iPhone 17 Pro

So — about three months after swapping my base model iPhone 17 for an iPhone Air, I’ve decided my little experiment is over.

I still love how the Air feels in-hand. I use it caseless and have had zero issues with drops or general comfort. Buuuuuut some of the things I originally had reservations about have started to surface and made me rethink the decision.

First: the camera. I didn’t use the ultra wide — or even the telephoto on the 16 Pro — all that often, but I did rely on both in specific situations. There have been multiple times now where I genuinely missed having either.

Second: the battery. On lighter days it usually gets me through just fine, but on heavier-use days the battery life kind of sucks. It becomes a problem if I don’t have my external battery pack with me.

I went back and forth on whether to return to the iPhone 17 or jump to the Pro, so I stopped by the store to spend some time with both. Since I’d just gotten my end-of-year bonus and had some extra cash, I went with the Deep Blue iPhone 17 Pro.

Back in September, I was convinced I wouldn’t miss the Pro cameras. I was wrong. I should’ve just stuck with the Pro like I always have and skipped all of this nonsense.

Oh well. Lesson learned.