After screen sizes and camera improvements the newest fad for smartphones — aside from AI — seems to be slimness. Now this is far from the first time that manufacturers have tried to boast about making their phone even more impossibly thin. But with both Samsung and Apple releasing a slim variant of their flagships — alongside other companies — one has to wonder: who is this for, exactly?
Both the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhone 17 Air are expected to come out later this year. Samsung will likely beat Apple to the punch if reports are to be believed. Which is funny because leaks about the iPhone 17 Air started circulating first and when people found out about Samsung’s offering they accused it of copying Apple.
Nevertheless the Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhone 17 Air are happening. We’ve already seen what the iPhone 17 Air looks like and we also know that it is supposed to be replacing the iPhone Plus models. But now a new leak has given us a precise measurement and, honestly, it seems a bit impractical to me.
Really? 5.44 mm?
Image credit — Majin Bu
According to a popular industry insider the iPhone 17 Air is 5.44 mm in thickness. That is ridiculous in today’s day and age and only leads me to one conclusion: the iPhone 17 Air will sacrifice a lot.
Now, granted that this measurement wasn’t taking the camera bump into account. But even if it was it wouldn’t matter because the area that’s supposed to house the battery is only 5.44 mm. And yes, that is my biggest problem with the impracticality of the iPhone 17 Air.
Not for power users
Image credit — Fpt.
The iPhone 17 Air is almost assuredly not going to be the phone for power users. And I don’t mean people who want the best cameras or the largest amount of storage. What I mean are users like me who spend a good chunk of their day using their phone. Be it for browsing Reddit, watching a TV show or practicing another language. I need my phone to last an entire day.
But most phones available today can’t manage that even without being ridiculously slim. My phone needs a midday charge daily and that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. The iPhone 17 Air is automatically unappealing to me because it will have to sacrifice battery life to achieve its form factor. No matter what kind of wizardry Apple pulls — like with the iPhone 16e — the Air will have awful battery life with only 5.44 mm to work with.
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Sacrificing other specs too
Image credit — Fpt.
But it’s not just battery life that the iPhone 17 Air is sacrificing. Ever since the first reports started coming in we’ve been told repeatedly that this phone will forgo the specs its counterparts have for its slimmer chassis.
This means that it will most likely only have one camera on the back as shown above in the leaked renders. It also means it might have to make do with a less powerful chip to maximize the already limited battery life. I suspect it will get hotter too because it will have less room to dissipate heat.
Being so slim also makes the iPhone 17 Air more fragile. Remember when the iPhone 6 used to get bent in people’s pockets? Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if that problem makes an unwelcome comeback.
So who is the iPhone 17 Air for?
The iPhone 17 Air — from everything we know about it till now — is shaping up to be a phone that you will only get if looks matter a lot to you. This phone is not for users who want their devices to last an entire day before needing a recharge. It’s most definitely not for the people who buy the latest flagship to have the best camera on the market.
The iPhone 17 Air is for users who want a super light and extremely thin phone in their hands. It will also appeal to Apple fans who miss the iPhone 6, though I repeat my concerns about it bending in your pocket.
Lastly, the iPhone 17 Air is another attempt by Apple to see what sorts of phones people are interested in. The iPhone mini models failed to sell well and their replacements — the iPhone Plus models — followed in their footsteps. Apple is now hoping that the iPhone 17 Air can see the same success as other Air products from the company.
To answer the original question: I think that the iPhone 17 Air might do better than the Plus model but I still think it doesn't have a long future ahead of it. If we don't get an iPhone 18 Air with a bigger battery then that might be the last iPhone Air altogether.
I personally would take an “iPhone 17 Brick” or a “Galaxy S25 Box” model instead if it meant longer battery life. Fortunately it seems that Apple and Samsung are developing better batteries for upcoming devices. About time, in my opinion, and I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a battery revolution in the near future.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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