With a design that is said to be groundbreaking and impressively thin, how thin will the iPhone 17 Air be?
Apple will have a lot to offer with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 coming this September. But next fall will bring even bigger changes, thanks to the new iPhone 17 Air joining the lineup. The main attraction of the 17 Air will be its groundbreaking, ultra-thin new design. But how thin can it really be? Here's what to expect based on hints from current products, according to 9t05Mac.
The iPhone 17 Air, when it launches next fall, is expected to be a major departure from Apple's current iPhone lineup. Apple is expected to introduce the following four iPhone models at its upcoming September 9 event:
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
This lineup has been the norm since the Plus model replaced the mini in 2022. But in the fall of 2025, the Plus model will be replaced by the 17 Air model.
Initial reports of the new iPhone caused confusion with the iPhone 17 Ultra, as it was said to have a high price tag. However, later reports showed a smaller camera system and a less powerful chip than the 17 Pro models. As a result, the “Ultra” name was dropped.
The answer seems to be the iPhone 17 Air. And like current devices that carry the “Air” name, like the MacBook Air, it will have a design that goes with the name and may also usher in new standards in the future.
But how “futuristic” will this device be? The iPhone 17 Air certainly won’t be as thin as a sheet of paper like the phones in sci-fi movies. However, Apple’s current “Air” devices should give us some indication of how thin the iPhone 17 Air will be.
If you have an iPhone 15 or 15 Pro, it has a USB-C port. Look closely at the port and you can guess the size of the iPhone 17 Air. Imagine the size of a USB-C port, then shrink the existing padding on either side of the port. Then consider the size of the port with only minimal bezel around it.
There are two reasons why we focus on the USB-C port:
1. Since the 17 Air can't be thinner than a USB-C port, it provides a good base to start with.
2. It's likely that the 17 Air will also follow the design direction of Apple's latest ultra-thin device, the iPad Pro .
The iPad Pro M4, which Apple announced in May, is the thinnest product the company has ever made. In fact, it’s so thin that the USB-C charging port barely fits. Apple’s USB-C chargers are actually a little thicker than the devices they plug into.
At 5.1mm thick for the 13-inch model, it's surprisingly thin, and we'll likely see similar dimensions on the iPhone 17 Air.
Let's compare the iPhone 17 Air to Apple's current iPhone models, assuming it's the same size as the iPad Pro:
- iPad Pro 13 inch: 5,1mm
- iPhone 15: 7,8mm
- iPhone 15 Pro: 8,25mm
As you can see, there is a significant difference between the size of the iPad Pro and today's top iPhone models.
Or what if Apple could eliminate the port altogether? Then the thinness of the device would be limited only by the technical capabilities of what’s inside. That’s unlikely, but removing the port would make completely wireless charging, updates, and data sharing possible.
Think back to the original MacBook Air. At the time, it was unthinkable that Apple would ship a laptop without an optical drive or with only one USB-C port, but they did it.
Finally, according to 9to5Mac, it is likely that the iPhone 17 Air will be slightly thicker than 5.1mm, but still retain the "wonderful" factor of being super thin.
But perhaps the 17 Air would be more in line with the 13-inch iPad Pro's size, or perhaps its smaller but thicker 11-inch sibling at 5.3mm thick.
Anything at or below 6mm would be a huge step up in thinness. Not everyone will find it worth paying extra for. But for those who do, the iPhone 17 Air offers a new, attractive, jewelry-like iPhone form factor.