Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone 17 Air Battery Allegedly 2.49mm – Half the Thickness of 17 Pro's

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
69,476
40,585


The iPhone 17 Air internal battery pack is just 2.49mm thick and appears to be about half as thin as the iPhone 17 Pro battery, based on new information and images coming out of Korea.

iphone-17-air-battery-vs-pro.jpg
Image allegedly showing iPhone 17 Air battery (left) vs. iPhone 17 Pro battery​

Posted by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, an image allegedly shows the iPhone 17 Air battery next to the iPhone 17 Pro battery for comparison. The same account was first to claim that the Air's battery capacity is 2,800 mAh. A Chinese leaker has since said it will be below the 3,000 mAh mark.

We do not yet have any rumors indicating the battery capacity of the iPhone 17 Pro, only for the iPhone 17 Pro Max – which is said to be at or above 5,000 mAh.

Some of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models were the last with battery capacities at or below the 3,000 mAh mark. However, mAh values can only be directly compared when the batteries have the same voltage, with Wh a preferred unit of measurement. iPhone batteries typically do have the same voltage, allowing for mAh comparisons.

In May, the same Naver blog account claimed that the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight of approximately 145 grams – similar to an iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 13 mini, which are 148 grams and 141 grams, respectively. The all-new ultra-thin device itself is believed to be around 5.5mm thick, making it the thinnest ever iPhone.

iphone-17-air-battery-thickness.jpg

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in March that device will have a "high-density" battery. More recently, a report out of Asia has suggested that the iPhone 17 Air could become the first Apple smartphone to adopt advanced battery technology, with Apple supplier TDK preparing to ship its new generation of silicon-anode batteries by the end of June.

Having said that, reports have been mixed regarding the iPhone 17 Air's potential battery performance. The Information's Wayne Ma claimed the device will have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models.

iphone-17-air-battery.jpg

In internal testing, Apple apparently determined that the percentage of users who will be able to use the iPhone 17 Air for a full day without needing to recharge the device throughout the day will be between 60% and 70%, according to the report. For other iPhone models, the report said that metric is apparently between 80% and 90%.

To mitigate this problem, the report said that Apple is planning to release a battery case as an optional accessory for the iPhone 17 Air.

On the other hand, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has offered a more optimistic outlook, stating that battery life would be "on par with current iPhones" thanks to hardware and software optimizations.

The 5.5mm-thin device is also rumored to incorporate Apple's power-efficient C1 modem and lack an Ultra Wide camera, which could potentially provide more internal space for a larger battery. We'll know for sure when the device replaces the "Plus" model in Apple's iPhone 17 lineup, which is expected to launch around mid-September, per Apple's typical fall release schedule.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Air Battery Allegedly 2.49mm – Half the Thickness of 17 Pro's
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/04/iphone-17-air-battery-half-thickness-17-pro/
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: tim_apple
Plutonius said:
Being so thin, is the battery foldable :) ?
Click to expand...
I think it will fold in 4 🤣 😂

I hope not. Considering its rumored price I wouldn't buy this iPhone if it really has the rumored battery capacity. If I do end up buying an iPhone this year to replace my iPhone 13 Pro, it will be the iPhone 17 Pro but first I hope the battery has more than 3000 mAh. If this is not the case I will skip this year's iPhone.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
this is literally the opposite of what people want. Also it's not 5.5mm thick if half the phone is a 9mm thick camera bump. These phones will likely get returned in record numbers when people who don't look into it realize how crappy the battery life is
 
  • Like
  • Disagree
Reactions: Mity, Baritone_Guy, koil and 12 others
Ahh, the people that were never going to buy this phone in the first place come in to complain about it for 5 pages. They’ll tell everyone that they use their phones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without access to a wall or car charger until they get home at night. 😂

Yeah, we get it!
 
  • Like
  • Haha
  • Disagree
Reactions: d-klumpp, timeconsumer, SFjohn and 24 others
Has the same capacity as an iPhone 12, which no one had a problem with, and will have a chip that is 50% more efficient than what iPhone 12 had. So, the drama can be put to the side.

I'd be fine with a phone like this since my phone spends most of the day on a stand on a desk while I'm working anyway.

If you spend all day away from a charger, then the Pro or Pro Max is the phone for you.
 
  • Like
  • Disagree
  • Haha
Reactions: SFjohn, subjonas, xnu and 12 others
"The Information's Wayne Ma claimed the device will have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models"
The informations Wayne is wrong...i cannot believe this will have worse battery life than iphone 4/4s/5
 
  • Like
Reactions: Moreplease
As it has been commented in other iPhone Air posts: it’s better to wait one or two generations to get the iPhone Air, for several reasons. One, the battery technology will improve (the battery for this year’s iPhone Air will have the same composition and design). Two, the SoC will get much more efficient when they switch to the new 2nm technology. Three, this iPhone Air is said to use the first gen C1 modem, which is more power efficient than Qualcomm’s, yes, but I suspect the following C2 and C3 will offer better performance at lower power consumption, or… who knows! Maybe it even comes embedded into the main SoC!

On top of all of that, this is a new device from Apple, a first gen device, and any flaws that this iPhone shows over the first months will likely be addressed on the next iPhone Air model.
 
  • Like
Reactions: timeconsumer and Langar
There's a Lord of the Flies vibe surrounding the "Air" rumors and comments, as the big battery/camera users denounce what doesn't conform.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Moreplease
MayaUser said:
"The Information's Wayne Ma claimed the device will have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models"
The informations Wayne is wrong...i cannot believe this will have worse battery life than iphone 4/4s/5
Click to expand...
You don’t understand. He means it will clearly have worse battery life than the previous iPhone Air.
 
  • Haha
  • Disagree
Reactions: Premium1 and MayaUser
With battery being so thin, if this iPhone bends, the battery might catch on fire extremely quickly.
Not a fan of that.
Besides, one case can defeat the entire purpose of being this thin.
With that being said though, maybe in an imaginary world where iPhone air mini was introduced for those people who just want a premium phone and doesn’t care about battery life at all, but extremely care about weight of their iPhone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Premium1
Alakiha said:
And I guess the most important question is who asked for this?
Click to expand...

There's a long tradition of that being asked.

Starting with Jobs' introduction of iPod where he said, "A thousand songs in your pocket." And people chanted, "Who asked for a thousand songs in your pocket?"

Which was then followed up with Jobs introducing iPhone, with people asking "Who asked for a non-mechanical keyboard?"

So many people with closed minds.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: d-klumpp, SFjohn, Moreplease and 11 others
newdeal said:
this is literally the opposite of what people want. Also it's not 5.5mm thick if half the phone is a 9mm thick camera bump. These phones will likely get returned in record numbers when people who don't look into it realize how crappy the battery life is
Click to expand...
Have you surveyed all people to determine what they want? This phone is exactly what I want. As an office based worker I am next to a charging cable all day every day. Battery life only really comes into question at weekends if I am out all day. Even then my phone usage is mostly music via bluetooth headphones so the screen is hardly used. I do wish people would stop making bold statements about what other people want.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: jacquesvfd, d-klumpp, timeconsumer and 13 others
neuropsychguy said:
You don’t understand. He means it will clearly have worse battery life than the previous iPhone Air.
Click to expand...
you dont understand. there was NO iphone air in the past,so what previous iphone air ?! jesus...read again...he said past iphone models
 
  • Like
Reactions: SFjohn
DTphonehome said:
The solution is just to get the fatter phone in the first place if battery life is important to you. It's not to everyone.
Click to expand...
exactly, a lot of people dont understand that this is an addition to the line up...if you want more battery you go for the heavier, thicker iphone, who doesnt...now you can get the air...People are crying about this like Apple will remove the entire line up just for the Air
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: jacquesvfd, timeconsumer, SFjohn and 3 others
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back