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New 'iPhone 17 Air' Rumors: Ultra-Thin 5.5mm Design, No SIM Card Slot

Kelly Jones said:
I see lots of people carrying their phone in their back pocket. Seems like a #bendgate scenario with an ultra-thin phone.
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Can a black glass panel "bend"? I could see how the back aluminum plates of the 6 series could, but I think a glass back will just break before bending.
 
Harthag said:
Unnecessarily slim phone that no one asked for, single speaker, single rear camera, worse processor, likely inferior Apple gen 1 modem, likely small battery. Bet it'll cost $1199 base price. Yeah...sign me up! 😂
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It will cost $799 the same as the Plus does now
 
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code-m said:
It’s probably misguided under the impression that when iPhones were getting thinner the sales were up but that was only due to technology and upgrade cycles. People are looking for battery life and if this thin model has it then maybe, if not it will be another mini.
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The battery won't be as small as the mini, because it's 6.6" not 5.4", I suspect it will be similar to the standard 17, the compromise will be with the camera, mainly & the speakers, otherwise no one would buy it, if it had similar battery life as the Mini.....I still think it will flop!
 
Lounge vibes 05 said:
While clearly not big enough to be able to sell a phone like the mini, there certainly is quite a vocal group of people who want less cumbersome phones.
Assuming this rumor is even close to correct and the iPhone really does shrink from the current 8.3 MM thin down to 5.5 or even 6MM thin with an aluminum build, the difference will be absolutely noticeable.
Even Apple‘s largest screen iPhones have still significantly increased in weight over the past 10 years, the 6+ was 172G heavy at 7.1MM while the 14 Pro Max was 240G heavy. Not just a little bit heavier, 30% heavier.
Given that this iPhone could be almost 2MM thinner than even the 6+, we could be talking about an iPhone around the same weight as the SE3 which is 144G heavy.
A phone that was only 150G but with a 6.6 inch screen will feel even lighter, just because of the weight to body ratio. And because of the single camera, the weight distribution will be more even throughout the phone.
I’ll bet you the weight savings alone will make a huge difference. I would not even be surprised to see plenty of 12 and 13 Mini owners reluctantly upgrade just because of how light and small the phone will feel despite the massive screen.
Edit: the 13Mini was 140G. So a 6.6 inch iPhone possibly within 10-20G of the Mini.
If even close to accurate, this thing won’t feel real. Well… until you put a case on it, but even then it’ll feel more like a large iPod touch. And the iPod Touch was tiny.
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Theories are great eh 😊, the reality will be similar to the Mini & the Plus
 
Waiting to see the redesigned all new iPhone. Very possible that this will be an eSIM only device globally. Would love to have a physical SIM. But don't think it will happen and Apple will slowly remove physical SIM slot from all their devices.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
Maybe this the phone will be more budget friendly for those seeking to get an iPhone.
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I hope not. I want a super-thin iPhone without feature compromise other than battery life. (I realize I'm not going to get exactly what I want, but I hope it's as close to this as possible.)
 
abatabia said:
While curious about this, is anyone really clamoring for thinner again?
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If they have a range of phones and include a thin one, then what harm.

SE, 17 proper, 17 Air, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max

Wish they’d offer 17 proper in two sizes (5.6” and 6.2”) without a different model name for each. Remove camera button gimmick from the non-Pro, and give Pro a more physical camera shutter and dial button, like the Watch Ultra controls.
 
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I thought I wouldn't change 15 plus at least until iPhone 19. At first I didn't like the size, but I don't know if I could go back to a smaller one. I would definitely like it to be lighter and thinner. I'm waiting for this iPhone. Good move by Apple, because in terms of thickness the 6S was perfect in this respect.
 
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staceyu said:
Considering that the take rate for Mini was <10%, probably not. And Apple can afford to have a line of not as profitable phones.
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Well that's cause they made it the crummiest, lowest battery life device in the lineup. Give us a pro quality mini that can last longer than a Scorsese film, watch what happens!
 
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garettap said:
Well that's cause they made it the crummiest, lowest battery life device in the lineup. Give us a pro quality mini that can last longer than a Scorsese film, watch what happens!
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But then the Mini won’t be very mini now would it? Most devices with that kind of battery size and a 5.4 inch screen end up having the thickness of a handheld scanner.
 
HJM.NL said:
Isn’t this the iPhone E(ntry) if not, why another iPhone where the only difference is thickness?

iPhone slim and iPhone obese
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Because Apple is fooling everybody. This is not going to be just a thicker iPhone, I’m pretty sure this will be a flip iPhone.
 
ApplesAreSweet&Sour said:
I'm still convinced this is a big rebrand of the mid-tier iPhone 17 (and onward).

The rumor about the single back camera seems to persist, though, and has me worried that Apple will use the opportunity to make the mid-tier iPhones even less like the Pro/Pro Max by downgrading some of the mid-tier's main staples, specifically the dual-camera setup on the back. But we're supposed to like it because now the mid-tier is slimmer and lighter than ever before.

Seems like a reasonable move if Apple wants even more to go Pro/Pro Max or settle for an even lower value/$ mid-tier iPhone with even better profit margins for Apple than what we get in the current mid-tier iPhones 16.

Maybe Apple wants the mid-tier iPhones to be as outdated and low value/$ as the M2 iPads are compared to the M4 Pro iPads? Finally streamline the product naming strategy between iPhone and iPads?

Judging how Apple has turned the low-end iPad 10 into a faux iPad Air, maybe the rumored iPhoneE will then be a sort of faux iPhone Air -Outer chassis, finish and color are the same between both. But display and internals are vastly superior in Air?

Conversely, I cannot see this 17 Air sitting next to the dual-camera mid-tier iPhones 17 but still sell for $999-$1199 while it has a single back camera but otherwise only trumps the mid-tier 17 by being the thinnest iPhone ever.
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Once again, Apple is fooling everybody! I'm convinced this will be a flip iPhone.

You’ll see.
 
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