The ‘iPhone 17 Air’ May Not Be a Luxury iPhone After All
Credit: iPhone Air concept [4RMD / YouTube]
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Rumors have been piling up over the past few months that Apple is planning on doing something completely different in 2025 with a new ultra-thin “iPhone 17 Air.” However, one thing no one seems to have come to a consensus on yet is where this mysterious new iPhone will fit into the lineup.
The earliest reports in March suggested that the new iPhone — then referred to as the “iPhone 17 Slim” — would replace the iPhone 17 Plus. However, that didn’t necessarily mean it would take its place precisely; merely that the poorest-selling Plus model would be retired to make room for another device.
In that same report, The Information’s Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu predicted the new slim iPhone 17 would have a significantly higher price tag. The reasoning was that Apple was returning to ‘Thinnovation’ in 2025, and the “iPhone 17 Slim” would follow in the footsteps of the original 2008 MacBook Air — an “executive laptop” that was significantly underpowered compared to its MacBook Pro counterparts, but still managed to sell at a premium price thanks to its ultra-slim design.
However, it might be more appropriate to compare the new iPhone to something more recent: this year’s M4 iPad Pro. The most powerful iPad on the market today is also the thinnest device Apple has ever made, beating the record previously held by the 2012 iPod nano. With today’s modern technology, thinness and performance aren’t mutually exclusive they way they were in 2008.
This has led to some speculation that Apple plans to make the “iPhone Air” a pro-level device, although not necessarily right away. Initially, it’s expected to be a notch about the iPhone 17, but still somewhat below the iPhone 17 Pro, despite reportedly only having one camera (Apple will probably leverage the “Fusion” camera branding it debuted with this year’s iPhone 16 lineup to emphasize how powerful a single camera can be).
Nevertheless, rumors of a luxury price point have persisted, suggesting that the thin size combined with an expansive 6.65-inch display that could potentially have 120Hz ProMotion support could justify the higher price tag.
However, a new report from The Wall Street Journal is contesting that notion. In a report that also focuses on Apple’s foldable iPhone plans and broader changes to the lineup, Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie note that the new iPhone isn’t going to have as crazy of a price tag as some suggested.
Starting next year, Apple plans to introduce an iPhone that will be thinner than the approximately 8-millimeter profile of current models, said people familiar with the company’s plans. The model is intended to be cheaper than Pro models, with a simplified camera system to reduce costs.
While it will still likely cost more than the standard iPhone 17, that’s not a big surprise. However, if it’s going to be less expensive than the Pro models, that would put it in pretty much the same spot as the current iPhone 16 Plus.
That makes some sense, given the similar screen size, although Apple will still be cutting corners in other areas to make it as thin as possible. The WSJ agrees it will have a “simplified camera system,” which seems to echo other reports of a single lens.
In August, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggested the new iPhone design would be expected to appeal to folks who want something “snazzier” than a standard iPhone but don’t need the power or cameras of the iPhone Pro. However, the specs will be very much in line with the iPhone 17, as Gurman describes it as “something that looks much cooler while still having the specifications of a regular iPhone.”
Gurman says the longer-term game plan is to “squeeze the power of a Pro model into this smaller design,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the “iPhone Air” will get more powerful; Apple could instead bring that form factor to its Pro lineup.
The WSJ also suggests that the “iPhone Air” is simply the first step into what will be a major overhaul of the iPhone lineup that could also include an iPhone Flip by 2027. Cliff Maldonado, principal analyst at BayStreet Research, who was interviewed for the report, believes “The iPhone 16 will be the last of the boring aesthetic phones,” which could kickstart a new wave of growth for Apple in the same way the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone X did in 2014 and 2017.
[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.]
