Joe Rossignol
Wayne Ma and Qian'er Liu of The Information published a detailed report on the “iPhone 17 Air” today, revealing several new details about the device.
The report says that prototypes of the device are between 5 and 6mm thick, making it the thinnest iPhone ever made. By comparison, the iPhone 16 models are 7.8mm thick, and the iPhone 16 Pro models are 8.25mm thick.
This super-thin design requires some design compromises.
The report says that the device currently does not have a physical SIM tray, but the design has not yet been finalized. This means that the device may rely entirely on eSIM technology. In the US, all iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 models no longer have a physical SIM tray, but all iPhones sold in other countries still have one.
The device is said to have only one speaker in the earpiece, as there is apparently not enough room for a second speaker on the bottom edge.
As previously speculated, the “iPhone 17 Air” will feature an Apple-designed 5G modem that is smaller and more power efficient than the Qualcomm modems used in current iPhones. However, the report says that Apple’s modem won’t support ultra-fast mmWave 5G and will have slower overall data speeds than Qualcomm’s modems.
Unsurprisingly, the device will also have a “smaller battery” than current iPhones, but it remains to be seen how battery life ultimately compares.
One final compromise concerns the cameras. The report says that the “iPhone 17 Air” currently has a “large, central camera bump on the back” with a single camera, while the iPhone 16 models have two to three rear cameras.
The device is reportedly in early production testing at Foxconn. Apple is apparently struggling to squeeze an adequate battery and a few other components into an ultra-thin body, but it still has time to overcome these issues.
Previously rumored “iPhone 17 Air” features include a 6.6-inch display, an aluminum frame, an A19 chip, Face ID, Dynamic Island, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, a 24-megapixel front camera, and 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence.
The device is set to launch in September 2025 alongside the standard iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, with an iPhone 17 Plus not expected. The report says the iPhone 17 Pro models will feature an aluminum frame, a rectangular rear camera bump, and more.
Related Review: iPhone 17Tag: The Information[ 136 comments ]
