The iPhone 16 line is almost here, but some leakers are already looking towards the iPhone 17, and the most intriguing thing we’ve heard about next year’s series is that there could be an iPhone 17 Slim – or, according to the latest leak, an iPhone 17 Air.
This comes from FrontPageTech (via NotebookCheck), which claims that the slimmer iPhone model that’s previously been leaked by a couple of sources may land as the iPhone 17 Air.
It’s a name that makes sense, since Apple already has an iPad Air line that sits between the base iPads and the Pro models, and which at one time was positioned as being a slim option (although the latest model isn’t as thin as the latest iPad Pro). The MacBook Air is similarly positioned as a slim device.
FrontPageTech has also shared some renders they’ve created of the supposed design of the iPhone 17 Air, and these show a somewhat familiar iPhone design, complete with a Dynamic Island, but with a noticeably slimmer build, and just one rear camera.
The source reiterates some previously leaked specs in saying that it may use less titanium in its frame than the Pro models, and may not have the best chipset available in next year’s iPhones, with it reportedly set to use an A19 chipset rather than the A19 Pro that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will likely ship with.
However, the iPhone 17 SlimAir could be around 5mm thick. For reference, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are 7.8mm thick, and the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are 8.3mm thick, so that would make the iPhone 17 Air substantially slimmer.
FrontPageTech also reiterates some screen specs that have leaked elsewhere, saying the iPhone 17 Air may have a 6.6-inch, 1,260 x 2,740 screen, making it a similar size to the 6.7-inch, 1,290 x 2,796 iPhone 15 Plus.
A problematic price
However, one previous leak that FrontPageTech disputes is that the iPhone 17 Air will cost $1,299 (around £1,020 / AU$2,015). This high price was put forward by leaker @UniverseIce posting on Weibo, but FrontPageTech argues that with the rumored specs – and particularly if it does launch with the ‘Air’ name – it would make much more sense as a mid-range model, and should be priced accordingly.
That said, we’d take the iPhone 17 Air name with a pinch of salt, as it sounds like this is in large part speculation. But one thing’s for sure – the rumored specs (5mm thickness aside) don’t line up with a $1,299 price tag. So, at least some of what we’ve heard about this phone is almost certainly wrong.
Hopefully, things will become clearer soon, but with the iPhone 17 Air – or Slim – unlikely to land for over a year, we might not have much clarity for a while.