The iPhone 17 Air is set to become the first iPhone that’s as light as a feather — or light as air, as its name suggests. Not because it’s as tiny as the oldest iPhone models, but rather it’s because it’s as thin as the MacBook Air that inspired it and thinner than the rest of the iPhone 17 line.
Although the iPhone 17 Air is months away from being officially announced by Apple, let alone the standard iPhone 17, the leaks and rumors swirling around the ultra-slim model have iPhone users excited about the prospect of holding it in their hands and anxious about its fragility because of its thinness. Here’s everything you need to know about the iPhone 17 Air.
iPhone 17 Air: design
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: the iPhone 17 Air is thinner than most smartphones have any right to be, least of all the iPhone. Rumors from early March said that the iPhone 17 Air might be as thin as 5.5mm, but after examining the dummy unit for it, the chassis has been slimmed down enough that it looks to be about 5.1mm thick. Though that’s not the final measurement, it would be as thin as the side of a mirror if it wasn’t covered by a frame.
For reference, the standard iPhone 16 is 7.8mm thick, while the iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick. The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro look to be about .50mm thicker than that — 8.75mm each — but those measurements aren’t final, either. Leaked photos also show the iPhone 17 Air having a pill-shaped camera bar just like the Google Pixel 9, with the only difference being that the panel is the same color as the glass shell instead of black. And just like the iPhone 16e, it looks to have only one camera lens.
iPhone 17 Air: battery
The iPhone 17 Air being almost paper thin gives the impression that the battery is going to be smaller and therefore the battery life isn’t going to be as sufficient as it is on the other models. However, according to Marc Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple isn’t going to compromise the quality of the battery life, saying that it will be “on par with current iPhones” despite carrying a slimmer battery.
While there’s no word on how long the phone’s battery will last, Apple considered making the iPhone 17 Air a “portless” iPhone, but they kept the USB-C port on it after all due to regulations imposed by the European Union. Otherwise, iPhone 17 Air users would have to using either wireless charging or MagSafe charging ports — both of which are not accessible everywhere, nor are they affordable for some people.
iPhone 17 Air: display
Rumors say that the display for the iPhone 17 Air will be 6.7 inches in length. That’s smack in the middle of the iPhone 16 Pro’s 6.3-inch display and the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s 6.9-inch display. In other words, it’s not too big, but it’s not too small either.
The display is said to have an OLED panel and a 120Hz refresh rate, which is pretty smooth for a phone of that size. The display is rumored to have a ProMotion display, which means that feature would no longer be restricted to the Pro models.
iPhone 17 Air: cameras
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to have a single rear camera lens, just like the iPhone 16e. But, as we said before, it may be housed inside a pill-shaped camera bar, which the budget-friendly version of the iPhone 16 doesn’t have. Rumors suggest that the rear camera will be 48 megapixels, while the selfie camera will be 24MP.
The 24MP selfie camera would be a big jump from the 12MP cameras currently present on the iPhone 16, as that would improve the quality of photos and videos taken from that angle. Especially if the iPhone 17 Air users happen to be social media influencers. However, the single-lens rear camera may not capture spatial photos or videos.
iPhone 17 Air: pricing
Barring any tariffs, the iPhone 17 Air may cost around $900. That may not generate a lot of sticker shock, considering the iPhone 16 Plus costs that much.
