New leak predicts how thin the iPhone 17 Air will be
- There have been rumors about an iPhone 17 Air for a while now
- It apparently shaves 2mm off the iPhone 16 Pro
- Apple’s own modems will be smaller
There’s been a lot of talk about a possible iPhone 17 Air (or iPhone 17 Slim) model next year – replacing the iPhone 16 Plus, apparently – and now we have details on just how thin this upcoming device could be.
According to Bloomberg Mark Gurmanwho usually knows what he’s talking about when it comes to Apple information, the iPhone 17 Air will be about 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) thinner than the iPhone 16 Pro.
Considering the iPhone 16 Pro measures just 8.3mm (0.33 inches) from front to back, that’s a pretty serious reduction: a drop of about 24%. It would be Apple’s thinnest iPhone yet, bettering 2014’s iPhone 6 (6.9 mm or 0.27 inches).
The downsizing is partly due to Apple’s expected switch to using its own modem in next year’s iPhones, instead of using chips from Qualcomm. It’s a rumor we’ve heard before and which Gurman has now mentioned again.
Chipsets and screens
According to Gurman, we will first see the new Apple modem in the iPhone SE 4, which is expected to be released in March 2025. After that, it will appear in the iPhone 17 models, with an enhanced version set to be ready in time for the iPhone 18 in 2026.
According to the report, Apple even plans to use its own modem chipset to add cellular connectivity to Macs and the Apple Vision Pro, but that likely won’t happen before 2026 as the technology needs further development.
As for the iPhone 17 Air, previous leaks suggest that it will do without a physical SIM card slot to keep it as thin as possible, while also possibly introducing a screen that is thinner and more efficient compared to current iPhone screens.
All this thinning will ultimately help Apple develop its first foldable iPhone, Gurman said. It seems unlikely that the device will hit the market before 2026 at the earliest, but it is reportedly on its way now.