iPhone 17 Air's Limited Battery Capacity Leaked

[FriendlyMackle]

If SE becomes new regular iPhone but the price stays “SE” thats ok with me.

The price will not remain at the SE price!
That's the whole point of lowered materials cost due to: crappier camera, smaller battery, aluminum instead of titanium or steel, and their likely not-great internal modem*.
*I don't believe the very limited reports as to their Apple Modem being so fabulously effective and power-saving (AND fast...just no).
As a marketing tactic (and manufacturing strategy), this is a brilliant response to our new topsy-turvy will-they/won't-they/impose-a-massive-tarriff! Lowered costs, higher retail price, and all dressed up as a premium top of the line device.
And who knows, as they simplify the device and remove further complicating and space-eating features in the quest for 'thinness' maybe the phone will become SO simple they'll actually be able to manufacture in the good 'ole USA.

 

[mac-imperator]

Apple can't win with either the current state of battery technology or with it's user base. I guess half of the user base will understand that technology is sometimes a give and take and sometimes there will be sacrifices and tradeoffs. I'm in that camp. The other half will NEVER be happy with what Apple produces. I'm not saying that Apple hasn't dropped the ball, because that have more often than I like. I'm not surprised that with the 17s thin profile that the capacity is going to be less that of a 12 and 13 (jesus). Barring inventing a NEW battery is has a capacity of 3k or more for the 17s form factor, Apple would have to possible charge a "king's ransom" for a 17 with a 3k capacity battery, they EVERYBODY will be unhappy. I'm just happy that I have a phone that apple produces that works with my Apple ecosystem. I don't use two thirds of the bells and whistles of the iPhone. I use my phone exactly what it was initially designed to do... make calls and receive them. That is all 🫡🇺🇸

 

[Octavius8]

It will pour on Apple down the road for this… the majority of buyers will only feel the super poor battery life…

 

[CapitalIdea]

The battery life might be poor, but at least you can cut a stick of butter with it.

Maybe they will have the Ginsu guy at the Apple Store who saws a shoe in half with it and then tosses a tomato through the edge to show it’s still sharp!

 

[bluecoast]

"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." Apple double dipping on the revenue with this model. The shareholders must be happy.

It feels like the iPhone 6-8 years, where the basic iPhone was way too thin for the uptick in usage we all experienced with bigger screens.

We then all had a rough 3-4 years of the iPhone having suboptimal battery life - except for plus owners.

And yeah these were the years when apple made a battery case for the regular phones.

When will they ever learn?

 

[Neodym]

Is it really worth shaving off a few mm ( especially since 99% of phones get a thick protective case )?

Most iPhones get „a thick protective case“ anyway, so the whole package gets thicker based on the thickness of the underlying iPhone.

And to be honest - I wouldn’t want to go back to thickness levels (of „naked“ phones) common in pre-iPhone times.

 

[contacos]

Chinese phones are crossing the 6,000 mark and Apple like ... Let's release a phone with 2,8k capacity. This device would have been the PERFECT opportunity for Apple to trial run a silicon carbon battery on a low quantity device. Instead they will be like "here is our brand new incredible powerbank for only 199€ (and it probably won't even have 80w fast charging). Insane.

 

[xraydoc]

For me, it's the same debate as the iPhone mini was a few years ago. Nice compact package, suboptimal battery life. I think I may sit this one out, hang on to my 15 Pro, and hope the foldable iPhone comes out a year from now.

 

[subjonas]

So Apple sets out to create an ultra thin phone, but then they realize that the battery life is garbage, so they plan on offering an extra thick battery case, at an extra cost of course.

Wouldn’t it just then make sense to buy the iPhone 17 with the bigger stock battery, which will probably be thinner than the iPhone Air with a battery case?

The battery case is just for occasions when you need extra juice. But if one finds that they are using the battery case more often than not, then it probably means that they bought the wrong phone. If the one who only uses the battery case occasionally had bought a regular iPhone 17 instead, then they would have been carrying around a thicker heavier phone with a surplus of battery life on most days unnecessarily.

 

[robertosh]

Couple of years ago I've started a plan to be less dependant on the phone, and currently I have an average daily usage (screen on) of around 40 minutes and going down. So, battery of the Air would be more than enough for my needs

 

[Paulsukhu]

Battery life should be fine for those needing a second phone for dedicated corporate/work use. (Used for productivity apps, but not really for media and entertainment apps) Also, anyone upgrading from an iPhone mini.

 

[JohnC1959]

Battery life should be fine for those needing a second phone for dedicated corporate/work use. (Used for productivity apps, but not really for media and entertainment apps) Also, anyone upgrading from an iPhone mini.

There's a lot of people that don't watch much video on phones. I for one only watch video on my MacBook other than a few random 30 second clips. Bottom line, there's a phone model out there that should suit most people

 

[ceojr215]

The battery capacity of Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air will be below the 3,000 mAh mark, according to a recent post from Instant Digital, an account with more than 1.4 million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Thanks to iOS 26's new Adaptive Power Mode, though, the account said that the iPhone 17 Air should achieve full-day battery life.

A previous rumor pegged the iPhone 17 Air's battery capacity at around 2,800 mAh, which would indeed be below the 3,000 mAh mark.

Some of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models were the last with battery capacities at or below the 3,000 mAh mark. Of course, you can only directly compare mAh values 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.

Instant Digital has accurately leaked Apple information before, such as the Yellow finish for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2's Titanium Milanese Loop. However, the account does not have a perfect track record.

A few months ago, The Information's Wayne Ma reported that the iPhone 17 Air would have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models, due to the device's rumored ultra-thin 5.5mm design limiting internal space for a battery.

In internal testing, Apple 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 that 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.

Apple last released battery cases for the iPhone 11 lineup, followed by the since-discontinued MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhone 12 models and newer. A battery case both protects an iPhone and provides additional battery life as necessary.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Air's Limited Battery Capacity Leaked

What a waste is RD and money. A inferior iPhone product.

 

[bmark]

Apple always screws up their iPhone product lines! This will be an epic failure like the iPhone 16E.

 

[joshwithachance]

Under 3000mAh is unacceptable tbh. I don’t care what software features Apple implements to try and “optimize” battery life.

Especially considering those same features will most likely be implemented across the entire line, giving the other phones UNGODLY endurance by comparison.

I’d personally choose a 17 Pro Max with 2 full days of battery life vs a 17 Air with barely one. But that’s just me… So perhaps there is also a market for wafer thin phones that have to spend more time ON the charger than off.🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[ofarlig]

Sounds great, thinner and lighter but still around 60% of the battery capacity of my 16 PM? Sign me up, I seem to average around 25-30% used per 24 hours on a normal day so a full charge on the Air in the morning should last me all day even on demanding days where I use my phone more.

 

[cdsapplefan]

No more charging to 80% with this phone. Your gonna need the full 100% 💯

 

[CocktailHour]

The battery capacity of Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air will be below the 3,000 mAh mark, according to a recent post from Instant Digital, an account with more than 1.4 million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Thanks to iOS 26's new Adaptive Power Mode, though, the account said that the iPhone 17 Air should achieve full-day battery life.

A previous rumor pegged the iPhone 17 Air's battery capacity at around 2,800 mAh, which would indeed be below the 3,000 mAh mark.

Some of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models were the last with battery capacities at or below the 3,000 mAh mark. Of course, you can only directly compare mAh values 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.

Instant Digital has accurately leaked Apple information before, such as the Yellow finish for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2's Titanium Milanese Loop. However, the account does not have a perfect track record.

A few months ago, The Information's Wayne Ma reported that the iPhone 17 Air would have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models, due to the device's rumored ultra-thin 5.5mm design limiting internal space for a battery.

In internal testing, Apple 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 that 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.

Apple last released battery cases for the iPhone 11 lineup, followed by the since-discontinued MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhone 12 models and newer. A battery case both protects an iPhone and provides additional battery life as necessary.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Air's Limited Battery Capacity Leaked

Seems like the perfect product for some, but clearly not for me. I need better battery life & camera and don't care about thinness much.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Who knows? Maybe Air will ship with some efficiency-focused variant of A19 (or is it gonna be the A26?)

 

[citysnaps]

If this phone sells well so many people on this site will have a meltdown lol. People here have already started to loose their minds over just the thought of this phone.

Spot-on. Dollars to donuts it'll cause world-wide tsunamis.

 

[JohnC1959]

Under 3000mAh is unacceptable tbh. I don’t care what software features Apple implements to try and “optimize” battery life.

Especially considering those same features will most likely be implemented across the entire line, giving the other phones UNGODLY endurance by comparison.

I’d personally choose a 17 Pro Max with 2 full days of battery life vs a 17 Air with barely one. But that’s just me…

exactly. It's just you and me and others but not remotely everyone.

 

[Martin Bland]

Like in every other post about the iPhone 17 Air, priceless bellyaching about battery life by people who want “a thick slab with more battery life”, and have the option of buying that slab in the form of a 17 or 17 Pro but would rather gripe about the 17 Air.

The delicious cognitive dissonance of complaining about a phone that isn’t intended for you, that you claim you don’t want but still compulsively covet because it is indeed thinner than your proclaimed favorite thick slab.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I’ll take it a step further: the thin phone is a designed constraint to keep battery capacity small so you’ll keep upgrading every 2 years. iPhone Air is designed around that concept.

If someone does buy the rumored Air and finds out that the battery doesn't meet their needs, they have 14 days to return it. No harm, no foul. No one is going to not notice battery life in the first two weeks but then keep buying a new thin phone because they finally notice that they don't like the battery life. The entire premise makes no sense.

 

[WWP99]

Exactly what consumers are looking for in 2025 -- less battery life and more recharging.

 

[citysnaps]

Who knows? Maybe Air will ship with some efficiency-focused variant of A19 (or is it gonna be the A26?)

Well... the A19 chip will be manufactured in the latest process geometry - a plus for efficiency. And will have one less GPU core. And there's Apple's C1 modem chip which is more power efficient than previous Qualcomm modem chips Apple used.

But... people here don't take that into account when discussing battery life. Rather, believing Apple product engineers/system engineers/hardware engineers are stupid and don't know what they're doing. Happens every time before Apple releases a new product.