iPhone 17 Slim specs are nothing special; Apple is counting on the design to win over consumers

For some reason, there is one slot among Apple's four iPhone models that has not been selling. The iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 13 mini didn't burn up cash registers around the globe and Apple decided if small isn't in, maybe large is. So the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 15 Plus featured the same size displays as the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro Max models with a battery that was just about the same size as the top-of-the-line models. Surprisingly, this also didn't sell accounting for only 5%-10% of all iPhone shipments each year.

This year we will supposedly see a change in the iPhone Plus; due to the increase in the iPhone 16 Pro Max screen size to 6.9 inches, the display of the iPhone 16 Plus will be smaller at 6.7 inches. Back in May, we first learned about the iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone Slim which at first sounded like a premium device. It would be thinner with a new rear camera island at the top middle of the rear panel, and it would have the most expensive starting price among iPhone models. Yes, it would carry a higher price tag than the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The first bit of disappointment came after leaker Ice Universe recently revealed specs for the phone which included a 6.65-inch ProMotion display with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate. The phone will be powered by the non-Pro A19 application processor, come equipped with 8GB of RAM (just enough for Apple Intelligence and well below the 12GB of RAM on the iPhone 17 Pro models), and a $1,299 starting price tag topping the $1,199 starting price of the iPhone 17 Pro Max by $100.

We further learned that the iPhone 17 Slim might feature a single camera on the back albeit equipped with variable aperture like Huawei's last few flagship models. This allows the user to optimize depth-of-field settings and improve low-light photos. Some rumors call for the phone to include smaller cutouts for the Dynamic Island. We could also see an improvement in the FaceTime camera.

Still, none of these specs screams premium and today TF International's crystal ball-wielding Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the man who can tell you what the soup of the day will be in the Cupertino cafeteria two years from tomorrow, weighed in on Slim.

Actually, Kuo calls the new model an "ultra-slim model" which he says is not replacing the Plus. Kuo states that Apple is exploring new design trends beyond the current iPhone lineup. Armed with some more precise specs than Ice Universe, Kuo says that the iPhone 17 Slim display will measure 6.6 inches with a resolution of 1260 x 2740. That is slightly lower than the 1290 x 2796 resolution of the iPhone 15 Pro Max display.

Kuo agrees that the A19 non-Pro chipset will be under the hood although he says that the size of the Dynamic Island will be identical to current models. The analyst adds that the phone will use a titanium-aluminum alloy metal frame with a smaller percentage of titanium than what is used on the iPhone 15 Pro series models. 

In a major bit of news, Kuo says that the iPhone 17 Slim will be the second iPhone after the iPhone SE 4 to use Apple's in-house 5G modem chip replacing the Qualcomm silicon used over the last few years. The iPhone SE 4 will be released next spring while the iPhone 17 Slim is expected to appear during September 2025. Lastly, the highly-regarded analyst expects a single rear camera on the back of the device.

From the specs, it would appear that Apple is counting on the phone's design to get consumers excited about the device.  And even then, it's unsure whether the design will excite them enough to shell out $1,299 and up for the most expensive iPhone yet. As Kuo wrote, "The ultra-slim iPhone 17 will emphasize innovative form factor design rather than competing on hardware specifications (processor, camera, etc.)."