As a big fan of the iPad Air, Apple's iPhone Air is a pretty striking idea. The smartphone formula has been shrunk to its lowest possible design, giving you great performance at a fraction of the width. It's a thin, lightweight chassis for a powerful beast, ready for gaming, and you can grab an iPhone Air for completely free (or ridiculously cheap) with Verizon right now.
While I think the 17 Pro Max might be one of the best gaming phones on the market right now, the Apple iPhone Air has plenty of reasons to choose it over the flagship model. Of course, that's mainly how thin the design is, making it easy to hold for long sessions of playing the best mobile games, or of course, boasting about it to your friends who are all with unwieldy big smartphones.
It finds a balance between the power of the best iPhone for games and the luxury of having something that feels extremely light. That does come with some caveats, including a weaker camera, a smaller battery, and some smaller changes compared to the 17 Pro, but it's also sleek and gorgeous and still sports that powerful A19 Pro chipset that the most premium phones from the iPhone 17 family come with.
Even though I'm a fan of large, unruly phones (as you may tell from my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review or my iPhone 17 Pro Max review), the iPhone Air manages to find a brilliant middle ground, with a 6.5-inch AMOLED display that's gorgeous and vibrant, while not struggling under its own weight. The Pro Max build isn't too hefty for me, but I can see why the Air is more appealing to others for that reason alone.
Of course, the price is a little high - that's unsurprising, considering that Apple puts it up next to the Pro models. However, you can grab a free iPhone Air with Verizon when trading in your old device with the Verizon Unlimited plan. However, even if you don't have an old device to send to Verizon, you can get it for just $4.99 per month with your contract. That's an excellent price for a new phone.
Is there any better feeling than scoring a new phone to unwrap and play the best Apple Arcade games on? Yes, and that's getting it for nothing. Make sure to grab one of the best mobile controllers with your savings, and you'll easily turn this solid device into a handheld console.