer, hmm, to the object. All right, okay. Well, what about other optical effects, like split screen, slow motion?

Lister: No. We don't have them.

Kryten: You don't have them – just the zoom? Hmm. Well, no, that's fine, that's great, no, no, that's really great, that's great. Now then, my nipples don't work.

It's interesting that Apple keeps making a smaller iPhone and getting it "wrong," when it got it so right the first time.

Previously: Clever DIY trick transforms iPhone MagSafe gear for Steam Deck use

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