The iPhone 17 Air could match the slimness of the iPad Pro.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple’s soon-to-be-released iPhone 17 Air may be thinner than initially rumored. All reports have suggested that the phone could be 6mm thinner at the waist.
However, a reputable Apple analyst believes that the iPhone 17 Air will be just 5.5mm at its thinnest point.
A 5.5mm thick iPhone?
This year, Apple is preparing to reorganize its iPhone lineup by deleting the ‘Plus’ model. Instead, it is expected to introduce the iPhone 17 Air, which stands out for its ultra-slim and sleek design. The company seems to be hoping to bring slim phones back into fashion with the Air.
Like the iPad Air, the iPhone 17 Air will focus on form factor and slimness over features. As part of this, the phone is expected to make a number of compromises, including the ability to feature a single 48MP rear camera.
All rumors so far suggest that the iPhone 17 Air could be just 6mm thick, making it the thinnest iPhone in the company’s history.
In a Medium post, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the iPhone 17 Air could be thinner. The thinnest part of the device can measure 5.5mm. By comparison, Apple’s thinnest device, the M4 iPad Pro, is just 5.3mm thick.
Missing SIM card slot on iPhone 17 Air may cause issues
A potential side effect of the iPhone 17 Air’s slim design is that it may lack a physical SIM card slot. This isn’t an issue in the US, where iPhones only ship with eSIM support. However, this could be problematic in China and other markets as eSIM adoption is not yet widespread.
Kuo believes this could hamper demand for the iPhone 17 Air in China unless Apple makes some design changes. This is also why every iPhone Apple currently sells in China has a dual SIM card slot.
He believes Apple’s new slim iPhone will be released in larger volumes than the Plus model. However, it will not bring a noticeable increase in sluggish iPhone sales.
Analysts expect Apple to ship about 220 million iPhones in 2024 and about 220 million to 225 million iPhones in 2025. This is significantly lower than market expectations that Apple will ship approximately 240 million iPhones this year.
