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iPhone 17 Air Model Enters Product Introduction Phase at Foxconn

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Apple's rumored new iPhone 17 Air model has entered the new product introduction phase (NPI) at Foxconn, according to supply chain sources (via DigiTimes).

Generic-iPhone-17-Feature-With-Full-Width-Dynamic-Island-single-camera.jpg

The NPI phase transitions a product from concept to mass production, beginning with design validation and prototype testing, followed by supplier qualification and manufacturing process development. Pilot production runs test the assembly and refine quality control, while aligning logistics with the supply chain, with the ultimate aim of ramping up to full-scale manufacturing.

The iPhone 17 Air is expected to replace the Plus model in Apple's lineup and will reportedly offer a significantly slimmer design that current iPhone models. The handset will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

As for size, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to fall somewhere between the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. Separate rumors have claimed 6.55 inches, 6.6 inches, and 6.65 inches as the display size that Apple has settled on, which would make it smaller than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but larger than the 17 Pro.

Apple is expected to equip the ‌iPhone 17‌ Air with its own custom-designed 5G modem chip, which is smaller than 5G modem chips from Qualcomm. Apple has focused on making the chip more integrated with other Apple-designed components to save space within the ‌iPhone‌ without sacrificing battery life or display quality, according to Gurman.

Meanwhile, the rear camera will be relocated from the upper left side of the iPhone to the center of the device, as part of a "large, centred camera bump," according to The Information. Analyst Jeff Pu believes it will feature a single 48-megapixel lens.

The iPhone 17 Air will debut next year alongside a standard iPhone 17, an iPhone 17 Pro, and an iPhone 17 Pro Max – the Pro models of which are said to have significant design changes of their own.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Air Model Enters Product Introduction Phase at Foxconn
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/12/13/iphone-17-air-enters-product-introduction-phase/
In trying to understand who this phone is for I’ve come up with the idea that this is probably the ultimate minimalist phone.

As a 13 mini user I won’t be happy with the screen size, but it might still have a lot of the same appeal. Don’t need three cameras, don’t need a huge battery to watch TikToks, just the essentials in an efficient design.
 
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If we have a Google pixel style camera array, how can we take spatial video?

Previous rumours sound sketchy to me.
 
Please end the suffering of a skipped generation and call it "iPhone 9".


This is the kind of post I would normally delete. I found the advanced editor features, but I still can't figure out how to delete posts. If you've read this far, let me know where to click. I've spent many years developing in WordPress and I am ashamed to ask.
Update: there is no way to delete a comment. The sites I work on disallow comments, so I’ve had no experience with them, nor the cretins who make them. I’m not a content creator either.
 
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I really hate the huge camera bumps on recent iPhones. They make the phones super bulky once you put a case around them. This is the first time in years that I'm actually intrigued by a new iPhone design. Was contemplating upgrading from the 13 to a 16 Plus for a larger screen, but then decided it's not really worth it. This new phone might change my mind.

I just hope there won't be too many compromises regarding connectivity. It needs to have USB-C and a SIM slot to work for me.
 
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DrJR said:
Please end the suffering of a skipped generation and call it "iPhone 9".
Click to expand...

The 6S was the 9th generation iPhone. The 8 was the 11th and the X was the 12th. Then there was the XS before the 11. Making the iPhone 11 the 14th generation.

If anything we need to skip 2 more numbers and call the iPhone 17 the iPhone 20... or the iPhone XX.

Maybe that's what this phone is, a 20th generation special edition phone.
 
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wikiverse said:
The 6S was the 9th generation iPhone. The 8 was the 11th and the X was the 12th. Then there was the XS before the 11. Making the iPhone 11 the 14th generation.

If anything we need to skip 2 more numbers and call the iPhone 17 the iPhone 20... or the iPhone XX.

Maybe that's what this phone is, a 20th generation special edition phone.
Click to expand...
I feel like I just went on an adventure with Indiana Jones with the naming acrobatics, but it is GENIUS.
I bet Steve mapped this all out before he took a spiritual sabbatical.
There is a hidden message I bet........
 
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wikiverse said:
The 6S was the 9th generation iPhone. The 8 was the 11th and the X was the 12th. Then there was the XS before the 11. Making the iPhone 11 the 14th generation.

If anything we need to skip 2 more numbers and call the iPhone 17 the iPhone 20... or the iPhone XX.

Maybe that's what this phone is, a 20th generation special edition phone.
Click to expand...
A4 was released in iPhone 4, iPhone names since then went in a different path but the SoC still kept the number part of the naming consistent...

Design-wise, iPhone 8 and iPhone X are two different iPhone models but both use A11 Bionic which makes both part of 11th generation...

iPhone 11 and 11 Pro use A13 Bionic and are both part of 13th generation...

Apple may not do it but to restore consistency, they should name the Q3 2025 iPhone models which are part of the 19th generation, iPhone 19 which use A19 and A19 Pro...
 
USB-Adapter said:
An iPhone Air Mini would be nice. About the size of the iPhone 7.
Click to expand...
Yep, something the size of the iPhone 7 with the bezels under 2mm would give us a nice light/air version that would be better for one handed operation with still around a 6” screen. I don’t really get the Air version with a 6.6” screen that still would suck for one handed operation.
 
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The handset will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro
Click to expand...
Which means it will only be 1.5 mm thinner than the regular iPhone it replaces. That's still 20%, but not 25% as the comparison with the Pro would suggest.
 
A super thin and light phone, with a screen size and battery only slightly less than a Plus, 1 solid wide camera, and a 120Hz display…may VERY well be enough to entice me away from Pro models. While I occasionally appreciate the 5x zoom on my Pro, I could definitely live without it, and would certainly trade it for a thinner and lighter phone.
 
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MacRumors said:
Meanwhile, the rear camera will be relocated from the upper left side of the iPhone to the center of the device, as part of a "large, centred camera bump,"
Click to expand...
Do you mean the middle, or the actual centre? Middle being the middle of one axis (presumably the X), while centre would be the actual centre, the middle of both X and Y axis, like a traditional camera. Personally I'd love that, it would make it much easier to hold one without getting your fingers over the camera, but it would be an engineering challenge to arrange components around it efficiently.
 
Its possible that with a thinner iPhone the bend problem may return while its in your pocket
 
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What I'd love would be something like the iPod touch with the curved back:

c58cbee67ec7cf2455e2b199344f6475.jpg

I always thought that felt lovely in the hand. And if they were truly putting the camera in the *centre* (ie the middle on both axis) then you could make it thick enough in the middle to do it without a camera bump, while being thin at the edge and feeling great in the hand.

Very inefficient use of space though, technically. Though frankly I wouldn't care.
 
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