Apple is broadly anticipated to make a giant change to its iPhone lineup subsequent 12 months. The iPhone 17 collection ought to nonetheless embody 4 telephones, however the Plus mannequin goes away. Changing the Plus is an ultra-slim iPhone that ought to have across the similar measurement display screen because the Plus. We’ve been calling it the iPhone 17 Air. Whereas the title would match the brand new type issue, it’s not official.
Apple is alleged to be contemplating making all its merchandise thinner, not simply the iPhone. We noticed this occur with the M4 iPad Professional and Apple Watch Sequence 10 earlier this 12 months. The iPhone 17 Air ought to comply with subsequent 12 months. Thinner MacBooks are reportedly additionally within the works.
The latest iPhone 17 Air tidbit comes from well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He stated the iPhone 17 Air will likely be one of many two drivers of iPhone gross sales progress subsequent 12 months. The opposite? A extra mature Apple Intelligence software program bundle that helps Apple’s AI catch as much as rivals.
Most of Kuo’s particulars about unreleased Apple merchandise come from his entry to provide chain data. His new replace on Medium is an evaluation of Sunny Optical’s Apple progress drivers in 2025 and 2026.
The digital camera lens provider is anticipating vital gross sales progress in 2025, because of Apple. Kuo says 2025 iPhone shipments ought to develop by 5% to 230 million models subsequent 12 months. The iPhone 17 Air and Apple Intelligence would be the major drivers of that progress:
Lens Provide Allocation to Rebound Considerably from ~5% in 2024 to fifteen–20% in 2025
Sunny Optical’s Apple lens orders are progressively recovering from 2H24, with an estimated market share of about 5% in 2024. This shift is mirrored in vital inventory value corrections amongst Sunny’s rivals, indicating the market is already pricing on this shift. Looking forward to 2025, benefiting from the ultra-slim iPhone 17 and extra mature Apple Intelligence, 2025 iPhone shipments are anticipated to develop by about 5% to 230 million models, additional boosting the impression of Sunny Optical’s market share restoration.
Whereas Kuo doesn’t supply new particulars in regards to the iPhone 17 Air, he mentions an ultra-slim iPhone 17 mannequin. This means Apple hasn’t deserted the concept of launching a thinner cellphone as quickly as subsequent 12 months. And keep in mind that Apple surprisingly already teased subsequent 12 months’s iPhone lineup in a uncommon comment about unannounced merchandise.
Apple often refrains from discussing merchandise in improvement. The teaser was present in an inner memo, however Apple memos leak on a regular basis. The iPhone 17 Air could be the one cause to tease an thrilling iPhone 17 lineup. In any other case, the 2025 iPhones could be largely the identical as this 12 months’s lineup.
A brand-new design could be what Apple wants to enhance gross sales. I’m already thrilled in regards to the prospect of upgrading to a thinner iPhone, even when meaning dropping out on sure options.
A wide range of studies from Korea have signaled that Samsung can also be going to launch a Galaxy S25 Slim within the second quarter of 2025 to compete with the iPhone 17 Air. After recycling the identical designs for the Galaxy S and Galaxy Z flagships launched lately, Samsung additionally wants one thing contemporary.
This provides additional credence to rumors that Apple is making an ultra-slim iPhone. Apple doing one thing new is at all times an amazing incentive for Samsung to comply with swimsuit.
