iPhone 17 'Air' Expected to Be ~2mm Thinner Than iPhone 16 Pro

[lkrupp]

I’m thinking iPhones, and mobile phones in general, are already thin enough. Seems like they’d be easier to slip through one’s fingers.

Then there’s the 5G modem. Apple had better have its i’s dotted and its t’s crossed. Apple engineering and legal better have researched the hell out of this or a patent suit from Qualcomm is on its way for sure. Of course maybe Apple has decided to license Qualcomm’s instead of using their chips, if Qualcomm would even consider that.

 

[Steve Job's Cousin]

Of course it will "flop" and I'll probably own one. Everyone else seems to want Apple to make iPhone as if we were back in the USSR: one model for everyone, one simple name, function over form, and stand in line to get it.

It's not a conspiracy.

people just want bigger batteries instead of this dumb thin over anything fad that apple is seemingly drooling over.

 

[lkrupp]

Of course it will "flop" and I'll probably own one. Everyone else seems to want Apple to make iPhone as if we were back in the USSR: one model for everyone, one simple name, function over form, and stand in line to get it.

But, but, we’ve stood in line to get an iPhone for 17 years now. I’ve seen the pictures!

 

[klasma]

I’d understand if current iPhones were uncomfortably thick or heavy, but they aren’t.

They are, though.

 

[klasma]

Just complete conjecture, but it’s interesting that the rumors point to a thin iPhone while other rumors say a folding iPhone is in the works. Wouldn’t a folding iPhone have to be thinner? Meaning, is the thin iPhone the folding iPhone? Again, just conjecture.

Industry sources say the folding iPhone is for 2026 at the earliest. The 17 Air may be a test run for the thin casing though.

 

[chrisone]

if they also sell a case for this phone it’s a joke

 

[klasma]

If it’s going to be that thin, I think they’re going to need to use something stronger than aluminum. At the very least, reinforce the inside with steel or something. And if the body is longer than the iPhone 6, doesn’t that make it more prone to bending? More possible pressure points.

Nonsense. The M4 iPad Pro is significantly thinner than that at 5.1 mm and still quite robust.

 

[yeahmeknows]

Come on... who cares about how thin the phone is?
Thinness = Fragile. Which basically means, Apple gets you to purchase a new one more often.
Apple should focus on their OS stability and quality control more than "inventing" unnecessary "features".

 

[victorvictoria]

While I'm more inclined to get the 2025 SE, I think I'm going to hold off and see what the actual release version of this "Air" will look like, and hear some feedback about its battery life.

 

[knappeduivel]

I want to see this new iPhone. It’s going to be cool as hell.

Hell is cool now? I thought it was hot.

 

[AlexESP]

I remember that I didn’t read many complaints about the iPhone 4S being too thick and heavy. However, thinness and lightness became one of the main selling points of the iPhone 5. I think it’s one of those things people intuitively underestimate, but it really makes a difference in the day-to-day.

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

I don't know what the big deal is.

Apple is gimping a standard iPhone to make it thinner,..just so they can market "thinnest iPhone ever".

You can literally take any product, remove its features and call it "thinnest ever". Post Steve Jobs it's all about gifting Apple Stakeholders & screw the customer.

The assumptions that the average user in here makes are absurd.

As with Apple Silicon Macs, iPhone Air is obviously not going to be “gimped” as the smartphone market is long past small displays and batteries, and consumers prioritize display size and battery life over all other specs.

iPhone Air won’t quite have iPhone Pro specs. Maybe closer to mid tier than Pro. That much I can entertain.

But, as we saw with M4 iPads Pro and MacBooks Air M2/M3, and even Mac mini M4, iPhone Air will be Apple flexing on the rest of the industry by delivering market-leading performance and battery life in an increasingly thin and lightweight package.

No, buyers won’t go back on battery life, display size, or performance.

But Apple will make thin very hot again if they can successfully defy current conventions of “more size/weight = more performance” and offer the same great battery life and display size we’ve come to expect but just in a much slimmer and sleeker product.

iPhone Air will be a hit.

 

[WLS]

It's interesting. The 16 series is moving into more camera than phone territory. As an alternative choice I like it. I'm also interested in the new SE. More phone features less camera please. A sort of SE pro? iPhone 17 minus?

 

[Phineasgage1848]

Sounds cool as heck.

It's going to look better than «casual iPhone», feel nicer in your hands, won't be as noticeable in pockets, too. At some point in the future, this thinner model will become the casual iPhone, no matter what techie people on the forums might say ("b-but the battery?!")

And I'm all in for it.

You're right. Also the "no one wants a thinner phone" comments make the no sense when the Pros will still be around with more buttons and battery life. Apple pushing the design forward in the "air" while also offering the things people are used to is a good move. If they don't try to reduce the size and move the industry forward we'll all be stuck using the same phone size for 10 more years.

 

[childu]

In 2025, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the iPhone that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. This iPhone 17 "Air" will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick, so an iPhone 17 that is 2mm thinner would come in at around 6.25mm. At 6.25mm, the iPhone 17 Air would be Apple's thinnest iPhone to date. The thinnest iPhone we've seen so far was the iPhone 6, which measured in at 6.9mm. iPhones got thicker with the iPhone X and beyond, as Apple increased thickness to provide more space for the battery, camera lenses, Face ID hardware, and more.

Apple will equip the iPhone 17 Air with its own custom-designed 5G modem chip, and that chip is smaller than 5G modem chips from Qualcomm. Gurman says that Apple focused on making the chip more integrated with other Apple-designed components to save space within the iPhone, and that space savings is what allowed it to create the slimmed down iPhone 17 Air without sacrificing battery life, the camera, or the display quality.

Prior rumors have also suggested that the iPhone 17 Air will be somewhere between 5mm and 6mm thick, and the ~6mm thickness has now been proposed by multiple reliable sources. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to have a display that's around 6.6 inches in size, and it will also feature a single-lens rear camera.

The iPhone 17 Air will be one of three devices that are set to get a custom Apple modem chip in 2025, with Apple also bringing the chip to the iPhone SE early in the year and a low-cost iPad.

As Apple improves its modem chip design, the saved space could allow for "new designs" such as a foldable iPhone. According to Gurman, Apple is continuing to explore foldable iPhone technology. Apple is aiming to phase out Qualcomm modems across a three-year period as Apple introduces increasingly more powerful modem chips.

Eventually, Apple could debut a system-on-a-chip that includes a processor, modem, Wi-Fi chip, and other parts, which would save additional space and allow for tighter integration between hardware components.

Article Link: iPhone 17 'Air' Expected to Be ~2mm Thinner Than iPhone 16 Pro

5,4” screen and 6 mm thin would be the perfect choice !!

 

[Johnstrass2]

The thinnest iPhone weve ever made ever, with more features than ever before seen in a phone so thin, ever. It is the best thin phone that is years ahead of any thin phone than ever before. you are going to love it.

And then it will require an extra THICK case for protection…

 

[Johnstrass2]

You're right. Also the "no one wants a thinner phone" comments make the no sense when the Pros will still be around with more buttons and battery life. Apple pushing the design forward in the "air" while also offering the things people are used to is a good move. If they don't try to reduce the size and move the industry forward we'll all be stuck using the same phone size for 10 more years.

And are you NOT going to apply a case on top to protect this extra-thin phone ?

 

[StoneJack]

if they also sell a case for this phone it’s a joke

Everybody will sell cases for it including apple

 

[Phineasgage1848]

And are you NOT going to apply a case on top to protect this extra-thin phone ?

Nope. I don't use a case

 

[Phineasgage1848]

I remember that I didn’t read many complaints about the iPhone 4S being too thick and heavy. However, thinness and lightness became one of the main selling points of the iPhone 5. I think it’s one of those things people intuitively underestimate, but it really makes a difference in the day-to-day.

Really good point. Moving from stainless steel on the Pros to titanium was a huge win for weight reduction and hand feel for me.

 

[blairh]

Really excited for this. Long overdue. Smartphones are quite thick and heavy. Especially the Max models.

 

[gco212]

So are they getting rid of the camera bump or are they continuing to pretend that the camera bump doesn't count as thickness?

 

[williamkey123]

I was just holding the iPhone 5 recently… I miss phones without a camera bump so much. They just feel so much better. I really wish Apple made at least one phone with no camera bump that was just flat on the back.

 

[dannyyankou]

Nonsense. The M4 iPad Pro is significantly thinner than that at 5.1 mm and still quite robust.

You can’t put an iPad in your pocket though. And that’s where most iPhone 6 phones bent. And lots of them were in people’s front pockets.

 

[joshwithachance]

I don’t think anybody is clamoring for a THINNER iPhone. A lighter one perhaps… But thinner? Diminishing returns at this depth.