Apple’s Pricey ‘iPhone 17 Slim’ May Have Only One Camera
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If rumors of Apple releasing an expensive ultra-slim iPhone that focuses more on form than function aren’t already getting strange enough, a new analyst report is adding an even more unusual twist, suggesting that Apple’s most expensive 2025 iPhone model could feature only a single camera.
That little tidbit comes from none other than Ming-Chi Kuo, who shared a Medium post today corroborating most of what we’ve heard about the so-called “iPhone 17 Slim” while adding that it will “focus on design over hardware specifications” — to the point of having only a single rear camera.
The ultra-slim iPhone 17 will emphasize innovative form factor design rather than competing on hardware specifications (processor, camera, etc.).Ming-Chi Kuo
Yes, you read that right. If this latest report is to be believed, Apple will produce an iPhone in 2025 with a higher price tag than the iPhone 17 Pro Max with only a fraction of the capabilities of Apple’s traditional flagship.
The consensus among leakers and analysts who have shared information about the “iPhone 17 Slim” is that Apple plans to cut every corner to produce an impossibly thin iPhone to rival its M4 iPad Pro. Around the same time, Apple is also expected to release an M5 MacBook Pro with a similarly thin design.
There’s only one problem with all this: the M4 iPad Pro is the most powerful iPad Apple has ever made. It’s the first piece of Apple kit to feature that company’s latest and greatest M4 chip—we won’t even see that appearing in Macs until this fall, at the earliest. Rumor also has it that the ultra-thin M5 MacBook Pro will be on the higher end rather than an underpowered luxury device like the original MacBook Air.
With the M4 iPad Pro, Apple seems to be trying to prove that svelte design and powerful performance aren’t mutually exclusive. Granted, it sacrificed a camera to get there, but that’s hardly a loss on an iPad. Reducing a modern flagship smartphone to a single camera borders on the absurd.
Most of the other specs Kuo cites are in line with other reports we’ve heard recently, including a 6.6-inch screen with a 2740 x 1260 resolution that’s roughly on par with the 2796 x 1290 screen on the current iPhone 15 Plus, along with a Dynamic Island and an A19 chip inside rather than an A19 Pro.
However, Kuo has another surprise up his sleeve that only makes sense if Apple is going to try to position this as a luxury iPhone: a switch to “a titanium-aluminum alloy metal frame, with a lower percentage of titanium than the current Pro and Pro Max metal frames.” Previous reports have suggested it would stick with the same aluminum build as the iPhone 17.
The other curveball is that the iPhone 17 Slim may adopt the in-house 5G modem chip that Apple has been working on for the past few years. That could be related to its thin design, or it may just be an opportunity for Apple to use the higher-end model as a proving ground on the assumption that it won’t be as popular as the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup.
The “iPhone 17 Slim” would also spell the end of the iPhone Plus lineup. There will be an iPhone 16 Plus this year, but after that, Apple is done with the standard larger model, which hasn’t fared much better in sales than the poor little iPhone mini of the 2020–21 era. Kuo echoes the reports we’ve already heard about this, noting that the iPhone 15 Plus only accounts for about 5–10% of new iPhone shipments, which puts it in the same league as the iPhone 13 mini, which averaged about 6% during its tenure. The Plus model is even more redundant since most buyers looking for a larger phone tend to gravitate toward the iPhone Pro Max.
The “iPhone 17 Slim” won’t be a direct replacement for the iPhone 16 Plus. Instead, Kuo says Apple is “exploring new design trends beyond the existing iPhone lineup.” However, unlike other recent reports, Kuo doesn’t comment on how Apple plans to position the new model.
A report earlier this week predicted that the base “iPhone 17 Slim” will sell for $100 more than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which is the part we’re the most skeptical about, especially as we keep hearing about how under-specced it will be compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models.
It’s easy to believe Apple is working on an ultra-thin iPhone, but it’s no longer the company that once sold luxury executive laptops and solid gold Apple Watches. Let’s hope it’s not planning to return to that era.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
