In this video I’m comparing the iPhone 17 vs the iPhone Air after using both phones side-by-side, and I’ll just say it up front: this year’s iPhone 17 series is the best Apple has ever made, bar none. The Air is an absolute joy to use, and the first thing you notice is the design—this thing is crazy thin. In-hand, it gives you that “holy smokes” feeling, especially if you’re coming from a Pro Max or a bigger Android phone. The iPhone 17 still has my favorite overall iPhone design though, with the perfect weight, great thinness for a normal phone, and that sage green color is a straight showstopper. I break down the real-world stuff that actually matters: signal strength, display, battery, speakers, and cameras. The Air’s C1X modem is gamechanging for connectivity—faster speeds and better signal than the standard iPhone 17 in my testing—while day-to-day performance feels basically identical between them. Battery life ended up being a wash for me (full-day use on both), but the iPhone 17 absolutely destroys the Air in speaker quality since the Air’s single-speaker setup makes videos sound weird. Camera-wise, both share the same main 48MP lens, but the iPhone 17 wins with the extra 48MP ultrawide and 4K cinematic video. For me, I’m sticking with the iPhone 17—it’s the better overall package and it saves me $200.