Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be.
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick (with a thicker camera bar area), making it the thinnest iPhone to date. With the iPhone 17 Pro models rumored to be around 8.725mm thick, there will be a notable difference between the iPhone 17 Air and the rest of the iPhone 17 models.
Hilsenteger was impressed by the thinness of the iPhone 17 Air, speculating on whether it would bend because of the minimal casing. Rumors suggest that Apple will use a titanium and aluminum chassis for the iPhone, with the aim of ensuring it's strong enough not to bend. Back in 2014, Apple dealt with "bendgate" after some users found that the iPhone 6 Plus started bending from being tucked inside a pocket. Hilsenteger's YouTube channel even went viral after he did one of the original iPhone 6 bend test videos.
Apple also decided to keep the display size to 6.6 inches because of fears that a larger display would make the iPhone 17 Air too susceptible to bending. Originally, Apple wanted to use a 6.9-inch display, which would put sizing on par with the iPhone 17 Pro Max. That Apple tweaked display size during development suggests it took the potential for bending into account while creating the super thin iPhone.
Hilsenteger also questioned what the iPhone 17 Air's battery life will be like because of the thinness of the design, but Apple is eliminating features like extra camera lenses in order to ensure enough room for the battery, as well as using a more efficient Apple-designed C1 modem and optimizing through software. Battery life is expected to be on par with current iPhone models.
More on what's expected from the iPhone 17 Air models can be found in our iPhone 17 Air roundup.
