iPhone 17 'Air' Expected to Be ~2mm Thinner Than iPhone 16 Pro

In 2025, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the iPhone that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max. This ‌iPhone 17‌ "Air" will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

iPhone 17 Slim Feature
The ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ is 8.25mm thick, so an ‌iPhone 17‌ that is 2mm thinner would come in at around 6.25mm. At 6.25mm, the iPhone 17 Air would be Apple's thinnest ‌iPhone‌ to date. The thinnest ‌iPhone‌ we've seen so far was the ‌iPhone‌ 6, which measured in at 6.9mm. iPhones got thicker with the ‌iPhone‌ X and beyond, as Apple increased thickness to provide more space for the battery, camera lenses, Face ID hardware, and more.

Apple will equip the ‌iPhone 17 Air‌ with its own custom-designed 5G modem chip, and that chip is smaller than 5G modem chips from Qualcomm. Gurman says that Apple focused on making the chip more integrated with other Apple-designed components to save space within the ‌iPhone‌, and that space savings is what allowed it to create the slimmed down ‌iPhone 17 Air‌ without sacrificing battery life, the camera, or the display quality.

Prior rumors have also suggested that the ‌iPhone 17 Air‌ will be somewhere between 5mm and 6mm thick, and the ~6mm thickness has now been proposed by multiple reliable sources. The ‌iPhone 17 Air‌ is expected to have a display that's around 6.6 inches in size, and it will also feature a single-lens rear camera.

The ‌iPhone 17 Air‌ will be one of three devices that are set to get a custom Apple modem chip in 2025, with Apple also bringing the chip to the ‌iPhone‌ SE early in the year and a low-cost iPad.

As Apple improves its modem chip design, the saved space could allow for "new designs" such as a foldable ‌iPhone‌. According to Gurman, Apple is continuing to explore foldable ‌iPhone‌ technology. Apple is aiming to phase out Qualcomm modems across a three-year period as Apple introduces increasingly more powerful modem chips.

Eventually, Apple could debut a system-on-a-chip that includes a processor, modem, Wi-Fi chip, and other parts, which would save additional space and allow for tighter integration between hardware components.

Related Roundups: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
Prime Day 25 Feature Warm Triad

The Best Early Prime Day Deals on Apple Products

Saturday July 5, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Amazon is soon to be back with its annual summertime Prime Day event, lasting for four days from July 8-11, the longest Prime Day yet. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront, and there are already many deals you can get on sale ahead of the event. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a ...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...

Top Rated Comments

MrGimper Avatar
8 months ago
Does anyone really care about thinness anymore?
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
8 months ago
The thinnest iPhone weve ever made ever, with more features than ever before seen in a phone so thin, ever. It is the best thin phone that is years ahead of any thin phone than ever before. you are going to love it.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Azeroth1 Avatar
8 months ago
I’m over thin. I want a hulking chunk of metal and glass built like a tank.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bLackjackj Avatar
8 months ago
I don't know what the big deal is.

Apple is gimping a standard iPhone to make it thinner,..just so they can market "thinnest iPhone ever".

You can literally take any product, remove it's features and call it "thinnest ever". Post Steve Jobs it's all about gifting Apple Stakeholders & screw the customer.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dzankizakon Avatar
8 months ago
I don’t see the appeal. What exactly is the benefit of a very thin phone? I’d understand if current iPhones were uncomfortably thick or heavy, but they aren’t.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smulji Avatar
8 months ago
I look forward to this.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)