iPad Pro users assure me the current generation isn't as bendable as I fear, so maybe this skinny iPhone won't be bendgate 2.0, but there's not going to be much room for much battery, and I want more battery, not less!
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'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever
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A thinner phone with a thick camera bump is not a thinner phone.
Apple needs to reduce the TOTAL thickness, measured at the absolute thickest part of the entire phone/camera package.
Apple needs to reduce the TOTAL thickness, measured at the absolute thickest part of the entire phone/camera package.
They definitely need “thinnest iPhone ever” in the marketing reveal, otherwise it just falls flat.
And with today’s fast-charging speeds, going ultra-thin is the right call, even at the expense of some battery.
Better to have an ultra-thin phone all of the time, with the the occasional need to fast-charge for 30 minutes every once in a while, instead of carrying around a brick 24/7. Go hold an iPhone 6 and you’ll realize just how big and heavy these new phones have become.
I understand that’s an unpopular opinion on a tech site, where battery is king above all else, but I really don’t know what ya’ll are doing where you require this much battery without the time to set your phone down for 30 minutes to fast charge back to 50%.
And with today’s fast-charging speeds, going ultra-thin is the right call, even at the expense of some battery.
Better to have an ultra-thin phone all of the time, with the the occasional need to fast-charge for 30 minutes every once in a while, instead of carrying around a brick 24/7. Go hold an iPhone 6 and you’ll realize just how big and heavy these new phones have become.
I understand that’s an unpopular opinion on a tech site, where battery is king above all else, but I really don’t know what ya’ll are doing where you require this much battery without the time to set your phone down for 30 minutes to fast charge back to 50%.
"The thinnest iPhone in history, and it brings out the thinest battery life in history!"
The problem with making it thinner is that it’s untenable with regard to the cameras. If you make it super thin and don’t degrade the camera then the camera will protrude much more. If you make it super thin and degrade the camera so it doesn’t protrude as much then you degraded the camera too.
The thickness of the device is fine because it allows the camera bump to not be too large, despite the fact that the camera has to be even thicker lest we have reduced camera quality.
I don’t see the point in this or the interest in this device which is compromises across the board for the sake of thinness. Now don’t get me wrong I wish the phone was thinner but I’ll take the current thickness due to the benefits it allows. I don’t want it any thicker from here though.
They should have made an iPhone Ultra instead. A more experimentsl
iPhone line that uses more expensive and state of the art tech with lower yields. Like maybe a 240Hz display. Better brightness, better thermals, more RAM, etc
The thickness of the device is fine because it allows the camera bump to not be too large, despite the fact that the camera has to be even thicker lest we have reduced camera quality.
I don’t see the point in this or the interest in this device which is compromises across the board for the sake of thinness. Now don’t get me wrong I wish the phone was thinner but I’ll take the current thickness due to the benefits it allows. I don’t want it any thicker from here though.
They should have made an iPhone Ultra instead. A more experimentsl
iPhone line that uses more expensive and state of the art tech with lower yields. Like maybe a 240Hz display. Better brightness, better thermals, more RAM, etc
Oh, and I also want the iPhone to weight less! People here seem to remember only bendgate (but somehow forget current gen iPads bend faster than sheet of paper). Back in 2014 iPhone 6 Plus was only 172 grams, thats much less than the current iPhone 16 Pro which is whopping 199 grams. Despite 6 Plus being huge and generally not my type of smartphones, it was very light to carry and hold in one hand. If 17 Air can surpass it by the weight parameter, my wallet will give it a pass
I will keep buying the Pro Max as I love the battery life and screen, however I suspect there will be a big market for this phone.
I understand you but we are all different in this sense. I cannot stand rounded corners on my 11 Pro, it is very slippery. Same issue was with my old 6s but to the lesser extent. Square edges (in my opinion, again) give better grip and generally feel somehow more premium
Not having a go at the author but it might be worth using a graph to show thickness over time rather than the giant list of numbers in the current article?
Maybe they are moving part of the battery to the camera bump.
I have a sneaky feeling, this will be the thinest when unfolded, otherwise it just doesn't make any sense.
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick.
"We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote.
If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be a few noteworthy aspects. First, the iPhone 17 Air would become the thinnest iPhone ever, coming in under the current 6.9mm record held by the iPhone 6. Second, the iPhone 17 Air would be around three quarters as thick as any of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models.
While some customers may have hoped that the iPhone 17 Air would be even thinner, there is obviously a limit to how thin the battery and other components can be. If the device comes in around 6mm, it would still be impressively thin and light compared to the increasingly bulkier models released over the past few years.
Here is how the iPhone 17 Air's thickness could compare to other models:
All models prior to the iPhone 6 were between 7.6mm and 12.3mm thick.
- iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max: 8.25mm
- iPhone 16 and 16 Plus: 7.8mm
- iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max: 8.25mm
- iPhone 15 and 15 Plus: 7.8mm
- iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max: 7.85mm
- iPhone 14 and 14 Plus: 7.8mm
- iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max: 7.65mm
- iPhone 13 and 13 mini: 7.65mm
- iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max: 7.4mm
- iPhone 12 and 12 mini: 7.4mm
- iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max: 8.1mm
- iPhone 11: 8.3mm
- iPhone XS and XS Max: 7.7mm
- iPhone XR: 8.3mm
- iPhone X: 7.7mm
- iPhone 8 Plus: 7.5mm
- iPhone 8: 7.3mm
- iPhone 7 Plus: 7.3mm
- iPhone 7: 7.1mm
- iPhone 6s Plus: 7.3mm
- iPhone 6s: 7.1mm
- iPhone 6 Plus: 7.1mm
- iPhone 6: 6.9mm
- iPhone 17 Air rumor: 6mm
While the iPhone 17 Air could be the thinnest iPhone ever, it would not be the thinnest Apple product ever. That record is held by the 2024 version of the 13-inch iPad Pro, which is just 5.1mm thick. In addition, the last iPod nano was 5.4mm thick.
For those who have not been following iPhone 17 Air rumors, several credible sources have claimed that Apple plans to release a redesigned, significantly thinner iPhone 17 model next year. The device's name is not yet known, so we are referring to it as the iPhone 17 Air for now. Pu has gone with the nickname "iPhone 17 Slim" instead.
There have been conflicting rumors about the design and specifications for the device, but most sources have agreed that it will have around a 6.6-inch display. In July, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he expects the device to have a standard A19 chip, a Dynamic Island, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G modem.
Last month, Pu agreed the iPhone 17 Air will have a 6.6-inch display. He also expects the device to feature an aluminum frame, Face ID, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, a 24-megapixel front camera, and 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence.
Apple will likely unveil the iPhone 17 Air in September 2025, so the device is still far away from launching, and rumors could change over time.
Article Link: 'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever
So get ready for the iPhone Fold
eh, at least it’ll be something different finally. I wanna see it.
If they remove optical image stabilization the camera would magically fit inside the body. Sensor is still minuscule but they leave some extra space for OIS to work. Honestly most Pro people do not rely on built-in stabilization to make shots and videos (where it is more crucial). Also OIS is prone to malfunctioning over the years, especially if one uses their on high vibration vehicles instead of GoPro
It’s a fashion item. If it has no glass back and no camera bump, I’d be interested.
People in general, even the ones asking for more battery life and saying the don't care about thickness, have no idea how big the effect the thinness of a device has when they see it. It attracts you so much to the product you have no idea, some people don't realize is, it's often an unconscious attraction. The best designers know this and so does Apple. It has an incredible wow-effect and the first thing you see in a store is the physicality of the product, not its battery life, RAM and all of that other stuff.
Don’t forget that the SE1 was only 113 grams. That was peak iPhone in terms of weightlessness.
iPhone 6 and 6s and even SE 2,3 all had issues with battery. Yes, exactly: issues. Back in the days they had installed defective batteries and only after some time when phones started to reboot on their own Apple had backpedalled and launched battery replacement for all affected models. I believe around 80% of all phones were affected. Another issue is low mAh count but if Apple really wanted they could have fixed that
All that, and the iPod touch 5-7th gen is still thinner than all those iPhones. 
6 mm is not "air". Can they make it 4 mm thick? At least thinner than the 5.1 mm M4 iPad Pro. 👉👈