Leak Lounge | Tiny battery, single camera: All that we expect from the upcoming Apple iPhone 17 Air ultra-slim smartphone
We already have a pretty decent idea of what to expect from the upcoming iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro smartphones, thanks to the surfeit of leaks and rumors surrounding the sought-after flagship lineup. However, the rumored iPhone 17 Air is arguably the most interesting of the bunch by far, since this will mark the first time ever that an iPhone will carry the Air branding.
Of course, anything that comes out of the rumor mill is always to be accepted with a fair bit of skepticism, and the same applies to the yet-to-be released Apple iPhone 17 Air. That said, we already have quite a lot of information regarding the gadget, courtesy of reliable sources, which allows us to foresee what the device may look and feel like.
What exactly is the iPhone 17 Air?
For those out of the loop, the Apple iPhone 17 Air is Apple's latest attempt at creating an ultra-thin smartphone. The Cupertino giant was once infamous for creating objectively sub-par products in order to shave mere millimetres, such as the iPhone 6, which suffered from catastrophic structural failures, and the 2016-era MacBook Pros, which could barely keep themselves from thermal throttling into oblivion.
However, the improvements brought forward by the performance and efficiency advantages of Apple Silicon and durable materials such as titanium undoubtedly allows Apple to return to its older aspirations without making significant usability tradeoffs. For instance, while the entire rest of the lineup, including the iPhone 17 Pro are expected to utilize aluminum enclosures, the iPhone 17 Air is widely rumored to opt for an titanium enclosure for durability's sake.
At just 5.5 mm thin, rumors indicate that the iPhone 17 Air will be the thinnest smartphone that Apple has ever shipped. The smartphone is also expected to house a 6.6-inch display with a resolution of 1260 x 2736, which is likely to sit right between the iPhone 17/Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The increase screen real estate will surely allow Apple to fit a decently sized battery inside, which by the way, is expected to be almost half as thin as an iPhone 17 Pro battery. Thankfully, the LTPO panel will support the coveted 120 Hz refresh rate, thanks to ProMotion.
But how big will the battery actually be? Sources seem to indicate capacity in the range of 2,800 to 3,000 mAh, which is certainly small enough to make prospective buyers sweat. However, we are yet to witness the efficiency improvements that Apple will manage to squeeze out of the A19 Pro SoC. If Apple does manage to pull off decent efficiency figures, and they very well might, a solid all-day battery life is not out of the question. Moreover, the iPhone 17 Air will also feature a custom Apple-design 5G modem, which might further aid with efficiency.
That said, the battery is not the only area where Apple will be making compromises. A plethora of rumors have claimed that the iPhone 17 Air will feature a single 48 MP camera on the rear, which sure does appear rather shocking for a $1,000+ smartphone in 2025. In fact, this will be the first flagship-class iPhone to sport a single camera since the iPhone 8 in 2017. The front camera will be a 24 MP unit, much like the rest of the lineup.
All told, there is no denying that the Apple iPhone 17 Air - or whatever Apple names it - will be quite an exciting smartphone, but not entirely because of positive reasons. While a slim smartphone is surely a good thing, things will turn rather ugly if Apple fails to deliver meaningful battery life and camera performance. The rest, of course, remains to be seen.
Source(s)
Multiple sources, including but not limited to Mark Gurman, Sonny Dickson, Majin Bu, etc.
