iPhone 17 Air Vs iPhone 16 Plus: Camera, Battery, Chip, Design Refresher Mantra For Apple Likely

Will slim beat size? Apple is reportedly considering adding a new model to its 2025 iPhone 17 lineup: iPhone 17 Air. As the name signifies, it will be a very thin, or slim, smartphone. In fact, the thinnest will be taken to quite an extreme and, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, it will be Apple's slimmest iPhone yet. The iPhone 17 Air design may be similar to the MacBook Air and iPad Air. 

However, Apple is not likely to add a 5th model to its iPhone lineup, which last year consisted of iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 pro Max. The iPhone 17 Air model is likely to replace the iPhone 16 Plus because the latter's sales have been lower than expected.

The design will be the biggest change. The iPhone 17 Air is rumoured to be just 5.5mm thick at its slimmest point, thinner than the iPhone 16 Plus, which measures 7.8mm. It could also be lighter, with an aluminium chassis rather than titanium. Apple appears to be moving toward smaller, extremely portable devices, rather than larger ones.

The iPhone 17 Air is rumoured to come with a 6.55-inch display, which is smaller than the iPhone 16 Plus' 6.7-inch screen. But it may bring a 120Hz refresh rate and always-on display.

Apple could also incorporate a new camera setup. The iPhone 17 Air might have a single rear camera with better software than the dual camera (48MP + 12MP) that the iPhone 16 Plus has. They might also upgrade the 24MP front camera.

The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be faster and more energy efficient, powered by Apple’s A19 chip. Importantly, the SIM slot may also be abandoned for eSIM globally.

The slimmed-down battery might be smaller, but chip and AI efficiency enhancements could compensate for this. Apple has yet to confirm these details, but the iPhone 17 Air could just end up being the refreshing change and transformation for Apple's lineup that fans are looking for.