USB 2 Transfer Speeds

Another Pro-exclusive feature the iPhone Air misses out on is the faster USB 3 transfer speeds that Apple brought to the iPhone 15 Pro lineup two years ago. The iPhone Air still sports only a USB 2.0 USB-C port.

In practical terms, that means your transfer rates will be capped at 480 Mbps, versus the 10 Gbps offered by the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple clearly considers this a “Pro” feature, aimed at those who are using the iPhone in cinematography or to shoot higher-resolution RAW photos, which can be huge and therefore benefit from the faster transfer speeds.

This won’t have a significant impact for most folks, as it only applies to transferring large amounts of data between your iPhone and your Mac or PC. Still, it’s something to keep in mind if you prefer to back up your iPhone and transfer your photos over a wired connection instead of relying on iCloud or another cloud-based service.