A new report has given us an idea of how thin the iPhone 17 Air is, as well as how vital this generation is to Apple’s future.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the iPhone 17 Air, scheduled for release in the fall, will be “a testing ground for long-term technologies. “This includes the generation that will likely be used to create Apple’s first foldable phone. This makes sense, as one of the most challenging parts of designing a foldable phone is making the battery and chips compatible in a thinner frame.
On top of that, Gurman states that the iPhone 17 Air will be around 2mm thinner than current iPhones, which would make the Air 5.8mm or 6.3mm thick (0.23 or 0.25 inches) depending on if you’re using the standard or Pro models as a basis. For reference, the iPhone 17 Air has been reported to be around 5.5mm or 6.25mm thick in other reports.
There is a lot of excitement surrounding the iPhone 17 Air, announced as the iPhone 17 Slim. The concept of a much thinner iPhone released along the upcoming iPhone 17 series is nice looking in itself. While we’ve noticed a lot of rumors about the phone, it is also vital that it may just relate to the adventure to the iPhone Flip or the MacBook/iPad crossover.
The iPhone Air may not just be a proving ground for a future foldable design. It could be one of the first devices with Apple’s in-house designed modem alongside the iPhone SE 4. However, there’s no mention of whether the Air will be one of the devices to have an Apple-designed Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip.
Aside from that, we have heard a few mixed things about the iPhone 17 Air. For instance, some leaks point to the iPhone 17 Air having just a single rear camera. Meanwhile, it looks like the iPhone 17 Air will feature a 120Hz screen alongside the other iPhone 17 models, like the iPhone 16 Pro.
Even if you aren’t that excited about the actual iPhone 17 Air, there’s no doubt it’s an important hardware move for Apple. We may have to wait a while to see what this means for future Apple devices, but it certainly promises to bring some interesting evolution to the brand’s biggest product.
Josh is a member of Tom’s Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily with mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a love for video games, novels and Warhammer.
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