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iPhone 17 Air's Thickness and Price Range Revealed in New Report

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Apple is widely rumored to be planning an ultra-thin iPhone 17 model for release later this year, and a new report offers a few purported details.

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

South Korea's Sisa Journal today reported that Apple is aiming for the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" to be 6.25mm thick. If that measurement ends up being accurate, the device would become the thinnest iPhone ever, topping the current 6.9mm record set by the iPhone 6. It also means the device would be around 20% thinner than the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, and around 25% thinner than the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Most rumors seem to agree that the "iPhone 17 Air" will be somewhere in the 6mm thickness range, with one rumor going as low as 5mm.

The report said the ultra-thin iPhone 17's price will be similar to that of the iPhone 16 Plus, which starts at $899 in the United States. Apple is not expected to release an iPhone 17 Plus, and the "iPhone 17 Air" will effectively be its replacement.

Samsung is also planning to release a substantially thinner smartphone this year, according to the report. Similar to the "iPhone 17 Air," the so-called "Galaxy S25 Slim" will apparently have a thickness in the mid-6mm range.

There have been conflicting rumors about "iPhone 17 Air" design details and specifications, but most sources have agreed that the device will have around a 6.6-inch display. 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. The device is expected to be equipped with 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence support.

Overall, the device would have some compromises compared to the Pro models in order to achieve a much thinner and lighter design.

Apple should release all iPhone 17 models in September, and additional rumors will likely surface about the "iPhone 17 Air" between now and then.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Air's Thickness and Price Range Revealed in New Report
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/01/03/iphone-17-air-thickness-and-price-range-report/
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Amazing, this would solve the huge pain point of current iPhones that are almost 8 millimeters thick! Every day I'm struggling with my iPhone and I keep thinking, "man, if only it were one millimeter thinner, the world would be a better place!"
 
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For me, as a 16 Plus owner, the question is what kind of impact the Air’s thin design will have on battery life. That and the performance of the Apple 5G modem, of course.

EDIT: I just checked and the 13-inch M4 iPad Pro is 5.1mm thick (not including camera bump). So the thickness rumored for the iPhone Air doesn’t strike me as being extraordinary.
 
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Really not sure who this device is for. It's almost like Apple weren't happy with the Plus model (taking too many sales from the Pro? poor overall sales?) and have opted to use the 2025 version as a test bed for new technologies - manufacturing thinner devices, new modem chip, possibly a new camera assembly - which will then roll out in an optimised form to the other models in subsequent years.

I'm sort of expecting some kind of bendgate and antennagate issues (e.g. the thinness causes durability issues and the Apple modem underperforms the iPhone 16 range of phones)
 
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alexe said:
Amazing, this would solve the huge pain point of current iPhones that are almost 8 millimeters thick! Every day I'm struggling with my iPhone and I keep thinking, "man, if only it were one millimeter thinner, the world would be a better place!"
Click to expand...

Exactly. Of all things to start from, I don't understand why choosing thinness as top priority helps anything.

We've been through all this before. Anyone remember the Motorola RAZR? Cool for its time, but the buttons were remarkably similar to the bad times of the Apple keyboards. Even for a flip phone it made sacrifices to be that thin.

If they just want to show off that they can make a thin smartphone, great I guess? Why not use that extra millimeter to put in more battery?
 
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SDJim said:
Not that I think it's going to be a bad product, but... Who asked for this, exactly?
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Marketing Department, recalling how "thinner" spin seemed to work year after year in the past... much like the usual summertime rumor of some new key part implies there will be a shortage of new iPhones at launch (that magically gets overcome by the end of the very same quarter).

As it always goes with the "thinner" pursuit, this line should give all pause...

Overall, the device would have some compromises compared to the Pro models in order to achieve a much thinner and lighter design.
Click to expand...

...particularly when considered with this line...

The report said the ultra-thin iPhone 17's price will be similar to that of the iPhone 16 Plus, which starts at $899 in the United States. Apple is not expected to release an iPhone 17 Plus, and the "iPhone 17 Air" will effectively be its replacement.
Click to expand...

...which seems to translate to tangible compromises to achieve "thinner" but at "the same great price." So compromises of features won't drive down price and thus margin because "we'll" cover that up with (a mostly gimmick of) "thinnest iPhone ever."

Based on the past, I expect that to work... driving "shut up and take my money", etc... to eventually be followed by gripes about the functionality compromises vs. the other phones... including presumably, "my former iPhone."

Guesses at bigger "compromises": less camera capability because physics is physics and less battery because the bulk of the guts of all iPhones is battery. But "who makes the most profitable phone?" should be fully preserved... and then some.
 
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Havalo said:
Given, generally speaking, most folks like myself will put the phone in a case which will make it more or less same approx same size as current iPhone.
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This phone is great for people like me who do not use a case.... However I have gotten used to the Pro Max phone and don't think I want to sacrifice the features, power and battery for thinness. Curious to see who the target market will be for this one.
 
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alexe said:
Amazing, this would solve the huge pain point of current iPhones that are almost 8 millimeters thick! Every day I'm struggling with my iPhone and I keep thinking, "man, if only it were one millimeter thinner, the world would be a better place!"
Click to expand...
Apple should include a free 1 year subscription to Fitness+ (or a gym membership?) for those who find the current iPhones too heavy. :p
 
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If it weights a lot less than the 16 Plus that would be a great thing, but for me personally I am waiting for an all new design (something more than a change to the camera area).

They need to bring back John Ive.
 
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sw1tcher said:
Apple thinks this is the solution to poor iPhone Plus sales after the iPhone Plus didn't fix poor iPhone mini sales.
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It seems so simple to me, surely I'm missing something. Seems they just need three iPhones. Small, medium, and large. And I guess a Pro variant of the larger two, so five. I don't think they can make a true Pro Mini with current technology, it would be too dense anyway.

There are tons of people who want a smaller phone. I've used my phone less and less and my Mac more and more, it's really beneficial to have a small phone because its true purpose is portability. And people who want larger phones are already being addressed.
 
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