Live data from Hacker News

iPhone Air

apple.com

931–940 of 1001 posts

Re: iPhone Air

#931
post #167

"Impossibly thin" is right in line with Patrick McGee's "Apple in China" who argues that the main reason for Apple's designs is to keep imitators at bay by introducing manufacturing challenges that only they can meet. Indeed impossible at the time of release. One generation after the other. He estimates this gains them about 6 months of headway. Tough world. (Yes, to be fair, there is more to this new phone than just…

If your "impossible" designs are manufactured by non-exclusive suppliers it isn't much of a moat.

Re: iPhone Air

#932
Obviously, the next move is to build and sell the new iPhone Air 2 which has a two-day battery and improved camera system.

Re: iPhone Air

#933

When a phone costs north of 1000USD something is terribly wrong. 99% of "modern" phone use is basically (doom) scrolling, browsing the web, using core apps (like maps) for directions, taking pictures and finally communicating with whatsapp and making the odd/rare old school phone call. This should not require spending 1000-1500USD on a phone. Im doing all of the above with a iPhone SE for what i paid like 300-350USD…

As you point out, it doesn't require it.

Your comment is like complaining about luxury handbags when cheap ones exist too.

I don't know what you're suggesting. Companies shouldn't make expensive versions of things even when there are consumers who want to buy them?

You should also realize that it's people buying the expensive versions of things that helps subsidize the cheaper ones made by the same company. And it's the quality Apple is providing that even makes a secondhand market viable, because their devices last much more than other brands.

Re: iPhone Air

#935

I want an extra thick model instead, let’s call it iPhone Travel (or Ultra?). Just thick enough so the cameras are no longer sticking out. Give me an all-week battery instead of an all-day one. Slim down the power usage and give a power saver mode that actually does make a difference. Let me go on a weekend trip in nature or festival without having to carry extra hardware or having to look for public charging station…

Personally, I really like being able to use lightweight MagSafe batteries instead of having a thicker iPhone. I used to agree with you, but the tech has gotten ridiculously good the last couple of years. With something like https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HRY02LL/A/anker-maggo-pow... , you get a magsafe battery that doubles the life of an iPhone and can be independently recharged, and is so slim that I can put it…

But that’s not like it’s an extra battery, it’s a gizmo that charges your original battery all the time, isn’t it? So technically it doesn’t make your battery bigger, but akin to keeping your phone on charge all the time. I expect it would just help you destroy that original battery, that is difficult and expensive to replace. Add some extra marketing, let them believe it’s some magical device, and kindly push them into buying a new phone when their battery dead.

I want a think iPhone with week-long battery life and the battery being easily serviceable, replaceable and ideally some unified standard one that I can buy from any decent vendor. That would be great to have. I hope we’ll come there eventually, since today phones could serve till they physically dead. If you make batteries easily serviceable, plus no software cripple with planned obsolescence.

Re: iPhone Air

#936

When a phone costs north of 1000USD something is terribly wrong. 99% of "modern" phone use is basically (doom) scrolling, browsing the web, using core apps (like maps) for directions, taking pictures and finally communicating with whatsapp and making the odd/rare old school phone call. This should not require spending 1000-1500USD on a phone. Im doing all of the above with a iPhone SE for what i paid like 300-350USD…

In Turkey, iPhone Pro 17 costs $2,610, yet there are still queues outside Apple stores. Considering that the average income is much lower than in the United States, people are still willing to pay more for this phone than you might expect.

Re: iPhone Air

#937
post #530

I want an extra thick model instead, let’s call it iPhone Travel (or Ultra?). Just thick enough so the cameras are no longer sticking out. Give me an all-week battery instead of an all-day one. Slim down the power usage and give a power saver mode that actually does make a difference. Let me go on a weekend trip in nature or festival without having to carry extra hardware or having to look for public charging station…

Back when replaceable batteries were a thing I got this beast for my Galaxy Note 4 - https://blog.gsmarena.com/zerolemon-offers-10000mah-extended... ... it was ridiculous but awesome.

Oh wow, so cool! Do you have some blog posts about that, YouTube videos, any line of journaling? Would love to learn about that experience.

Re: iPhone Air

#938

“Thinnest” should be measured by the thickest slice for a given dimension. I have an iPhone 11 which also has a camera bump and the experience of typing while the phone is on a flat surface is laughably annoying. For a company that prides itself on design aesthetics, it is honestly an embarrassing miss.

Apple doesn't advertise this as the intent, but until the Air I felt that the Phone+Case combo is the complete phone, as it is intended to be used. Add any of Apple's official cases, leather, silicone, whatever, and that's the official "thickness" of the phone. The cameras are recessed, the front display is recessed, the whole phone is wrapped in leather and further customized to your style.

Now the Air has a bump that is so big no case can hide it without also being unreasonably thicc, breaking the trend. I wonder what a case mfg could stuff into the awkward space on the peninsula where the camera is missing so the case provides a uniform surface when laying flat, even if that means a bigger bump on the top when cased. The phone would have a natural angle towards the user, that's kinda nice. Maybe a little bluetooth speaker setup so owners of the Air can more efficiently irritate their fellow passengers.

Re: iPhone Air

#939

I have an iPhone 13 mini, just replaced the battery. If you want my money, give me an iPhone 17 mini with small width and height, I don't care about it being thinner like the Air. Also, no AI ruining the image quality of the expensive camera. I saw examples of a consumer-grade digital camera vs an iPhone 16 and the latter introduced "hotdog skin" effect and other effects that made the photos look over-processed.

I’d recommend Halide for the AI-free photography. Hiccups here and there, but getting pixels straight off the sensor is amazing.

A $60 camera app is absolutely wild.

Re: iPhone Air

#940

I want an extra thick model instead, let’s call it iPhone Travel (or Ultra?). Just thick enough so the cameras are no longer sticking out. Give me an all-week battery instead of an all-day one. Slim down the power usage and give a power saver mode that actually does make a difference. Let me go on a weekend trip in nature or festival without having to carry extra hardware or having to look for public charging station…

I use a battery case, it is amazing. Gives the phone some weight and 2 days battery.
Post reply on HN