431: ‘Iconic Pig Lipstick’, With John Moltz

Quick personal note up front: thank you for the hundreds of kind emails. It’s peak iPhone season, but family comes first, so I’m fitting work in where I can, including this show.

I’m flipping the script this year and talking through the new phones before my review lands. I lived on iPhone Air most of the month, then switched to iPhone 17 Pro; no Max for me.

About that name: the Air skips a number and its model identifier hints at a different cadence. Folks keep tying it to a future foldable, but after daily use I think Air stands on its own—Apple just keeps chasing thin.

Apple’s widening the lineup without making it messy. E gets numbers now, Air does not, but the tiers make sense in a Mac‑like way, which is a much cleaner story than the iPad muddle a few years back.

Air battery life surprised me: all‑day even on phone‑heavy days, and I rarely needed the Air battery pack. If you shoot tons of video or game hard, you’ll still want extra juice.

Fun flexes: Apple shot Friday Night Baseball with iPhone 17 Pro, and the September event was filmed on this year’s Pros running iOS twenty‑six betas.

Air’s big tradeoff is one rear lens, which many people never switch away from anyway—and thinness is a real wow in hand and in jeans pockets. I’m genuinely tempted, but I use telephoto enough that I’ll probably stick with Pro.

You still get a two times crop on the main sensor, but no ultra‑wide means no macro. The Air’s main lens does focus closer than Pro—about fifteen centimeters versus twenty—which is handier than macro for quick close‑text shots.

The Air battery pack and bumper case are exquisitely matched, and Apple’s magnets still beat third‑party packs that twist loose. The pack really only fits Air properly; sideways charging works in a pinch on other phones.

The regular iPhone 17 is a sweet upgrade—mine’s the sage one—but there’s an ugly CarPlay crash likely tied to the new Wi‑Fi silicon, so a fix should come. Storage tiers got smarter too: base models start at two‑fifty‑six for the same prices, while Pro dropped the one‑twenty‑eight rung, which cleans up the ladder.

Some people notice refresh rates instantly; I barely do. The 17’s screen grows a hair to six‑point‑three inches and feels fine in pocket.

Air only comes in one size that lands between regular and Max; they shaved the thickness and bought back battery by going a bit wider and taller, with more of the computer living in that top ridge Apple now calls a camera plateau.

Aesthetic note: the 17’s vertical dual cameras give off a pleasing Star Wars‑droid vibe and look nicer than the Pro’s triangle.

Quick Star Wars detour: Andor season two starts slow, finishes strong, pairs beautifully with Rogue One, and I still wanted more K‑2SO while loving B‑2EMO.

On the 17 Pro, coming from Air it feels denser, and the full‑width camera ridge oddly helps grip and gives it a serious‑tool vibe. The unibody metal back with a glass charge window practically begs for a new MagSafe pack, because the old ones do not fit around these ridges.

The new four times telephoto is the best yet, the eight times crop holds up, and low‑light performance takes a real step forward.

I’ve got to keep this one tight: thanks for listening and for the kind notes. I’m okay and my family’s okay; my attention will be split for a few weeks, it’s private, and it’s trending the right way.