The iPhone 17 Air seems to be a product with many advantages but also many shortcomings. The device is expected to have an impressive ultra-thin and light design, but there are also some points that are cut compared to the iPhone 17 Pro line.

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An iPhone 17 Air concept. Photo: HP

The trade-offs for the ultra-thin design will be just a single rear camera, just one speaker, and the A19 chip instead of the more powerful A19 Pro chip.

Some have worried that the iPhone 17 Air's ultra-thin design might limit battery life, but the device could exceed expectations. There are at least three rumored features for the iPhone 17 Air that could contribute to longer battery life than previously thought, including a higher-density battery, Apple's power-efficient C1 modem, and the lack of an ultra-wide camera that leaves more internal space for a larger battery.

12 features on iPhone 17 Air

According to leaked news, here are 12 features that are expected to appear on Apple's upcoming super-thin iPhone model.

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About the ultra-thin design: According to The Information, Apple's all-new iPhone 17 model will have a "significantly thinner" design with an aluminum frame, instead of the titanium case like Apple's Pro models.

Rumors about the iPhone 17 Air's thickness hover around 6mm. But according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 17 Air could be just 5.5mm thick at its thinnest point. If true, that would make it the thinnest iPhone ever, thinner than the iPhone 6 (6.9mm) from 2014.

At 5.5mm thick, the iPhone 17 Air will be about 30% thinner than the iPhone 16 (7.8mm) and 33% thinner than the iPhone 16 Pro models (8.25mm).

About the screen: According to analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities, the iPhone 17 Air will have a 6.6-inch screen. This is also agreed by Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple will equip the iPhone 17 Air with ProMotion technology, a refresh rate of 120Hz for smoother scrolling. In addition, according to Instant Digital, a leak source on China's Weibo, all iPhone 17 models will be equipped with anti-glare screens with better scratch resistance than the Ceramic Shield layer on the iPhone 15. Therefore, this feature will also be available on the iPhone 17 Air.

About the camera: According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the entire iPhone 17 series, including the 17 Air, will be equipped with a 24MP front camera with a 6-element lens, which will help photos retain better quality even when cropped or zoomed in, while the larger number of pixels will capture more details. The upgrade to a 6-element lens will also slightly improve image quality.

Regarding RAM and new chips: analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17 Air will have 8GB of RAM, compared to 6GB of RAM on the iPhone 15 Plus. This is also the minimum RAM level for Apple Intelligence.

The iPhone 17 Air will be powered by Apple's A19 chip, likely based on an optimized version of TSMC's 3nm process, possibly N3P or N3X, according to analyst Jeff Pu.

About the C1 modem and Wi-Fi 7 chip: The iPhone 17 Air will be equipped with a C1 modem developed by Apple. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, at least one iPhone 17 model will be equipped with an Apple-designed Wi-Fi 7 chip. Mr. Kuo also confirmed that the 17 Air is equipped with a C1 modem as rumored.

As for price: The Information reports that the iPhone 17 Air could cost more than the Pro Max, which currently starts at $1,199, although it won't have as many premium features as Apple's top-of-the-line Max line.

However, according to analyst Jeff Pu, the 17 Air will be a mid-range iPhone model that replaces the Plus version. In addition, a report from China said that the price of the iPhone 17 Air will be similar to the iPhone 16 Plus, which starts at $899 in the US market.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 17 series in September, including the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone 17 Air. From now until the launch date, there will certainly be more leaked information about these new iPhone models.

Watch the iPhone 17 Air concept video . (Source: zellzoi):

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