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

Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply

One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.

On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.

You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.

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Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.

«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»

How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook

According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:

Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
Use filters for job type, category and distance.
Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.

Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.

The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.

Technologies

Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost

The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.