The anticipated ‘iPhone 17 Air’ is rumored to achieve an impossibly thin design of just 5.5mm at this thinnest point while dropping key components like the physical SIM slot, according to the reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a new Medium post, Kuo reveals some details regarding what Apple has in store for the iPhone’s future. The mysterious iPhone 17 Air will reportedly feature a slimmer design than previously thought, coming in at just 5.5mm at its thinnest point as opposed to the roughly 6mm profile rumored by other leakers.
If true, the iPhone 17 Air will be the thinnest iPhone Apple ever made by a comfortable lead over the current titleholder, the iPhone 6. Released in 2014, the iPhone 6 came in at 6.9mm and has remained the thinnest iPhone since its then. If Kuo’s reporting is accurate, the iPhone 17 Air would be nearly 20 percent thinner than the iPhone 6, a certainly impressive engineering feat.
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However, Apple will be forced to make certain compromises to achieve the iPhone 17 Air’s super-slim design. Kuo reiterates previous reports of the device nixing a physical SIM slot in favor of relying on eSIM only, a move that could hurt the iPhone 17 Air’s sales in China since eSIM support is severely restricted due to local regulations.
Kuo’s language further suggests that the iPhone 17 Air could adopt a tapered design to achieve the 5.5mm profile at its thinnest point, suggesting that the rest of the device could be slightly thicker. Apple has historically maintained a uniform iPhone thickness since the iPhone 4’s introduction in 2010, save for the camera bump on recent iPhone generations.
As extensively reported before, the iPhone 17 Slim will focus on design innovations rather than cutting-edge specs in a bid to give the iPhone a much-needed overhaul. The device will also feature a single rear camera, no SIM tray, and an Apple-designed 5G modem. Other rumored features for the device include a non-Pro A19 chip, a 6.6-inch display, and 8GB of RAM.
