This iPhone 17 Air clone has magically become thinner in recent weeks
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is only 5.8 mm thin, while the upcoming iPhone 17 Air is supposed to be even thinner. Those numbers are tough to match for other brands, which have been working on their own "Air" competitors. Aside from the Tecno Spark Go, which does not carry a similar moniker and is also significantly thicker, the most notable phone in this category is probably the Nubia Air, whose data sheet and first images were recently published by a leaker. More official renders have now been revealed by the same source, but they have surprised us. The promo image below caused some head-scratching, as we remembered that the Nubia phone had a different thickness.
0.26 turn into 0.23 inches with a footnote
A look at the leaked spec sheet reveals a thickness of value of 6.7 mm, now those have suddenly turned into 5.9 millimeters. Since we don't assume that someone quickly trimmed 0.8 millimeters in the final stages of mass production, we took a closer look at the corresponding footnote. It states that said 5.9 millimeters were measured in the Nubia lab and refer to the thickness of the mid-frame. This reminds us of Honor’s claim that the Magic V5 is just 8.8 mm thick, which only applies to one specific color variant and without the pre-installed screen protectors.
Thinner at all costs, when do footnotes turn into deception?
Only measuring the frame of a smartphone and leaving out components like the display glass and the back glass is arguably a step up from Honor’s screen protector trick. Nubia wouldn't even have to hit the 6 mm mark at any cost, as this midranger features a significantly larger battery with 5,000 mAh and is likely positioned in a completely different price segment.
However, the pressure on their marketing department was apparently too big, and Nubia decided to include a quite unrealistic measurement. Since the Nubia Air hasn’t officially launched yet, we don't know if the original number from the data sheet might have been an error. We can only hope that this is the case and that the Nubia Air actually measures 5.9 mm, even with the display glass and back panel.
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