Technologies

The iPhone Air Reminds Me That I’m Just Not a Skinny Phone Girl

Commentary: Thin is not in for me.

One of the biggest announcements of Apple’s «awe dropping» special event takes up the smallest amount of space. After months of rumors, the company unveiled the iPhone Air, touted as the slimmest iPhone to date. At 5.6mm thin, it is also one of the slimmest phones in the world, measuring less than the 5.8mm Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

Despite its slender profile, the iPhone Air packs a punch. Its 6.5-inch display is slightly bigger than the 6.3-inch displays of the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro. It has a ProMotion display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a titanium design and Apple’s new high-end A19 Pro processor.

At $999, Apple is clearly positioning the iPhone Air as a stopgap between the $799 iPhone 17 and the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro. Yet, despite its features, I’m not vibing the iPhone Air. Here’s why.

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One rear camera is just not enough

Apple made some hardware trade-offs with the iPhone Air to slim down the device. The iPhone Air only has one rear camera instead of two, which is less than the baseline iPhone and would match the $599 iPhone 16E. It’s not a bad camera by any means; it has a 48-megapixel Fusion camera system that enables 28mm and 35mm focal lengths, as well as 2x telephoto shots.

Despite Apple’s claim that this single camera can do the work of two, I remain unconvinced.

Since 2017, I’ve had a dual-camera iPhone, and I don’t think I can go back to just a single lens now. I understand that the iPhone Air offers intelligent sensor cropping that mimics the look of a 2x zoom.

But in everyday use, I think I would miss the ultrawide camera, especially when taking macro shots. I take a lot of photos of food (don’t judge me), and it’s just something I’ve grown accustomed to. I’m not sure if a single-camera iPhone would get me the same level of detail, and it’s a compromise I’d rather not make just for a thinner shape.

Battery life concerns

The other major concern I have with the iPhone Air is its battery life. A potential major downside of a skinnier phone is a slightly smaller battery. According to Apple, the iPhone Air features advanced Apple silicon that delivers «all-day battery life.» The company also says that the Adaptive Power feature in iOS 26 could help adjust the iPhone’s performance based on usage patterns, thus conserving battery life.

Yet, none of that helps reduce my overall battery anxiety with a skinnier phone. I’m the kind of person who likes keeping my phone battery topped up as much as possible (even though I know that’s not always the best practice for battery longevity), and I would rather not carry around an extra power bank if it’s unnecessary.

For me, a slightly chunkier phone is worth the peace of mind of additional battery life. If the iPhone Air’s battery life is about the same as the baseline iPhone, then I might change my tune, but for now, color me skeptical.

The fact that Apple is already selling a slim MagSafe battery for $99 to accompany the iPhone Air is telling. That sort of kills the point of having a thin phone to begin with.

I’m just not a skinny phone girl

I’m sorry, but 5.6mm is just too thin. A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of playing around with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, and even that was too slight for my tastes. Skinny handsets seem much too fragile to me, even if they’re supposedly quite durable. I always feel like I’m about to snap it in half. On top of that, that big camera bump at the top of the iPhone Air just looks kinda ugly in contrast to the rest of the slim profile.

No matter how skinny a phone is, I tend to slap a case on it anyway, thus negating its slimness. I even add to my phone’s heft by attaching a PopSocket, which increases its thickness and provides me with an additional sense of security that the phone is not going to fly out of my hands. To be fair, I tend to carry my phone in a bag, not in a pants pocket, so I don’t feel the need for a thinner phone. Honestly, I’m not even sure if anyone even really asked for this.

It all comes down to price

The iPhone Air is priced at $999, which is more expensive than the $799 iPhone 17 and cheaper than the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro. Sure, the iPhone Air has a slightly bigger screen and a faster processor, but in almost every other respect, the base iPhone 17 is a better deal. It has two cameras versus one, a bigger battery and, again, is priced $200 less. It doesn’t make sense to me why I wouldn’t just get the basic model.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro is only $100 more but brings significant benefits, like a third camera and a much bigger battery. If you can afford it, the iPhone 17 Pro might actually be worth the higher price tag.

It does seem like the iPhone Air is Apple’s look into the future. It’s clearly setting the stage for a world where physical SIMs will be eliminated entirely, and it is potentially a harbinger of a folding iPhone.

But that doesn’t mean I need to buy into it, at least, not now.

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Technologies

Can’t Wait for New Emoji? Here’s How to Create Your Own on iPhone

Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones can create custom emoji in a few easy steps.

Apple brought new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26.4 on March 24. The new emoji include «🫍» orca, «🫪» distorted face and «🫈» hairy creature — or as we might normally call it, Sasquatch. According to Emojipedia, there are 3,953 emoji with more on the way, including a pickle. But there’s no emoji for a dog wearing pajamas, a plate with burgers and fries and many other things. But if you have Genmoji on your iPhone you can create these emoji and many more.

Apple released iOS 18.2 in 2024 and the company introduced its own emoji generator, called Genmoji, to Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones at that time. The Unicode Standard, a universal character encoding standard, is responsible for creating new emoji, and approved emoji are added to all devices once a year. With Genmoji, you don’t have to wait for new emoji to appear on your iPhone each year. You can just create them as you need them.

Read on to learn how to use Genmoji on iPhone to create your own custom emoji. Just note that only iPhones with Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 17 lineup, can use Genmoji at this time.

Note: The new emoji may not display correctly for Apple users whose devices aren’t on a 26.4 software version.

How to make custom emoji

1. Open Messages and go into a chat.
2. Tap the plus (+) button next to your text box.
3. Tap Genmoji.

You can then type a description of an emoji into the text box near the bottom of your screen and tap the check mark on your keyboard to enter that description into Genmoji. You can also tap different suggestions and themes that are right above the text box. And with iOS 26 or later, you can also combine and use emoji to create others rather than describing a new emoji or using suggestions.

Your iPhone will generate a series of new emoji for you to pick from according to your description, and you can swipe through these new emoji. When you find the one you want, tap Add in the top right corner of your screen and the new emoji will be available to use as an emoji, tapback or a sticker. Now you don’t have to wait for the Unicode Standard to propose, create and bring new emoji to devices.

For more iOS news, here’s what to know about iOS 26.4 and iOS 26.3. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet for other tips and tricks.

Technologies

Save Over 20% on This Handy 10,000-mAh Anker Nano Power Bank

Keep your devices charged on the go with this Anker Nano power bank, now down to just $46.

We’ve just spotted the Anker Nano 45-watt portable power bank for just $46 at Amazon right now. This saves you $14 — a 23% discount on its list price. Though it’s $6 more than the lowest-ever price we saw during Black Friday, it’s still a solid discount when you take the rising cost of tech accessories into account. It also matches the lowest price we’ve seen in 2026. It comes in four colors: black, green, pink and white. They’re all on sale for the same price.

This Anker Nano portable charger weighs approximately 8.2 ounces and measures a compact 3.21×1.99×1.42 inches. Despite its small size, it has a retractable cable and supports fast charging in compatible Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel and other smartphones. It also has a large 10,000-mAh capacity and a smart display so you always know how much juice is left in your power bank.

The Nano can charge an iPhone 17 to up to 50% battery in an estimated 20 minutes, and is powerful enough to charge tablets and laptops. Need to charge your devices while charging your power bank? You can do so safely thanks to pass-through charging so you’ll never have to go without battery life.

We’ve also compiled a list of the best power banks for iPhones and for Android, in case this deal isn’t quite a fit for you.

Why this deal matters

If you travel, have a long commute time or are otherwise always on the go, a portable charger can help you keep your devices fully powered. This 45-watt Anker Nano power bank is compact, includes a loop that lets you keep track of it easily and has a built-in cable so you don’t have to keep up with extra cords. Amazon’s $14 discount makes this a solid deal for anyone looking for a compact power bank.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, April 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hint: It uses a lot of the letter Z for some reason. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.