Ever since we first heard murmurs of Apple prepping an ultra-slim iPhone, speculations were rife about a fittingly high asking price. But it seems buyers won’t get hit with an absurd “innovation tax” for the iPhone 17 Air model later this year.
According to Bloomberg, the upcoming phone might be priced at “roughly $900.” To put that into perspective, that’s the same asking price as the iPhone 16 Plus. To recall, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to replace the “Plus” model in Apple’s line-up later this year.
A few pleasant surprises
The package, however, is going to be a mixed bag of surprises. For example, the slim phone is expected to offer a 6.6-inch display, but it will borrow the ProMotion display tech from the pricier Pro models. So far, the high refresh rate perk has been exclusive to Apple’s flagship iPhones and iPads.
Moreover, despite its slim chassis, the iPhone 17 Air will retain the Camera Control button. The biggest surprise, however, is going to be the battery life. As per Bloomberg’s report, despite packing a slimmer battery pack, it will offer a per-charge mileage that is “on par with current iPhones.”
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Of course, a few sacrifices had to be made in order to achieve the slim profile. The most prominent one is the watered-down camera hardware. Despite its high asking price, the iPhone 17 Air is said to offer only a single 48-megapixel rear camera. For comparison, that’s the imaging hardware we get on the $599 iPhone 16e, as well.
In the processing department, it will come equipped with the new A19 silicon, while the iPhone 17 Pro models will go with the faster A19 Pro variant. Apple is also skipping the physical SIM tray on this one, going all-in with an eSIM approach.
Finally, the svelte phone will also come fitted with the in-house C1 modem, which made its first appearance inside the iPhone 16e earlier this year. So far, the modem hasn’t raised any performance red flags, but it misses out on a crucial connectivity upgrade.
Unlike the Qualcomm modems, the C1 modem lacks support for the faster mmWave 5G architecture. Apple won’t be the only brand playing the ultra-slim phone game this year.
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge is expected to arrive in the coming months. Tecno’s impressive Spark Slim is also said to be on a 2025 launch trajectory. A handful of Chinese brands are eyeing their own ultra-slim phones this year, as well.