Rumors have been floating around for months that Apple might launch a brand-new iPhone model this year: the so-called iPhone Air, a new, super-thin iPhone that may mark the first big design shift for the line in many years. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
More than a facelift, the iPhone Air is a different strategy altogether, being neither a more affordable base model nor a feature-packed Pro phone. Instead, rumors describe a phone that\u2019s aimed to please people who are willing to sacrifice some function for a sleeker, slimmer design. Basically, it\u2019s the iPhone version of the original MacBook Air.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Current rumors suggest the phone will debut as part of Apple\u2019s iPhone 17 lineup this fall, giving it the name iPhone 17 Air. Of course, it\u2019s not a done deal just yet. Apple could still change its plans or the rumors could turn out wrong. But enough reports have come out to suggest that something real is in the works. Here are all the rumors about the upcoming phone so far:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The thinnest iPhone yet<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\nThe 17 Air will be very thin, but the rumor mill hasn\u2019t totally settled on the exact number.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nSupply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted<\/a> a 5.5mm phone in January, which would make it slightly thicker than the 5.1mm M4 iPad Pro that debuted last May<\/a>. Two days later, Bloomberg <\/em>reporter Mark Gurman reiterated<\/a> a claim he\u2019d made in December<\/a>: that the new phone would be \u201cabout 2 millimeters thinner\u201d than the 8.25mm iPhone 16 Pro. Supply chain analyst Jeff Pu has suggested it would be around 6mm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nNo matter who is closest, the 17 Air would be one of the thinnest Apple products ever, even more so than the iPhone 6, which currently holds the record for thinnest iPhone<\/a> at 6.9mm \u2014\u00a0and was notably prone to bending<\/a>. Encouragingly, Apple managed to make the M4 iPad Pro surprisingly sturdy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBattery woes<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\nApple is said to be working on novel ways to fit enough battery to meet its ultra-slim phone goal. A November 2023 rumor from ETNews<\/em><\/a> said Apple was attempting to create a new, denser kind of battery that uses carbon nanotubes and a mix of materials like nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum for future devices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nBut in November 2024, Korean leaker yeux1122 posted<\/a> that Apple is using standard battery tech. They said the company had sought to get thinner internals to enable both more battery capacity and a slimmer phone but failed. The Information<\/em> wrote later<\/a> that month that Apple was having trouble finding space for the battery, SIM card, and thermal materials inside, limiting how thin it can be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nA more recent rumor from leaker Digital Chat Station suggested<\/a> that both Apple\u2019s phone and the also-rumored skinny Samsung Galaxy S25<\/a> will feature a 3,000 \u2013 4,000mAh battery and measure somewhere between \u201c5.xmm-6.xmm.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe iPhone 17 Air\u2019s display<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\nAll signs right now are pointing to every iPhone 17\u2019s OLED display<\/a> using the same LTPO panel tech found in current Pro models. That could mean both higher refresh rates and less power consumption, as it enables the screens to raise their refresh rates to 120Hz and then drop as low as 1Hz. That\u2019s part of why Apple\u2019s always-on display feature works without a significant battery cost.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nAs for screen size, rumors generally agree it will measure about 6.6 inches<\/a>. That\u2019s a tad smaller than the 6.7-inch screen of the iPhone 16 Plus, which the 17 Air may be replacing this year<\/a>. It\u2019s expected that the phone will get a Dynamic Island with Face ID, like the rest of the flagship line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nIn-house chips and Apple Intelligence<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\nBloomberg<\/em>\u2019s Mark Gurman recently said<\/a> that Apple will outfit the iPhone 17 Air with in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, as well as its own bespoke cellular modem. That\u2019ll be a first for the company, which has been trying for years<\/a> to develop its own modem in an effort to ditch Qualcomm. Apple is apparently confident it\u2019s done that now<\/a>, and well enough to start putting it in phones, possibly starting with the iPhone SE 4<\/a> within the next few months. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nApple will probably put a regular A19 chip in the 17 Air, reserving the A19 Pro chip for its Pro phones. The phone could also have 8GB of RAM<\/a> and support Apple Intelligence AI features as a result. <\/p>\n<\/div>\nCamera diet<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\nRumors have been steadfast that the iPhone 17 Air will only have one camera on the back. Citing supply chain analyst Jeff Pu in October, MacRumors <\/em>wrote<\/a> that it will be a 48-megapixel shooter and that the phone will feature a 24-megapixel shooter for the front-facing selfie cam.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nHow much will it cost?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\nThe iPhone 17 Air could be expensive despite lacking the fancy camera array of the Pro phones or the dual-camera setup of the base model. The Information<\/em> even wrote<\/a> that it could cost more than the $1,299 iPhone 16 Pro Max does now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nNot every rumor agrees. The Wall Street Journal <\/em>wrote<\/a> in December that Apple is aiming for something cheaper than the Pro phones. That\u2019d put it below $999, where the iPhone 16 Pro starts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhy is Apple making the iPhone 17 Air?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\nGurman reported in August<\/a> that boosting sales is the big motivator for the Air redesign after years of Mini and Plus phone flops. Later, in his January 12th newsletter<\/a>, he wrote that the company sees the Air strategy as \u201ca tried-and-true winner\u201d for getting sales. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nThe Journal\u2019<\/em>s December story echoed that, saying Apple is trying growth with the iPhone 17 Air following its years of \u201clargely incremental upgrades.\u201d Although the iPhone still makes up about half of Apple\u2019s revenue, the outlet wrote, its \u201clast big wave of sales gains was in 2021,\u201d thanks to carriers\u2019 subsidies amid their 5G push.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nApple has tried since 2020 to goose sales using four flagships, and the 17 Air approach is no different, CNBC<\/em> wrote in November<\/a>. Apple started with the iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max, then swapped out the Mini models for \u201cPlus\u201d phones starting with the iPhone 14. But the Mini and Plus models haven\u2019t clicked with buyers. Most recently, the iPhone 16 Plus only made up 10 percent of Apple\u2019s screen orders in 2023 and 16 percent of them last year, Ross Young of display research firm DSCC told the outlet. The Air could theoretically replace the Plus as a slightly higher-end option.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nDrumming up sales isn\u2019t necessarily the whole story though, as Gurman also offered another explanation in January: Apple is using the phone as a testing ground for new technologies, including its in-house wireless and cell modem chips. But more than that, it\u2019s a stepping stone toward the smaller tech needed to eventually build a folding iPhone. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The 17 Air will be very thin, but the rumor mill hasn\u2019t totally settled on the exact number.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted<\/a> a 5.5mm phone in January, which would make it slightly thicker than the 5.1mm M4 iPad Pro that debuted last May<\/a>. Two days later, Bloomberg <\/em>reporter Mark Gurman reiterated<\/a> a claim he\u2019d made in December<\/a>: that the new phone would be \u201cabout 2 millimeters thinner\u201d than the 8.25mm iPhone 16 Pro. Supply chain analyst Jeff Pu has suggested it would be around 6mm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n No matter who is closest, the 17 Air would be one of the thinnest Apple products ever, even more so than the iPhone 6, which currently holds the record for thinnest iPhone<\/a> at 6.9mm \u2014\u00a0and was notably prone to bending<\/a>. Encouragingly, Apple managed to make the M4 iPad Pro surprisingly sturdy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Apple is said to be working on novel ways to fit enough battery to meet its ultra-slim phone goal. A November 2023 rumor from ETNews<\/em><\/a> said Apple was attempting to create a new, denser kind of battery that uses carbon nanotubes and a mix of materials like nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum for future devices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But in November 2024, Korean leaker yeux1122 posted<\/a> that Apple is using standard battery tech. They said the company had sought to get thinner internals to enable both more battery capacity and a slimmer phone but failed. The Information<\/em> wrote later<\/a> that month that Apple was having trouble finding space for the battery, SIM card, and thermal materials inside, limiting how thin it can be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A more recent rumor from leaker Digital Chat Station suggested<\/a> that both Apple\u2019s phone and the also-rumored skinny Samsung Galaxy S25<\/a> will feature a 3,000 \u2013 4,000mAh battery and measure somewhere between \u201c5.xmm-6.xmm.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n All signs right now are pointing to every iPhone 17\u2019s OLED display<\/a> using the same LTPO panel tech found in current Pro models. That could mean both higher refresh rates and less power consumption, as it enables the screens to raise their refresh rates to 120Hz and then drop as low as 1Hz. That\u2019s part of why Apple\u2019s always-on display feature works without a significant battery cost.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As for screen size, rumors generally agree it will measure about 6.6 inches<\/a>. That\u2019s a tad smaller than the 6.7-inch screen of the iPhone 16 Plus, which the 17 Air may be replacing this year<\/a>. It\u2019s expected that the phone will get a Dynamic Island with Face ID, like the rest of the flagship line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bloomberg<\/em>\u2019s Mark Gurman recently said<\/a> that Apple will outfit the iPhone 17 Air with in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, as well as its own bespoke cellular modem. That\u2019ll be a first for the company, which has been trying for years<\/a> to develop its own modem in an effort to ditch Qualcomm. Apple is apparently confident it\u2019s done that now<\/a>, and well enough to start putting it in phones, possibly starting with the iPhone SE 4<\/a> within the next few months. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Apple will probably put a regular A19 chip in the 17 Air, reserving the A19 Pro chip for its Pro phones. The phone could also have 8GB of RAM<\/a> and support Apple Intelligence AI features as a result. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rumors have been steadfast that the iPhone 17 Air will only have one camera on the back. Citing supply chain analyst Jeff Pu in October, MacRumors <\/em>wrote<\/a> that it will be a 48-megapixel shooter and that the phone will feature a 24-megapixel shooter for the front-facing selfie cam.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The iPhone 17 Air could be expensive despite lacking the fancy camera array of the Pro phones or the dual-camera setup of the base model. The Information<\/em> even wrote<\/a> that it could cost more than the $1,299 iPhone 16 Pro Max does now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Not every rumor agrees. The Wall Street Journal <\/em>wrote<\/a> in December that Apple is aiming for something cheaper than the Pro phones. That\u2019d put it below $999, where the iPhone 16 Pro starts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gurman reported in August<\/a> that boosting sales is the big motivator for the Air redesign after years of Mini and Plus phone flops. Later, in his January 12th newsletter<\/a>, he wrote that the company sees the Air strategy as \u201ca tried-and-true winner\u201d for getting sales. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Journal\u2019<\/em>s December story echoed that, saying Apple is trying growth with the iPhone 17 Air following its years of \u201clargely incremental upgrades.\u201d Although the iPhone still makes up about half of Apple\u2019s revenue, the outlet wrote, its \u201clast big wave of sales gains was in 2021,\u201d thanks to carriers\u2019 subsidies amid their 5G push.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Apple has tried since 2020 to goose sales using four flagships, and the 17 Air approach is no different, CNBC<\/em> wrote in November<\/a>. Apple started with the iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max, then swapped out the Mini models for \u201cPlus\u201d phones starting with the iPhone 14. But the Mini and Plus models haven\u2019t clicked with buyers. Most recently, the iPhone 16 Plus only made up 10 percent of Apple\u2019s screen orders in 2023 and 16 percent of them last year, Ross Young of display research firm DSCC told the outlet. The Air could theoretically replace the Plus as a slightly higher-end option.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Drumming up sales isn\u2019t necessarily the whole story though, as Gurman also offered another explanation in January: Apple is using the phone as a testing ground for new technologies, including its in-house wireless and cell modem chips. But more than that, it\u2019s a stepping stone toward the smaller tech needed to eventually build a folding iPhone. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nBattery woes<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
The iPhone 17 Air\u2019s display<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
In-house chips and Apple Intelligence<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Camera diet<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
How much will it cost?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Why is Apple making the iPhone 17 Air?<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n