Apple is gearing up to broaden its iPhone lineup with an exciting new addition: the iPhone Air. This will mark the debut of a fresh series of devices, and the standout feature will be its ultra-slim design, measuring just 5 to 6 mm thick. Of course, this sleekness comes with some trade-offs. The iPhone Air will sport a single 48 MP camera with 2x optical zoom, a 24 MP front-facing camera, and a 6.6-inch display.
The goal behind the iPhone 17 Air is to streamline the internal components as much as possible. Engineers are tasked with eliminating any unnecessary parts while keeping only the essentials. Figuring out how to make the device significantly thinner—reportedly 40-50% slimmer than other Apple models—is the biggest challenge the team is tackling with the iPhone 17 Air.
Apple is no stranger to creating sleek devices. The 13-inch model measures just 5.3 mm thick, making it the slimmest gadget in their lineup.
Now, onto the hardware. The iPhone 17 Air will feature the new Apple A19 processor, which is the latest base chip from the company. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will be equipped with upgraded versions of this chip—the A19 Pro—offering even better performance.
The source also mentions that the iPhone 17 Air will come equipped with a 5G modem designed by Apple. Interestingly, the same modem will be featured in the fourth-generation iPhone SE.
However, it’s noted that this modem won’t support the 5G mmWave range, and its data transfer speeds are lower compared to the current Qualcomm modems.
There are a few other trade-offs highlighted by international tech media. For starters, the new model will only have one speaker, which hasn’t been the case since the iPhone 7. Most importantly, the iPhone 17 Air will sport just a single camera.
If this camera matches the main one found in the standard and Pro iPhone models, that would be a positive development. To give you some context, the main camera on the iPhone 16 Pro Max features a 48-megapixel sensor with an optical format of 1 / 1.28 (with individual pixel size at 1.22 μm). It’s paired with a lens that has an equivalent focal length of 24 mm and an aperture of F / 1.78.
Some reports are saying that the module Apple plans to use in the iPhone 17 Air is pretty special. It’s a wide-angle telephoto sensor boasting 48 MP and 2x optical zoom, which means it’ll take the place of two separate camera modules at once.
Additionally, the iPhone 17 Air is rumored to come with a fresh 6.6-inch display, fitting nicely between the standard model and the Pro Max versions, which have screens measuring 6.3 and 6.9 inches.
You can also expect ProMotion technology, allowing for an adaptive refresh rate that ranges from 1 to 120 Hz. Plus, the display will be covered with a new, tough coating.
Time to shift gears. The iPhone 17 Air might feature its selfie camera nestled in the iconic Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the display. Alternatively, Face ID could be hidden beneath the screen, with a tiny hole for the front camera. As for the selfie camera, it’s set to get a nice upgrade. Rumor has it that it will sport a 24 MP sensor (up from 12 MP) and come with six optical elements instead of the previous five plastic ones.
The iPhone 17 Air might skip the SIM card slot because of its thickness, according to The Information. The prototypes are reportedly between 5 to 6 mm thick.
In addition to the new Apple A19 processor, this smartphone is set to have more RAM, boosting its overall performance. The base model is expected to come with 128 GB of storage, but there will be options available that go all the way up to 1 TB.
Currently, the slimmest iPhone is the iPhone 6, which came out in 2014 and measures 6.9 mm thick. Meanwhile, the thinnest Apple device is the iPad Pro (M4) 13″ tablet, which is just 5.1 mm thick.
The thickness of the iPhone 16 series:
- iPhone 16: 7.80 mm
- iPhone 16 Plus: 7.80 mm
- iPhone 16 Pro: 8.25 mm
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: 8.25 mm
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be unveiled alongside the entire iPhone 17 lineup in the fall of 2025. This sleek smartphone is set to be the priciest option in Apple’s new offerings, with insider info suggesting a starting price of $1,299.
As usual, DxOMark will assess Apple’s latest products for their photo and video performance. The current top model, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, managed to score 157 points in these tests, which is just a slight improvement over last year’s Huawei. It fell short of the top spot, held by the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra, by six points. However, the video capabilities of the new iPhone are reportedly top-notch.
Since then, several brands have launched their next-gen flagship devices, which could potentially take the lead in the DxOMark camera rankings and pose a challenge to the upcoming iPhone 17 Air.