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I must have been kidding myself but I presumed the whole point of the 17 Air was that the camera (an inferior one, yes) would be flush with the body?
 
I woul like to see a phone that isn’t so slippery that you need to put a case on it just to keep from dropping it. Thinner, lighter, no camera bump. The camera on the iPhone 6 was good enough for me. If want to take high quality photos I have plenty of real camera gear. Stop putting the power button opposite the volume. How many accidental screen captures has this caused!
 
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iPhone Air's claim to fame will be thinness. It doesn't need Pro zoom. One very good camera lens that takes excellent pictures and excellent macro shots should be great for a very thin phone. 🤌

However, next year's Pro hopefully gets 10x zoom. 🤌👈
 
As others have said, it makes sense. Overall it's a marketing thing, gotta make those pro models look and feel better.
Though I tend to go with the Pro Max models anyway since I like the larger screen size.
As always, this simplistic theory makes no sense. It contends that Apple intentionally makes all non-Pro devices gimped and undesirable in order to “trick” people into to getting the Pro instead. Which would lead to a lot of wasted money on manufacturing those non-pro devices.

Actually, they’re just creating price tiers to serve different segments of the market while maintaining the margins they want on each device, which means they can’t put all features in all devices. Sounds logical to me!
 
The current iPhone lineup feels like a complete design misstep. The size, weight, and color choices lack coherence and sophistication, making it impossible for anyone who values aesthetics to find a desirable option. After breaking my red iPhone 13 a month ago, I’ve struggled to find a replacement I’d actually want to carry.

The standard iPhones come across as overly playful, juvenile and basic. While the Pro models are bulky, heavy, and lack the overall feel one expects from premium devices. It’s also clear that Apple has compromised on material quality across the board, likely to create space for a higher-tier “premium” model—potentially the rumored iPhone Air.

This approach undermines Apple’s legacy of seamless, refined design. At this point, I’ve lost confidence in their product philosophy. What I want is a thoughtfully designed, premium iPhone with logical proportions and impeccable material choices. I’m willing to pay a premium price, but I won’t compromise by carrying something as clunky and uninspired as the current models. Apple needs to remember that form and function must go hand in hand—right now, they’re failing on both fronts.
what exactly doesn’t feel premium about glass and titanium? like what exactly do you think would be a premium material?
 
What is… the purpose of this? I don’t understand this rumor. Genuinely. iPhones are already thin.

(If the various rumors are mostly-accurate): I don’t get what they are going with this rumored iPhone 17 Air. It’s replacing the Plus, right? (If that rumor is true). So it’ll be price higher than the iPhone 17 (maybe). But also… technically inferior to the iPhone 17 (if it’s missing hardware that presumably the iPhone 17 will have).

I don’t get it. It’s possible that I’m just a very stupid person (very possible, lol). But just I don’t get it at all.
 
It's very simple folks. Some people actually want thin and are willing to give up some things to get that. I'm not one of those people but examples of those people have posted exactly that here. For some the phone is almost as much about appearance as function. They don't want a case. They want it to get noticed. Personally, I think Apple is also testing out some tech to be later used on a folding phone that needs to be thin if they don't want it too thick when folded. Different strokes for different folks. Again, not for me, but that's okay because the pro models suit me fine.
 
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The current iPhone lineup feels like a complete design misstep. The size, weight, and color choices lack coherence and sophistication, making it impossible for anyone who values aesthetics to find a desirable option. After breaking my red iPhone 13 a month ago, I’ve struggled to find a replacement I’d actually want to carry.

The standard iPhones come across as overly playful, juvenile and basic. While the Pro models are bulky, heavy, and lack the overall feel one expects from premium devices. It’s also clear that Apple has compromised on material quality across the board, likely to create space for a higher-tier “premium” model—potentially the rumored iPhone Air.

This approach undermines Apple’s legacy of seamless, refined design. At this point, I’ve lost confidence in their product philosophy. What I want is a thoughtfully designed, premium iPhone with logical proportions and impeccable material choices. I’m willing to pay a premium price, but I won’t compromise by carrying something as clunky and uninspired as the current models. Apple needs to remember that form and function must go hand in hand—right now, they’re failing on both fronts.
Actually, the current Pro and Pro Max is a perfect phone. If Apple would make the dng a bit thicker and the camera would be in the case - you could wait with it for 6G.
 
It’s a quasi-iPhone X, okay?

They want to test their new modem, a thinner design, and likely a stacked camera sensor or otherwise unspecified changes to the main camera alongside changes to the internal layout of components. All these things take new tooling, time, and testing, but they need it out in a year’s time.

They can’t make the Pro model thinner yet without compromising things that make it “Pro” and they’re not gonna give all the latest tech to the base models, which would cause confusion in the line-up and also risk a controversy if the changes (like the modem) backfire.

So you get a “unique value proposition” in the iPhone Air, and it will work okay because we overestimate how many people need all the bells-and-whistles of the Pro models, and underestimate how easy it is to upsell a little bit of the future early. This will be the type of device people on this forum will understand when it’s in their hand next to the big bulky Pro model, not by the spec sheet.
 
This is tough….we know physics but at the same time their iPad Pro was able to simply become the new ultra thin design. I don’t see it appealing long term simply by being “the thin iPhone” but not also being the best iPhone….
 
With the Air being thin, there won't be any space to accommodate a zoom lens. Only key feature of the Air, is supposedly the new thin form factor. But with a 48 Megapixel sensor, it is quite possible that Apple will be advertising a 2x optical zoom like quality on the new iPhone Air.
 
While I don't fully understand this move, I'm still curious to see this model come to fruition and to see how well it is received. I suspect Apple is also just testing the waters with this model.

I'm most confused by the rumoured 6.6" display size given the poor sales of the Plus model which is being discontinued. Of course not everything can be attributed to display size, but this kinda makes it similar to the Plus. At 6.6", I also have my concerns with the rigidity given it could be "the thinnest iPhone ever". Let's see.
 
Apple should bring back the rounded sides for 6" 19.5:9 screen and larger but keep flat sides for anything below 6" 19.5:9 screen

They should bring back the iPhone 6/6s/7/8 Plus form factor but with bigger battery capacity...

They should also go back to bigger battery but no camera bump... For the 3 camera iPhone, iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max has the smallest camera bump that it is almost laying flat on a table unlike newer iPhone models that have significant gap between the table and the iPhone...
Having recently jumped from X to 16 Pro, I would say the form factor is finally mature enough to make it almost equally comfortable to hold. iPhone 12 to 14 with razor sharp edges though... That was rough
 
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As others have said, it makes sense. Overall it's a marketing thing, gotta make those pro models look and feel better.
Though I tend to go with the Pro Max models anyway since I like the larger screen size.
It's all relative and all about perception. For me I like to be able to use it one-handed and carry it in my pocket comfortably but also want all the features. 6.27 inches seems like the perfect balance between huge+functional and practical, personally. :)

Now 17 Air, that is gonna compromise on functionality to make it truly practical and visually appealing, so it's not gonna be the 'balanced' option anymore. It's all in on a form factor
 
What’s the meaning of a thinner iPhone ??? Current models are already quite thin. Are they really going to ask big money (we are speaking about an iPhone, after all) for a phone with a single camera setup ???
 
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