A series of details has begun to surface as to Apple’s forthcoming “iPhone 17 Air,” which is rumored to launch next year.
Per The Information, the current iPhone 17 Air prototypes are between 5 and 6 millimeters thick, a dramatic reduction compared to the iPhone 16 at 7.8 mm. With these changes, Apple’s engineering team is said to be “finding it hard to fit the battery and thermal materials into the device.” An earlier supply chain report also detailed Apple’s struggles with battery technology for the iPhone 17 Air.
The report also indicated that the iPhone 17 Air will contain only a single earpiece speaker given its thin design. Current iPhone models feature a second speaker at the bottom of the device. It’s also rumored that the iPhone 17 Air will feature a single camera on the back that will be housed in a “large, centered camera bump.”
The iPhone 17 Air will be “among the first iPhones” to use Apple’s in-house 5G modem, according to the report. As it stands right now, however, Apple’s modem still can’t match Qualcomm’s 5G chips in terms of performance, although it is more efficient. It also lacks support for the mmWave 5G protocol:
“However, Apple’s in-house modem doesn’t perform as well as Qualcomm’s. Its peak speeds are lower and its ability to stay connected to cellular networks is slightly less reliable, the person said. And Apple’s in-house modem lacks support for millimeter wave, a technology introduced in the iPhone 12 that allows for higher cellular speeds in certain areas.”
Finally, it’s been rumored that Apple’s hardware team has yet to find a way to fit a physical SIM card tray in the handset. While Apple has gradually phased out physical SIM cards in the United States and other countries, a SIM card slot is still required for phones sold in China.
The iPhone 17 Air is reportedly in early production trials at Foxconn and recently graduated from proto-1 to proto-2 status.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via 9to5Mac and The Information