iPhone Air road trip review — the good, bad and deal breakers

It's gorgeous and hypnotic, but is it a case of style over substance…there was only one way to find out, and that was to take it on a two-day road trip

The iPhone Air sure isn't for everyone, but I can guarantee you this — if it starts to tick your boxes, then it'll consume you…and fast!

The fact that it's unique, quirky and divisive, I like, and I also like that Apple is back in the risk game business and not just ticking boxes. Much like the Vision Pro, I'm sure Apple is aware that it may not sell in great numbers, but they still went ahead and made the thing anyway, and that is to be applauded.

To that point, the iPhone 17 Pro & Pro Max were rare as a hens' tooth over the launch weekend, whereas the iPhone Air was available in all colours and storage configs.

But sometimes, there are those occasions when the numbers don't tell the whole story.

It's easy to get lazy and flabby when it comes to reviewing a new iPhone. It's all too easy to sit in the same chair, talking to the same camera. It can become a case of rinse and repeat. So this past week, I broke the mould and decided to take the iPhone Air on a two-day road trip to find out what it was really all about.

Buckle up….

iPhone Air — hold it to believe it

Pairing the iPhone Air up with CarPlay was easy enough, but the new look CarPlay that comes packed with iOS 26 makes it not only a joy to use, but it's both more practical and visually interesting to use as well.

I set off with the iPhone Air almost fully charged (it was at 93%) at around 11 am, as I knew it was going to be a full-on and long day ahead. The plan was simple: to hammer the iPhone Air as hard as I could to see if I could find out first-hand what the truth was about the battery life on this ultra-thin device, and also find out if it was possible to live without the extra telephoto lens or not.

I know this is going to sound too obvious for words, but geez, it's thin! I thought I was prepared for how it would feel. I've been hands-on with Samsung's S25 Edge in the summer, I'd had a dummy unit of the Air in the studio for a month or so, and I've been using the equally thin M4 iPad Pro for over a year now.

But even with all that prior knowledge, somehow none of it helped at all. In the hand, this iPhone Air is gorgeous. You simply don't want to put it down. It's mesmerising. Yes, initially, there is a part of you that thinks you're going to break it in two, but once you get past that, you just want to fiddle with it all the time.

I wonder if that tactility may become a problem for it. With its always on display and that lust to hold and fiddle and fidget with it, I wonder if that might play havoc with the overall screen on time and battery life.

Of course, the iPhone Air is eSIM only. Now, I'd built this up into quite a 'thing' in my mind over the past few weeks, knowing that I would have to swap from a physical SIM to an eSIM for this phone.

The iPhone Air doesn't have my main SIM in it, so I dummied that first. Geez, what had I been so scared about? It was so easy. If you haven't done it yet, it all happens in the setup stage, and it's over in the blink of an eye. What it's like to move between phones, I don't yet know, but we'll worry about that another day.

I believe that to some extent it depends on who your provider is, but in my experience, both were quick. For context, my iPhone Air is with Vodafone, and my iPhone Max is with EE.

Both swaps were done in a matter of moments.

The need for strength

As much as I miss the titanium frame on my Pro Max, I adore it on the iPhone Air.

As I mentioned a moment ago, there is this almost inbred feeling that you're going to break this phone simply by holding it, but that is where you have to put your faith in science.

That polished titanium frame isn't just there for aesthetics, it's also a damn sight stronger than aluminium or stainless steel. I know it may not be as good when it comes to heat management, but this iPhone Air needs strength. Not only is it strong, though, in the two days I was using it as my main device, it felt incredibly grippy as well because of those titanium edges.

As much as the design is a massive win that has a wow factor to it that's hard to get across, the colours don't get such a strong reaction. I remember Friday night when I first took it out, checking on the box that it was in fact, blue!

It is so insipid. At best, it's a pale or duck egg blue, and at its worst, it could be called a mucky off-white. The Pro phones this year have got the strong colours, while the Air is left with these wishy-washy colours.

Before going headlong into the battery story, let me also mention that the C1X modem chip that Apple has packed inside these phones continues to impress. The first iteration of it won me over earlier in the summer with the iPhone 16e, but it's even better now with this second stab at it.

On this road trip, I had to pull over at the services, which gave me a chance to call from the same spot from two phones with different modems — and one of the phones, let's not forget, is £200 more expensive as well.

There was no denying that the calls made from the iPhone Air were clearer, had fewer dropouts and simply had cleaner audio. I don't know how long it will be until Apple feels comfortable bringing their own modems to the flagship handsets, but from my point of view, the sooner the better.

Part of the win for the C1X modem is how power-efficient it seems to be, which segues me neatly on to the battery life.

iPhone Air and its battery

Setting out, I knew I'd be using the phone in the car for satnav, streaming and making calls.

Once in Birmingham, not knowing the area, I'd carry on using it for satnav to find my way around the city too. My first stop was at a service station about 70 minutes into my journey, and in that time, I had used only 10%. Another hour on and the iPhone Air had still only used a further 10%.

So in a little over two hours of continued screen-on use, I'd only used 20% of the battery, which impressed me.

By the end of an eight-hour day, when I had used the phone 75% more than usual and with 4 hours of screen-on-time, I still had 22% of charge left. That surprised me. I had honestly set out fearing the worst, but the iPhone Air had over-delivered.

First blood to the iPhone Air.

The camera dilemma

Firstly, let's just acknowledge that the improvements to the front-facing 18MP centre stage camera mark the first meaningful and thoughtful improvements to pretty much any selfie camera in over a decade.

This shows Apple at its best. Innovation is once again at the forefront of their design language. While I may not use either the front camera or the new centre stage toys all that often, for many of the folks who'll be buying this phone, those tweaks will matter.

Now, on to that elephant in the room — there is only one camera. Can this honestly be considered a serious contender as your only device if there is only a single camera?

I spent a solid day-and-a-half shooting, and I have no complaints. Look, this phone is not trying to pretend to be a professional camera replacement. The kind of people who will be buying this phone are the point-and-shoot brigade. They'll just want memories and be able to capture moments.

And for that, the 48MP Fusion camera setup that this iPhone Air has is more than man enough for the job. I was quite happy shooting with the cameras I had and never felt that I was ill-equipped to grab a bucket load of memories from my day in Birmingham.

Like the single speaker, which is more than good enough for occasionally listening to music in the shower room, by the way, quality matters just as much, if not more than quantity.

Again, like the speaker, Apple is known to be right up there with the best when it comes to the quality of the cameras they put in their phones and speakers. It's been part of their DNA for years at this point.

Apple has got a pretty good idea of who this phone is for, and from what I've seen, they've pretty much nailed it with the iPhone Air.

Who is the Air for

I'd say it would suit more folks than we at first thought it might.

An eight-hour battery life, with 4 hours screen-on time, is more than passable. The single speaker isn't a problem, as for most of the time this phone will be used with AirPods anyway — side note…AirPods Pro 3 are mighty impressive.

The display is typically Apple, and by that I mean punchy, crisp, sharp and vibrant and bright too. That 3000 nits of brightness means it held up well to being used in direct sunshine.

And then of course, there is the camera. I know the resolution won't be great in what you are seeing here, but trust me, as a phone that is so light you barely know it's with you, it does the job plenty well enough.

The only user complaint I had was that because the phone is so slim, I continually triggered the camera control button. The button is the depth of the phone, which means there is nowhere else for your thumb to rest. It's spot on in the right place, but because Apple is teasing us to use the phone more and more in portrait mode, I found it awkward to avoid.

The iPhone Air turned out not to be a case of style over substance that, at first, I had feared it might be. Sure, it's pretty as heck and is a thing of beauty. If you like pretty, stylish things, then you'll love this phone.

But don't judge a book by its cover! This iPhone Air, pretty as it is, is also damned good at what it does.

And one of the best things is, it's not trying or pretending to be something it's not!

The iPhone Air may not be for everyone, but it could very well be for you.

Originally published at https://talkingtechandaudio.com on September 25, 2025.