iPhone 17 Air's Ultra-Thin Design Will Result in These 3 Missing Features

[MacRumors]

The thin and light design of Apple's rumored "iPhone 17 Air" will require some compromises. The device is rumored to lack three features found on many iPhone models, including a bottom speaker, an Ultra Wide camera, and a SIM card slot internationally.

The Information last year reported that the ultra-thin iPhone 17 model will have only a single speaker, built into the earpiece at the top of the device. This rumor appears to be accurate, as 3D renders of the iPhone 17 Air that have surfaced in recent weeks show only a few holes on the bottom edge of the device, which are likely for microphones.

Like the iPhone 16e, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be equipped with a single 48-megapixel rear Fusion camera, which is a main 1× camera combined with a 2× zoom option with "optical-like" quality. This means the iPhone 17 Air would lack an Ultra Wide camera for 0.5× photos, but this extra internal space should allow for a larger battery.

Apple started phasing out the physical SIM card slot on iPhones in the U.S. with the iPhone 14 lineup in 2022, so it should come as no surprise that the iPhone 17 Air is also expected to work with digital eSIMs only in that country. However, The Information reported that Apple planned to eliminate the SIM card slot on iPhones in more countries this year, so the iPhone 17 Air might only work with eSIMs internationally too.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 Air in September.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Air's Ultra-Thin Design Will Result in These 3 Missing Features

 

[infinitejest]

Too many compromises.

 

[Nrwrit3r]

I just realized something...maybe this iPhone is actually one half of the foldable iPhone they're making? And this is just prep for that

 

[JCCL]

I just realized something...maybe this iPhone is actually one half of the foldable iPhone they're making? And this is just prep for that

Don’t think that’s how product design works. The biggest challenge would be the folding screen, this does nothing to prep for that.

 

[blairh]

The single speaker is a real shame. No question about it. But I'm still going to pre-order this device. It will be a pleasure to use until the book-style folding iPhone is released.

 

[spillled typos]

make a mini version and I'm sold

 

[Fuzzball84]

I hope it’s not

The ability to make calls, text and pay for your lunch using Apple Pay.

 

[Fuzzball84]

make a mini version and I'm sold

They don’t do mini anymore as it would appear weak. They only do big

 

[Fuzzball84]

The single speaker is a real shame. No question about it. But I'm still going to pre-order this device. It will be a pleasure to use until the book-style folding iPhone is released.

Please buy it, you keep my investments good 😀

 

[Atog]

DOA

 

[nottorp]

Ohh. No SIM slot. Apple really wants to control what carriers you use with their phones.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I hope it’s not

The ability to make calls, text and pay for your lunch using Apple Pay.

Sadly the headline really wasn't doing any work as far as providing information. Fortunately your three priorities seem to be safe!

 

[chas_m]

Ohh. No SIM slot. Apple really wants to control what carriers you use with their phones.

Uh, no. You'll have exactly the same options you have always had for carriers, but via eSIM.

This actually makes switching carriers (if desired) almost effortless.

 

[bluecoast]

I wonder how big a market there will be for an iPhone whose main USP seems to be that:

- It's thin (and light?) but...
- With less features than the regular 17 is likely to have.

Guess we'll find out this fall.

It feels very different from when we last had a unique vision of the iPhone of the future - the iPhone X - which was the best iPhone that you could get in 2017and a quantum leap compared to the 8 and 8 plus.

 

[klasma]

I just realized something...maybe this iPhone is actually one half of the foldable iPhone they're making? And this is just prep for that

I feel like there’s someone in every Air thread with that thought.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Uh, no. You'll have exactly the same options you have always had for carriers, but via eSIM.

This actually makes switching carriers (if desired) almost effortless.

Switching is wrong.

 

[contacos]

Such brilliant marketing by Chinese vendors who started this trend. You leave out some things, save money but market it as the thinnest thing EVAAAA

 

[dmk1974]

Who cares if thin? Welcome to Bendgate 2.0.

The thickness is misleading anyway as it seems the cameras protroude out by like another 50% anyway on my 16 Pro. I'd rather have the entire phone a little thicker so the camera lenses are more flush with the back and use the depth for an even longer lasting battery. iPhone 3G was 12.3mm at the middle of the back. I don't remember anyone bitching about its thickness.

 

[chas_m]

This unannounced product with no proof of it actually existing at present is subject to a lot of speculation about what it will or won't have. ISTR that the iPhone 16e was kept secret until it actually existed, and that most of its feature set (and omissions, like MagSafe) was not correctly identified because the press misled themselves into assuming the iPhone SE 4 would appear.

So I'd take any claim of specifics on the iPhone "Air" to be either guesswork based on the idea that thin = fewer features, or fevered imaginings that don't have a reliable source for the time being.

 

[trip1ex]

This will change my life

 

[now i see it]

iPhone 6 Plus & 6S Plus are already plenty thin. Nobody wanted those phones thinner -- and they both accommodate a physical SIM card easily. This iPhone 17 Air is going to be toooo thin if the rumors are correct

 

[hieranonymous]

Imagine if Apple just decided not to release this thing after all this anticipatory hubbub. 😂

 

[nottorp]

Uh, no. You'll have exactly the same options you have always had for carriers, but via eSIM.

This actually makes switching carriers (if desired) almost effortless.

Common mistake. Only carriers whose eSIM option works with Apple's systems. Which I'm 100% sure requires manual approval...

 

[FlyingDutch]

The single camera isn’t an issue for many, just like the eSIM is the future for everyone. But the single speaker on an expensive device is something puzzling me a lot. Audio quality has always been quite good on iPhone. Would they accept a sub-par solution?

 

[BenGoren]

No physical SIM slot means this phone won’t be available at least in Japan, and presumably at least some other major markets as well.

While there are lots of options in Japan for eSIM data service, the only way to get an actual phone number is with a physical SIM. And the only way to get a physical SIM is from an established carrier … and all the carriers require proof of residency — a long-stay visa at a minimum, if not permanent residency or citizenship.

Why?

Because banks and other “important” entities use SMS and callbacks as part of 2FA for services only available to residents. Basically, living in Japan is impossible without a Japanese phone number, and you’re not going to get that number without being in the country legally on something other than a tourist visa.

Therefore, all phones sold in Japan, and all phones used by Japanese residents, have a physical SIM.

(Feel free to complain about how pointless you think this is, but your complaints are themselves pointless. Might as well complain about, for example, how the IRS requires all American citizens to file taxes even if they long since moved overseas. Countries make their own laws and have their own customs — that’s what it means to be sovereign.)

Much as I personally prefer eSIM, I must admit to being skeptical that Apple would abandon a market as large and important as Japan by trying to force the matter in this way. If the rumor is accurate — which I doubt — it seems a major miscalculation by Apple.

I expect Japan will eventually abandon the physical SIM, but not any time soon. And I’ll be quite surprised if Apple actually abandons the physical SIM before Japan does.

b&