The Info‘s Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu as we speak revealed an in-depth report concerning the “iPhone 17 Air,” revealing a number of new particulars concerning the system.
The report stated prototypes of the system have a thickness of between 5mm and 6mm, which might make it the thinnest iPhone ever. Compared, iPhone 16 fashions are 7.8mm thick and iPhone 16 Professional fashions are 8.25mm thick.
As a consequence of this ultra-thin design, some design compromises are essential.
The system at the moment lacks a bodily SIM card tray, the report stated, however the design isn’t but finalized. This implies the system might rely completely on eSIM expertise. Within the U.S., all iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 fashions lack a bodily SIM card tray already, however all iPhones offered in different international locations nonetheless have one for now.
The system is claimed to have solely a single speaker, within the earpiece, as there may be apparently not sufficient room for a second speaker on the underside edge.
As beforehand rumored, the “iPhone 17 Air” is predicted to be outfitted with an Apple-designed 5G modem that’s smaller and extra energy environment friendly than Qualcomm modems utilized in present iPhones. Nevertheless, the report stated that Apple’s modem will lack ultra-fast mmWave 5G assist, and have slower total mobile information speeds in comparison with the Qualcomm modems.
Unsurprisingly, the system can even have a “smaller battery” than present iPhones, but it surely stays to be seen how battery life finally compares.
One closing compromise pertains to cameras. The report stated the “iPhone 17 Air” at the moment has a “massive, centered digicam bump on its again” with a single digicam, whereas iPhone 16 fashions have two to a few rear cameras.
The system is claimed to be in early manufacturing trials at Foxconn. Apple is outwardly struggling to suit an sufficient battery and another elements into the ultra-thin chassis, but it surely nonetheless has time to beat these challenges.
Beforehand-rumored options for the “iPhone 17 Air” embody a 6.6-inch show, aluminum body, A19 chip, Face ID, Dynamic Island, single 48-megapixel rear digicam, 24-megapixel entrance digicam, and 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence.
The system ought to launch in September 2025 alongside the usual iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Professional fashions, with no iPhone 17 Plus anticipated. The report stated the iPhone 17 Professional fashions will characteristic an aluminum body, an oblong rear digicam bump, and extra.
