Apple should get rid of dead weight in iPhone 17 lineup instead of playing around with sizes

Every few years Apple likes to shake up its smartphone lineup with a new model. In 2025, we expect to see an ultra-thin model which rumors have referred to as the iPhone 17 Slim and iPhone 17 Air. It will mark the end of the two-year run of the Plus model. Will enough buyers be interested in the svelte device to grant it a permanent place in Apple's lineup?

Third time's not always the charm

In 2020, Apple moved to a four-model lineup and while the standard, Pro, and Pro Max variants have been permanent fixtures every year, Apple can't seem to get the fourth model right.

The company killed the mini model two years after introducing it and now the Plus variant is rumored to meet the same fate. Interestingly, the model that's set to replace the iPhone 16 Plus, the iPhone 17 Air, may also not sell well.

It looks like the iPhone target market has no appetite for a fourth model and no amount of shrinking and enlarging is going to change that.

Time to switch to a three-model lineup

From 2017 to 2019, Apple released three iPhones every year and I think the company needs to go back to a three-model lineup.

The iPhone 17 Air sounds interesting in theory but it might not be as slim as Apple envisioned and its battery life may not be great. Poor battery life was one of the iPhone mini's undoings and Apple wouldn't want a repeat of that.

On top of that, the Air will allegedly have a single rear camera system, which might be unacceptable for most prospective buyers. And, despite the middling specs, the iPhone 17 Air is rumored to command a premium price tag.

Apple is seemingly hoping to bank on the device's novelty factor to boost sales but buyers are unlikely to fall for that.

Apple needs to copy Samsung's playbook

Samsung launches three conventional flagship models and a foldable series every year and this seems to be working fine for the company. Perhaps it's time that Apple accepted that three high-end conventional models a year are enough and accelerate the development of the foldable iPhone, which is expected to land in 2026 at the earliest.

Apple has been playing it too safe for far too long and the strategy is starting to bite. While Samsung and Google benefited by incorporating AI into their phones when the tide was high, Apple only got to it when the novelty had worn off.

The Cupertino giant is also waiting too long to release a foldable device. Meanwhile, competitors are exploring new form factors and tri-folding devices.

Instead of playing around with iPhone sizes and dimensions, Apple needs to get its innovation groove back.