iPhone 17 Air Thinness Revealed: Expected to Replace iPhone 16 Plus

The iPhone 17 Air will succeed the iPhone 16 Plus, which has been Apple’s worst-selling model. Although it remains to be seen if the iPhone 17 Air will have better performance than the standard iPhone 17, Apple plans to wow with a super-thin outline. Now, famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims the iPhone 17 Air’s most slim configuration will be just 5.5mm thick, meaning the device will feature an astoundingly thin profile overall. Although somewhat thicker than the 5.1mm 13-inch iPad Pro, the iPhone 17 Air will be virtually identical in thickness, just smaller in other dimensions.

iPhone 17 Air Thinness Revealed: Set to Replace iPhone 16 Plus with Ultra-Slim Design and New Features

The iPhone 17 Air was also estimated to be as thick as 6.25mm in the earlier reports, which, while still good, wasn’t quite as jaw-dropping as the rumored 5.5mm thickness. A previous leak also had a side profile thickness of between 5mm and 6mm, and the current speculation lands dead in the middle of that range.

Due to its ultra-thin design, Kuo also noted that the iPhone 17 Air might not come with a physical SIM card slot. Instead, it’s expected to depend exclusively on eSIM, which could present a problem for countries such as China, where phones that lean relatively heavily on eSIM have not been aggressively marketed.

Kuo also believes that the iPhone 17 Air will be more expensive because it will have a thin body, although some components could be downgraded to make it a reality. One possibility is that the iPhone 17 Air will have a single rear camera, similar to the iPhone SE. While this would help reduce costs, the device certainly won’t be priced as low as the iPhone SE, making it a more premium option for those seeking the thinnest iPhone model yet. Overall, while much of the iPhone 17 Air’s design and features are still speculative, Apple’s focus on extreme thinness is clear.

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