It's nearly time for Apple to charm us with shiny new gadgets, and this year's best-kept secret is the upcoming announcement of an ultra-thin iPhone 17. Dubbed the "Air" by anyone familiar with Apple's naming schemes, the device follows in the footsteps of the Samsung S25 Edge as a sliver of premium Apple smartphone for those who value pocket space.
For me, it's iPhone upgrade year. My 13 Pro feels a bit rusty, and the charging port has been acting up. Despite the opportunity, I don't find myself tempted by the slimmest iPhone 17.
What the Rumors Say
The thin iPhone 17 has yet to be announced, but the rumor mill has been swirling and spitting out tidbits of information for well over a year. While nothing is confirmed and everything should be taken with a grain of salt, current rumors point to a super-flat profile that's around 5.5mm thick, which would make it just 0.2mm thicker than the impossibly thin 11-inch iPad Pro and significantly thinner than the 8.25mm iPhone 16 Pro (obviously excluding the camera bump).
It is expected that the "Air" will have a 6.6-inch display, which sits somewhere between a regular-sized iPhone 16 and the larger Plus and Pro Max models. Rumors also point to the same OLED panel upgrade as the base model iPhone 17, since Apple is expected to finally equip the whole generation with 120Hz displays.
It has also been suggested that a new, thinner iPhone would use a titanium alloy body, rather than the aluminum seen in the current base model iPhones. This sounds reassuring for anyone who remembers "bendgate" during the iPhone 6 era, where the Plus models in particular incurred permanent damage on account of the malleable chassis. The use of titanium will add some extra weight and likely push the price up somewhat.
Since Apple is also expected to drop the Plus base model iPhone this year (instead leaving only the high-end Pro Max for anyone who loves a phablet), it's quite possible the "Air" will occupy the same price bracket at around $899. That said, brace yourselves for a price hike, given that this is a brand-new iPhone model released during economically uncertain times.
There are many reasons thatA slim iPhone 17 could succeed and become a bestseller for Apple., but I'm yet to be swayed by any of them.
I'll Put a Case on It Anyway
How many "naked" iPhones do you see out in the wild? I love the way my titanium iPhone 13 Pro looks and feels without a case on it, but I also love having an iPhone that lacks dents and a broken screen. There's absolutely no way I'll be investing around a thousand dollars and not encasing my iPhone in a hunk of rubbery plastic to save me from my own clumsy self.
I've no doubt that upon walking into an Apple Store sometime after the product launch, I'll be wowed by the razor-thin iPhone in all its glory. It will undoubtedly feel glorious in the hand, like a futuristic piece of engineering that'll make my existing model feel bloated by comparison. I had a similar experience when I saw theSamsung Galaxy S25 Edgefor the first time.
But how long will this spectacle last? I'll probably preorder a case the second I preorder my new iPhone. By the time I've taken everything out of its packaging, most of Apple's engineering will be hidden away.
I'm partial tothe Quad Lock family of cases, which have saved me from cracked screens more times than I could possibly imagine. This is due to a small "lip" that rises above the surface of the screen. When your iPhone lands not-quite-face-down and hits a curb, it's the case that takes the scratch. My last Quad Lock case was polished shiny from hand grease, warped from the Australian heat, andcoveredIn battle scars that I wore with pride. The iPhone beneath is pristine.
A thinner iPhone would mean a thinner case, but putting on a case at all immediately undoes much of the reason you'd choose a device like this. After all, the iPhone needs to be able to take a hit; it's not an iPad Pro that lives on a coffee table, or a MacBook Air that is transported in a bag designed for this purpose.
A Single Camera? No Thanks
Outside of a temperamental charging port, which I could (and will, eventually) get fixed, the main reason I'm upgrading from the iPhone 13 Pro is to take advantage of the camera improvements. Despite owning a decent Sony mirrorless camera that takes magnificent photos and videos, my iPhone is still my primary camera. I take it everywhere and never hesitate to squeeze the proverbial shutter.
While the wide (1x) camera on my iPhone 13 Pro looks great, the ultrawide (0.5x) and telephoto (3x) leave much to be desired. This is especially true when comparing my photos to those shot by my partner, who last year upgraded to the iPhone 16 Pro. I absolutelyloveHaving a range of focal lengths to choose from, and I'm eager to see a quality upgrade across the board.
The iPhone 17 "Air" is rumored to have only a single camera, much like the regular base model iPhone. While Apple has increased the megapixel count to 48 and implemented a lossless 2x zoom that effectively crops the sensor down to 24MP to avoid losing image quality, I'm simply not interested in going back to a single lens camera.
If you're enthusiastic or even curious about photography, I'd strongly recommend getting a Pro model iPhone. The only downside here is that the selection of focal lengths has completely ruined my ability to ever consider an iPhone with a single camera again. I'm locked into the Pro lineup from now on unless Apple makes some major changes to the base models.
Ironically, the iPhone 17 Pro leaks point to the inclusion of a seriously chunky camera block this year, which I’ll happily admit looks terrible. Nevertheless, I’m always going to pick function over form when it comes to the camera (and I’ll pay considerably more for it).
Average Battery Life from the Start
My iPhone 13 Pro is still on its original battery, which means I have to fully charge it at least once a day with a few top-ups here and there. In this regard, I'm a "sipper"—I'll put my phone on charge 20 minutes before leaving the house to go from 20% to 70%, and I never charge overnight. Suffice to say, I'm used to poor battery life and anxiety-inducing single-digit percentage readings.
Now consider for a moment that the iPhone 17 Air will have less space for the battery than any iPhone that came before it. Forget the camera or the cooling; it is likely that battery life will be the biggest sacrifice that Apple will have to make in order to shave a few millimeters from the device's overall thickness. The inclusion of Apple's in-house C1 modem—first seen inthe "budget" iPhone 16e—will certainly help scrape back some power efficiency, but it can only go so far.
So far, numbers mentioned by analysts range from 2,800 to 3,000mAh. For comparison, the iPhone 16 has a 3,561mAh battery while the 16 Pro Max houses a 4,676mAh cell. Apple increased these capacities last year, and rumors suggest the same will happen again this year (with the 17 Pro potentially seeing an increase to around 5,000mAh).
One of the big contributors to that "new iPhone feeling" is a fresh battery that seems to last all day long. But things aren't looking great for the iPhone 17 "Air"—particularly when you factor in a few years of aging. I've come to expect my iPhone battery to lose around 30% of its total capacity within three years, though Appleadopting silicon-carbon batteriescould offer a boost.
The good news here is that owners of a slim iPhone could remedy this relatively easily with a MagSafe battery pack. The downside is that the battery pack attaches to the back of the iPhone, adding thickness.
I'm Not the Target Audience
There's undoubtedly a group of people out there for whom the iPhone 17 "Air" makes a lot of sense, but I've come to realize that I'm not in it. I'm quite happy with how much space the iPhone 13 Pro takes up in my pocket. I have big hands, so I have no issues reaching the furthest edge or gripping the phone. I've been carrying a titanium brick around for four years, and I have no qualms about the associated weight.
I'm also way more excited about the gains that Apple will make with the iPhone 17 Pro. Three cameras at 48MP, a potentially anti-reflective display that's better at preventing scratches, better battery life, the performance boost in the form of a new A19 Pro chip, and all the features I've missed out on in four years of not upgrading—Camera Control, Dynamic Island, faster charging speeds, and Apple Intelligence (for what that's worth).
If you're a fan of Plus-sized iPhones but don't have the budget to stretch to the Pro Max models, you might want toBuy an iPhone 16 Plus sooner rather than later. Alternatively, maybe the iPhone 17 Air is exactly what you're looking for.
We'll have to wait and see how the dust settles when Apple announces its new hardware sometime in September. Looking back at 2024, the iPhone 16 family was unveiled on September 10 and released more than a week later on September 20 alongside iOS 18.
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