I spent time slinging all four of the new iPhones together, and for the first time in recent years my buying advice flips the typical script. The base model is no longer the go-to “budget” option, the ultra‑thin model is a thrill so long as you can stomach some caveats, finally fixing two major issues that annoyed power users. Here’s the clear advice I wish someone had given me before I threw one in my bag.
The standard model is the sleeper hit of this year
The iPhone for the common man has reached a tipping point. The screen size jumps to 6.3 inches with narrower bezels, while the display tech is boosted to 120Hz ProMotion, featuring an anti‑reflective layer along with a pro‑grade always‑on mode and a quoted peak brightness of 3000 nits. That’s pro‑grade on paper, and in the hand it feels it: buttery scrolling, better outdoor readability, and fewer glare‑induced contortions needed to frame a shot.
The camera system is also bumped: twin 48MP sensors (main and ultrawide) and a new 24MP rectangular front‑facing camera that automatically reframes to portrait or landscape without you needing to rotate the phone. The auto‑orientation and face detection worked the way that such invisible assistance in good computational photography is supposed to: Magic, not magic.
Value is the clincher. The base model stays at $799, but now comes with 256GB—another way of saying it’s a $100 better deal than an equivalent config last year. At the opposite end of the spectrum, base models of top Android competitors such as Google’s Pixel and Samsung’s Galaxy flagship families still launch at 128GB at this same price tier. If you didn’t splurge for the telephoto lens on your previous Pro, chances are you won’t feel much of a difference here—and will gain a smoother, brighter screen and a smarter selfie setup at that.
Who can buy it: Upgraders from an iPhone 13 Pro or 14 Pro who don’t rely on long zoom, and people who want premium essentials without venturing into four‑figure territory.
iPhone Air: Impressive design with intentional trade-offs
The Air is the one that will make your brain double‑take. It’s so thin and light it feels like a concept device straight out of the lab—basically, it’s about as wide as a USB‑C port. If you find industrial design joyful, this is the phone that’s going to prompt it.
But engineering is about trade‑offs. The Air’s battery life and camera system don’t quite measure up to the standard model, and that will matter if you shoot a lot or demand a lot from your phone all day long. Consider it a technology showcase that foreshadows a new class of devices, and not so much a flagship with no‑compromises.
Who’s it for: The early adopters who prioritize design minimalism and pocketability over endurance and camera range. If you regularly get more than four hours of screen‑on time, look elsewhere.
Pro and Pro Max: real fixes for heat and zoom performance
For the past two cycles, those Pro Max models were great cameras hobbled by two nitpicky problems: they got too warm when taxed, and long‑range zoom didn’t equal the main sensor in quality.
This year, Apple tackles both.
Thermals first. The Pros go from titanium back to aluminum and add a vapor chamber to help dissipate heat from the new A‑series chip. The reason for that material switch? It’s not just cosmetic: Material data from the likes of ASM International suggest aluminum has a thermal conductivity of around 205 W/m·K, whereas titanium is roughly one order of magnitude less at about 20 W/m·K—meaning it dissipates heat much quicker. The new Pros felt noticeably cooler in hand while firing off bursts of 4K video and navigating in a crowded downtown.
Zoom gets a serious rethink. The tele module switches to a 48MP sensor with a native 4x focal length coming in at 12MP, now able to crop out at an 8x zoom level, which Apple calls “optical quality.” While you should never believe the marketing (or treat a phone‑better‑than‑DSLR theory as more than an idol to be worshipped with a sacrifice of goats at the full moon), the sample shots I brought home had cleaner detail, better color match to take alongside main camera photos, and much more editing latitude than anything I’ve gotten from the iPhone zoom. It finally feels like it’s usable for more than sharing things socially.
As always, the Pro and Pro Max are identical phones in two sizes—6.3 inches and 6.9 inches, respectively—with the Max scoring you more screen real estate and a bit of battery headroom. It’s worth it if you shoot a lot, for the larger canvas and extra stamina.
Clear buying guidelines for this year, not last year’s advice
For most folks: purchase the base model. It gives you a healthy mix of performance, display tech, and cameras at a price that undercuts the “Pro” experience from last year—particularly with that 256GB minimum. It’s a kind of middle‑of‑the‑road value in the lineup.
For creators and power users: Pro Max if you care about sustained performance, battery life, and long zoom that finally holds up in editing. Only if you really want that compact sensation should you pick the smaller Pro.
For design‑first early adopters: the Air will make you happy every time you reach for it, but understand that there are compromises. If longevity matters and you care about camera flexibility, the standard one is in fact the smarter “thin‑and‑light” play.
One more thing: For recent Pro Max buyers whose matching‑camera images were overly soft, or those who saw overheating warnings with 4K video streams (me, though I was testing a preproduction software build), this is the rare year where you have justification to upgrade early. Trade‑in trackers from the likes of Counterpoint Research consistently indicate that big‑screen flagships maintain a higher resale value, potentially taking some sting out of the cost to upgrade and making the leap easier to stomach.
The bottom line: Apple disseminated substantial improvements across the lineup, but the story is no longer “Pro or bust.” The standard model is the default, the Air is a lovely niche, and the Pros are purpose‑built tools for those who will use that headroom again. Choose the one that works for your real life—not the one that suits the old hierarchy.
