The Information has shared some fresh insights about the iPhone 17 Air, previously referred to as the iPhone 17 Slim. To summarize, this new device is anticipated to take the place of the iPhone 16 Plus (currently priced at $977.95 for the 256 GB renewed version on Amazon) as Apple aims to introduce a successful fourth premium iPhone model.
Thinner Design Expected
According to the latest report, the iPhone 17 Air might be even thinner than earlier speculations indicated. While the iPhone 16 measures a slim 7.8 mm, current prototypes of the iPhone 17 Air are said to be 5-6 mm thick, making them potentially 35% thinner. If this is true, it would make the iPhone 17 Air the slimmest iPhone ever, surpassing the iPhone 6 Plus, which has held this title since 2014 with its 7.1 mm body.
Comparable to iPad Pro
In fact, the iPhone 17 Air could be nearly as thin as the newest iPad Pro 13, which is measured at 5.1 mm. It’s no surprise that Apple has opted for various hardware changes, one being a shift to a single rear-facing camera. Additionally, the iPhone 17 Air is likely to lack mmWave 5G network support and a physical SIM card slot. This SIM card absence has been standard for all iPhones sold in the US since the launch of the iPhone 14 series.
Modem and Speakers
It appears that the iPhone 17 Air will feature Apple's proprietary 5G modem, although The Information predicts it might provide slower transfer speeds compared to the Qualcomm modem found in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Moreover, the iPhone 17 Air may not include a down-firing speaker. Interestingly, The Information has hinted at significant changes coming for Apple's upcoming Pro iPhones, details of which have been discussed separately.
