Following in the footsteps of the MacBook and iPad, Apple is reportedly working on a thin and light iPhone variant. Rumours of this newer iPhone started to appear online last year already; however, reports claimed that this new so-called “iPhone 17 Air” was still in very early development and was not going to be unveiled until at least 2027. It seems that plans have changed, and Apple is prepping the product for a reveal in 2025.
According to reliable Apple leaker Mark Gurman, the iPhone Air is indeed coming later this year. Not only is Apple planning to launch the product alongside the iPhone 17 lineup, but the thinner model will be a “testing ground for future technologies”. Apple will also use this product as a test for the company’s first foldable.
The leaked specifications for the iPhone Air claim that it will only be between 5.5 and 6.25mm thick. This puts the phone’s thickness in line with the likes of the latest M4 iPad Pro. It would also be the thinnest iPhone Apple has ever produced next to the iPhone 6. The iPhone Air would be thinner than the iPad Air by 2mm.
When it comes to specs, the iPhone Air will include a 6.6-inch 120Hz ProMotion OLED display. It will include a single 48-megapixel camera on the back and a 24-megapixel front-facing camera. It will then pack Apple’s A19 chip. This is the chip will be found in the entire iPhone 17 lineup. It is reportedly specced out with 8GB of RAM.
At the moment, we don’t know where the iPhone Air will sit in the lineup. We don’t know if the product will be a replacement for the non-Pro iPhone 17 models. By the sound of things, Apple will release the standard iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Plus, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the iPhone Air. That is a lot of iPhones for one year. Not to mention, the company is also planning on launching a new iPhone SE 4 in the next few weeks.
The report suggests that the iPhone Air will kickstart a new era for iPhones. Not only will the phone test the reception to thin and light devices, but the brand is also including its in-house cellular chip in the phone for the first time. Apple is also expected to shift to using its own in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips in this year’s iPhone lineup. If this is correct, Apple would then be replacing three existing chips in the iPhone with its own Apple-designed hardware.
Source: Bloomberg
Image Credit: Macrumours