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

[the future]

Apple will literally do anything to avoid building the iPhone Mini.

Apple did build an iPhone mini, twice, and it didn‘t sell.

Then Apple built an iPhone Plus, three times, and it didn‘t sell, either.

Now they try an iPhone Air, and why not? Maybe there is a large enough subset of potential customers who don‘t care about some of the bells and whistles of the Pro and would rather have the thinnest and lightest full-size iPhone possible. We‘ll see.

 

[Flight Plan]

I’m over thin. I want a hulking chunk of metal and glass built like a tank.

And make it able to stop a bullet!

enough of this thinness can't see how this makes a better battery life on that device

Most people have chargers everywhere by now. My iPhone rarely goes below 85% because it’s on a charger except when I’m sitting in a restaurant.

This exact comment could have been made (and indeed, was made) in 2008 about the MacBook Air.

And yet the MacBook Air sold like gangbusters back then.

No, I won’t buy a thinner phone. But some will. Just like they bought the ‘08 MBA.

 

[bushman4]

That's right, folks, this will the the THINNEST iPhone ever. This is the future, today! The era of thin iPhones is here!

Thinness in exchange for giving up features and maybe battery life
Might as well go back to a flip phone

 

[britboyj]

I would rather have it be THICKER and 1) be flat on the back, no more camera bump, and 2) fill some of that extra space with battery!

 

[goonie4life9]

Thinness in exchange for giving up features and maybe battery life
Might as well go back to a flip phone

This phone is the thinnest iPhone in that Apple has ever shipped! This takes thinness to a whole new level. Never before has such a powerful device been in such a thin form factor. The iPhone truly has the best features in the thinnest iPhone ever released and Apple thinks you’re gonna love it and can’t wait to see what amazing things customers do with it!

 

[smulji]

It's a phone designed by the same 2,000 employees that failed to make an acceptable modem for Intel. The main thing that switched was their ID badges.

1. Not all of those employees work for Apple.
2. Same employees does not mean same design as used by Intel
3. Leadership team is completely different. Intel doesn't have Jony Srouji.

 

[sleeptodream]

Think this is more about image.
They need to do something different again, something that many others will try to imitate just because Apple does it, that's not easy to imitate especially for cheap competitors, that people will perceive as premium and buy, maybe just for the novelty.
Then, some will actually like the feeling of this thing and they'll be trapped in that model, which is also good for Apple.

This. Many Android phones are going in the direction of thick with huge batteries and lots of features, so they need to differentiate from that paradigm

When I envision the future I don’t imagine carrying around a big brick of a device with everything + the kitchen sink. I imagine essentially a thin piece of glass. The M4 iPad Pro and this new iPhone are steps in that direction

A super thin foldable would be even better, combining the best parts of iPhone and iPad into one device. I’m guessing that is in the works, and could be part of the reason they’ve kept iPad OS so close to iOS, so this eventual device can just run the one OS and isn’t too mac-like or overly complex

I think we’ll see this sometime in the late 2020s and it will set them up for the next decade of incremental improvements, like the iPhone X did in the late 2010s

 

[Serjine]

All most nothing…

 

[sleeptodream]

I would rather have it be THICKER and 1) be flat on the back, no more camera bump, and 2) fill some of that extra space with battery!

Apple will never have that, for multiple reasons, so if that’s what you’re looking for you may want to look elsewhere, like the Redmagic 10 Pro

Apple’s entire model revolves around optimizing the OS to the hardware to include some lower specs that still function as well or better than their competition. It’s good for their bottom line, and it’s good for the environment. Some will always call them cheap for this, but from a business perspective it’s genius. I still get a lot of joy from my Apple devices so it seems like a win-win to me

 

[CharlesShaw]

Apple did build an iPhone mini, twice, and it didn‘t sell.

But they kept the 13 mini on the store at a discount the next year, and they don't/didn't last very long at all on Apple's refurbished store, so it's not like they didn't sell out of the ones they made, so who knows the logic behind it.

 

[2540497]

Would be happy with girth for a bigger battery

 

[lowkey]

Does anyone really care about thinness anymore?

I care that my iPhone 13 Pro is too heavy and too bulky yes.

And now that there is no mini, having a model that is lighter is a good option.

It’s also good to have an option if you only want minimal camera lenses.

 

[lowkey]

Who is asking for this? I've never heard anyway say the current iPhone lineup is too thick. WE WANT INCREDIBLE BATTERY LIFE!

I have a wireless charger in my car. I have a charger at home. I have a charger at work.

I’d rather my phone is lighter and can fit in my pocket more easily.

 

[thebart]

My phone is thinner than everyone else's around me by virtue of not having a thick hulking case. Done.

 

[Rafagon]

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

~2 mm is hardly something to make such a big fuss over.

 

[CharlesShaw]

~2 mm is hardly something to make such a big fuss over.

It's ~25% less. Imagine if some part of your body measured 8" but there was an accident that resulted in a 25% decrease to 6"

 

[Chuckeee]

Thinness in exchange for giving up features and maybe battery life

Not for me

But replace “Thinness ” with “Lighter weight” it might sound more appealing.

 

[TheAppleGuySL]

JerryRigEverything: Grinch Smile intensifies

 

[xmarcuswildx]

If it’s not as thin as the iPad Pro then don’t bother.

 

[Marty80]

What does Iphone Air share in common with the breakfeast cereal Rice Bubbles for me in Australia or Rice Krispies for those of you in US

‘snap, crackle and pop’

 

[OGdrknight]

But will it blend, I mean bend!

 

[FlyingDutch]

It's a phone designed by the same 2,000 employees that failed to make an acceptable modem for Intel. The main thing that switched was their ID badges.

Absolutely false.
Apple bought Intel IP more than anything else, otherwise would have been a nightmare with all the patents involved (and I’m sure Qualcomm will sue Apple anyway in the future).

 

[antonrg]

How about make ONE model for those of us who want a smaller screen? If the tech is so good with the new chips, leave it as thick as mini and give us a new model! Not everyone wants a huge screen for a phone, Apple.

 

[dampfnudel]

This iPhone 17 ‘Air’ doesn’t make sense. There has to be more to it than its main reason for existing will be so Apple can say it’s thinner than the 17 Pro. We need more pieces to this mysterious puzzle.

 

[toughboy]

SOLID. STATE. BATTERY. This is the answer to all their questions.