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

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

johnsawyercjs said:
I’m guessing Apple has done some market analysis to justify making a thinner iPhone for a large-enough segment of their customers. Some of the responses in this forum indicate that.
Click to expand...

Nah - they just want to something "AMAZING!" for marketing purposes

Flip around the script -- suppose they did market analysis that said folks would like a thicker phone with more battery ... do you think there's any chance they'd actually do that?

(nope)
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: breenmask
Wanted797 said:
“All that innovation undone”

For the innovation (of being thinner) to be “undone” by adding a case. The thinness after adding the case would have to be the same as phones without the innovation (thinness)…
Click to expand...
Nope.

Opting for a bulkier-than-standard case while simultaneously investing in a device designed with compromised functionality to achieve ultra-thin dimensions ultimately negates the core rationale behind purchasing a thinner phone in the first place.
 
breenmask said:
Nope.

Opting for a bulkier-than-standard case while simultaneously investing in a device designed with compromised functionality to achieve ultra-thin dimensions ultimately negates the core rationale behind purchasing a thinner phone in the first place.
Click to expand...
Someone buying a “bulkier than standard” case is likely buying that very same style case for their phone regardless of whether it is a thinner design.

Their use or requirement of bulkier than standard case may actually well be and excellent reason they’d be interested in a slimmer phone!

It does not undo the advantages of the slimmer design. If anything it promotes them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: johnsawyercjs, bbates123 and Cloudyskies22
Wanted797 said:
Someone buying a “bulkier than standard” case is likely buying that very same style case for their phone regardless of whether it is a thinner design.

Their use or requirement of bulkier than standard case may actually well be and excellent reason they’d be interested in a slimmer phone!

It does not undo the advantages of the slimmer design. If anything it promotes them.
Click to expand...

like buying a lamborghini but then installing a super thick stainless steel body cover and permanently attaching a roof cargo carrier for additional storage, making to slow/bulky/and ugly.

you're undoing the primary purposes of buying/using a lamborghini which made many compromises to achieve its core purpose.

literally undoes it.
 
breenmask said:
Nope. I did not. What I said is valid and on point.
Click to expand...
Sure isn’t.

Again, remember a phone has a thickness. A case has a thickness.

If you take 1 thickness and add it to the other thickness you get a new thickness. That is equal to 1 + the other. If either one of those is thinner then the overall thickness is less. In this case the phone is thinner and therefore the overall thickness is less.

I don’t use a case and I haven’t used one since 2017 but I care about reality and facts and the fact is for people who do use an otter box case, or any other case, their experience will be a 2mm thinner thing in their hand. Period.

Welcome to facts
 
  • Like
Reactions: johnsawyercjs and Bungaree.Chubbins
breenmask said:
like buying a lamborghini but then installing a super thick stainless steel body cover and permanently attaching a roof cargo carrier for additional storage, making to slow/bulky/and ugly.

you're undoing the primary purposes of buying/using a lamborghini which made many compromises to achieve its core purpose.

literally undoes it.
Click to expand...
Nope not even remotely the same. Good try though.

Even as someone who doesn’t use a case, I understand. Not sure how all of you don’t get it lmao
 
  • Like
Reactions: johnsawyercjs
I don't understand the obsession over foldable phones in the comments here. Just look at the prices of the currently available ones, add 50% Apple premium and think again. An iPhone Fold would probably cost as much as the Vision Pro and still be just a phone. Yes, I find it interesting as a concept and a design demo. As a device for everyday use that has a good value? Hell no.
 
turbineseaplane said:
Nah - they just want to something "AMAZING!" for marketing purposes

Flip around the script -- suppose they did market analysis that said folks would like a thicker phone with more battery ... do you think there's any chance they'd actually do that?

(nope)
Click to expand...
I think it's likely Apple's market research has found both--that some people want a thinner iPhone so that it's lighter, feels less bulky, and will fit into pockets better, and some people want a thicker iPhone if it means more battery. Comments in this thread show that. But you're right that it's unlikely Apple would make an iPhone that's thicker than current models despite many people's desire for one, since Apple probably sees that as going in the wrong direction, choosing instead to continue working on getting longer battery life through other design approaches, though that will deliver only incremental improvements for some time.

I still think if someone is OK with a thicker iPhone as a means to get more battery life, they can get that now with a Magsafe battery pack, though maybe the extra battery life these packs provide is less than what you'd get if you increased the size of the built-in battery, due to power loss through the magnetic connection. And these battery packs are also probably thicker than most people want, in which case a thinner Magsafe battery pack might be a viable product, though of course it would have a shorter runtime than a thicker pack.
 
Last edited:
breenmask said:
like buying a lamborghini but then installing a super thick stainless steel body cover and permanently attaching a roof cargo carrier for additional storage, making to slow/bulky/and ugly.
Click to expand...
There are plenty of thin phone cases that are in the "skin" category, which provide scratch protection and some drop protection too. They make the phone only a little thicker, and when installed on a thinner phone, you still wind up with a combination that's thinner by the number of millimeters that the manufacturer has shaved off the new thinner model. And there are a lot of people who use no phone case at all so they don't have to deal with the extra bulk of a case, but who want a still-thinner phone, but if they change their mind later and want to install a skin, they can do that and wind up with a combination that's still thinner than their earlier, "standard"-thickness phone.
 
antonrg said:
if it comes with yet another gigantic screen, I’m not interested. At this rate even 6,1 inch screens are considered small by Apple. Totally ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the real world. Samsung and Pixel phones have the same dimensions.
 
breenmask said:
like buying a lamborghini but then installing a super thick stainless steel body cover and permanently attaching a roof cargo carrier for additional storage, making to slow/bulky/and ugly.

you're undoing the primary purposes of buying/using a lamborghini which made many compromises to achieve its core purpose.

literally undoes it.
Click to expand...
Nice straw man with that one. But no, cars come in all shapes and sizes for different purposes.

Phones do not.

A thin phone with a bulky case is still thinner and lighter than a thicker phones with bulky case and some people will appreciate that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbates123
antonrg said:
if it comes with yet another gigantic screen, I’m not interested. At this rate even 6,1 inch screens are considered small by Apple. Totally ridiculous.
Click to expand...
I think 6.1 on a phone so thin should be ok. The problem of the current models is a combination of big screen and bulky bodies.
 
robertosh said:
I think 6.1 on a phone so thin should be ok. The problem of the current models is a combination of big screen and bulky bodies.
Click to expand...
I'd prefer something smaller, but I see your point. And you are probably right, 15 Pro did not feel as horrible in hand as the other models that are currently available with Face ID.
 
MacRumors said:


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.

iPhone-17-Slim-Feature-Single-Camera-1-Redux.jpg

"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:

  • 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
All models prior to the iPhone 6 were between 7.6mm and 12.3mm thick.

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
Click to expand...

Anyone who is really into this stuff have projections as to how much iPhone 17 and 17 Air will weigh?
 
Thin is cool, but I’m hoping for the *lightest iPhone ever. It’s a shame the screen is gonna be so big.

Coming from an iPhone 11, I’ll prolly get either an SE4 or this Air.
 
breenmask said:
sure. but I'm talking about people who buy the thick skin category.
Click to expand...
If someone buys a thinner phone since they want the thinness, and then adds a thicker than average case to it, and then complains, then they'd be kind of dumb. I'm not worried about someone like this, especially since I think they'd be a pretty slim minority.
 
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