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'iPhone 17 Air' Features Revealed in New Report: As Thin as 5mm, Single Speaker, and More

Apple modem is the real dealbreaker - not hopeful for an excellent product considering how inferior the intel wireless solutions were previously
 
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TheMaverick001 said:
Except there is loss to utility, as these are not for the 17 Pro, but a less spec’d thin model. Your line of thinking uses iPads and Macs as examples, but those chassis-upgrading designs were used for the flagship products, such as the iPad Pro. This is not for the 17 Pro, but rather a different device that won’t be objectively the best on all accounts, which is where the discourse comes from. There will be trade offs. It’s not like there is a thicker but more powerful M4 iPad. There is 1 singular best option.
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If we go by this years models there wouldn’t be much loss of power. The only thing separating the standard iPhone 16 from the Pro like is a 5x camera and VRR. The chipset is more capable but nobody is really pushing it.

A 17 Air shouldn’t be any less than the standard model and therefore more than enough for most people. The M4 iPad is largely overkill for the majority of operations.
 
WarmWinterHat said:
I don't consider mmWave 5g is a step forward with anything since it you have to be line or sight to the tower to get it, and if so much as person walks in front of you, it cuts out.
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That's not exactly true. I live in a city with mmWave support and that doesn't happen--even in crowds. It's a little tricky inside buildings though. It's another connectivity option which is beneficial and not meant to stand on its own. I understand a lot of people live in areas that don't have it but it's a small but significant benefit to those who do. The lack of support would cause me to hesitate before a purchase as would the overall rumor that the Apple modem would generally have slower speeds.
 
So they are going back to the Qualcomm vs intel days where they slowed the qualcomm modems because the intel ones were ass. "that is smaller and more power efficient than Qualcomm modems used in current iPhones. However, the report said that Apple's modem will lack ultra-fast mmWave 5G support, and have slower overall cellular data speeds compared to the Qualcomm modems."
 
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Apple really ran out of ideas so they are going to take a low end device and charge top dollar for it. With those specs, this thing better be less than $400.
 
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Premium1 said:
So they are going back to the Qualcomm vs intel days where they slowed the qualcomm modems because the intel ones were ass. "that is smaller and more power efficient than Qualcomm modems used in current iPhones. However, the report said that Apple's modem will lack ultra-fast mmWave 5G support, and have slower overall cellular data speeds compared to the Qualcomm modems."
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Yeah, that era was nonsense and I hated that Apple did that. However, the variance between the intel modem and the Qualcomm version was within one model as I recall. This would be a different model and so I hope Apple wouldn't gimp the other iPhone models in sympathy.
 
flybass said:
Why would you prefer an air over a 17 mini? Am I the only one who can’t reach my thumb easily to the top of these giant screens if holding with one hand?
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A 17 Mini is not in the cards and not the subject of this discussion. I’m sorry - I feel your pain. The Plus is the perfect phone for me but it’s apparently going away - no matter how much I love it. The Mini is gone and it’s not coming back. Let’s take a look at the new SE, the base 17 and the 17 Air when they come out and decide if there’s anything left among iPhones that will work well enough for us.
 
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Contact_Feanor said:
I think it's for me. I currently have an iPhone 14 Pro Max as my main phone, and an iPhone 13 mini that I only use professionally (so phone, messages, mail, LinkedIn, light browsing, and links to notes and documents from my work iPad, etc.) The iPhone 13 mini is that phone because I want it to be capable when I need it, but light, I don't need a lot of battery but I also need the ecosystem support (Handoff, iCloud, etc.). When that iPhone Mini dies, I'll probably replace it with the Air.
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Sounds like the upcoming iPhone SE 4 with A18 chip will suit your needs
 
I'll pass on the initial version of this, but i may get the next iteration. The slower cellular speed and questions about a first gen model with a first gen modem are to big for me to overcome this time around, especially if pried te same or more than a pro.
 
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MacRumors said:
The device currently lacks a physical SIM card tray, the report said, but the design is not yet finalized.
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Don't believe EVERYTHING you read MacRumors,..at this close to production, tooling will have already taken place. To say that the design is not yet finalized is just absurd.
 
Honestly this sounds like something that would be a lot more capable with a 2nm A series chip. If it comes with an A19 Pro, I’d buy and I have a 14 Pro right now. The one feature that I do miss in iPhone is 3D Touch, I’m still sad about that.

Anyway the biggest things here is how the camera performs, how good cellular service is with Apple’s wireless chip, and how well the A19 performs in the chassis ( Read: no overheating issues like several other Apple wares). That said:

  • If it has all day battery life (>10 hours), do I really care about the battery size?
  • If the camera is as capable as the 14/15/16 Pro, and I get the same results, do I give a **** that it’s only one lens? Most dedicated cameras are only one lens and one sensor anyway. Why do we need these 3,4 or 5 camera abominations anyway?
  • mmWave 5g? Kills battery. Is that really much of a meaningful loss for everyday use ? Apple software throttles Qualcomm chips anyway in iPhone.
  • Speakers? I use Bluetooth or an external DAC. You guys can’t afford headphones or earphones? Besides why dual speakers when generally one speaker is likely covered by your palm and is firing in the direction of your palm that’s holding the phone landscape ?
There’s a lot of superfluous and redundant features on phones nowadays. If you can throw out those features and get a substantially lighter device in return I’d be 💯 onboard. From the 6 Plus to the 16 Pro Max there’s been a 32% gain in weight. It’s even nuttier when you compare the iPhone 13 Pro Max. (39.5% increase in weight)
 
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I'd be willing to sacrifice a LOT to have a small phone, but battery life is definitely not one thing on that list.
 
Who is the target market for this exactly?

Price point wise, it'll be more expensive than the upcoming SE, and cheaper than the standard 17, but you don't imagine by much (maybe $100-$150 less?).

If you just want an iPhone - you'll buy the new SE
If you want the big screen but don't need the features, you'll buy the Plus
If you want big battery life, you'll buy the Plus or Pro Max
If you want the best cameras you buy the Pro/Pro Max

I know some people will buy a phone with the weight being the priority, but that's such a small percentage of customers. Most people will take the trade off - a heavier phone for better battery life and features.


Yes it's lighter and thinner, but it's still going to have a similar footprint to the Plus/Max in terms of height and width to accommodate the larger screen.

People who like the Pro Max but don't like the weight still want either the Pro Max features and/or the screen size. If rumors are accurate the Plus will have a better camera system, better speakers and potentially a better battery life than the Air, with the Air's weight being the only advantage.


I just don't see the gap in the market or in Apple's ecosystem for this.
 
1. Single firing speaker with spatial audio, so no need for dual speaker to save internal space/apple's money ;).
2. Smaller battery but with support for 80w charging. 0-100% in 30 minutes.

You hear it first here!
 
I’m surprised no one has compared this to the original MacBook Air.
At the time there were two Apple laptops, a MacBook and a MacBook Pro.
The MacBook started at $1099, the MacBook Pro around $2000.
Now imagine this…
The thinnest laptop on the planet…
With the price point to boot, $1799 or over $3000 if you wanted a solid state drive.
And that was for a computer with: a significantly worse processor than the MacBook or MacBook Pro
Significantly less storage than the MacBook or MacBook Pro.
Less I/O than the MacBook or MacBook Pro.
No optical Dr unlike the MacBook or MacBook Pro.

Even the $3000 version with an SSD was a significantly worse actual computer than the $1099 MacBook.
That’s what this phone sounds like.
 
Also, anyone thinking the “thinnest iPhone ever” is a new SE clearly doesn’t understand what the SE is.
The SE is the price that it is because it’s the leftovers phone.
The rumored SE4 literally will use just the recycled iPhone 14 design with a new chip, nothing more. It’s just leftover parts.

The thinnest iPhone we’ve ever seen with a screen size we’ve never seen before and a camera design we have never seen before is absolutely not leftovers, and definitely won’t be cheap to make.
 
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Thin is nice, but mini size is what I’d really like to see


tomtad said:
All these compromises are why phones aren't this thin.

I'd rather have a larger battery, better speaker and more cameras. Who cares if it's 5 mm thicker.
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I’d take all these “compromises” for a smaller phone. I don’t care about speakers or cameras
 
5mm will make it thinner than the 13" iPad Pro. Will be very thin indeed. Expecting a much smaller battery due to limited space availability. Wonder how long it can power the device as the phone is supposed to get larger screen.
 
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