iPhone 17 Air roundup: Design, battery, specs, expected price and more before September launch

India Today

2 hours ago

We are getting closer to the annual iPhone refresh. Apple typically introduces the new generation of its flagship phones in early September, and this year, the much-anticipated iPhone 17 is likely to arrive on a similar timeline. According to Mark Gurman, the launch date could fall between 8 and 10 September. As we inch closer to the launch, the excitement around what's new with the upcoming iPhone is also building across the industry. From new and powerful processors to upgraded camera sensors, design changes and more, a lot is being speculated. But the highlight of all this speculation is definitely the possibility of a brand-new iPhone model.advertisementOver the past few months, we have been hearing about a new iPhone 17 Air, which is likely to replace the Plus model. This new iPhone could be Apple's thinnest ever, featuring an ultra-slim profile, lightweight body, a smaller battery – and a few more compromises to achieve that the thiness– potentially paired with a premium price tag. Let's take a detailed look at everything we know so far about the much-anticipated iPhone 17 Air.Slimmer and lighter designWhen Apple introduced the iPhone 6 in 2014, it was praised for being the thinnest iPhone ever, at just 6.9 mm. Fast-forward to 2025, and Apple is said to be planning the launch of an even thinner iPhone – the iPhone 17 Air. It's rumoured to feature a 5.5 mm thinness making it more sleek than the iPhone 6. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the iPhone 17 Air could be the slimmest iPhone Apple has ever produced and likely one of the thinnest smartphones in the industry at the moment.
The camera bump, of course, is excluded from this measurement. That bump could potentially push the full thickness of the iPhone 17 Air around 9.5 mm, making the bump more prominent than we've seen on other models. Despite its slim profile, the 17 Air is rumoured to feature a larger 6.6-inch display, though some speculate it could stretch up to 6.9 inches.The build of the iPhone 17 Air is expected to use a titanium-aluminium alloy frame.Battery may take the hitWith thinness comes compromise, and the iPhone 17 Air is likely to sacrifice battery life in favour of the sleek design. A recent leak from Korean blog Naver, shows what appears to be the iPhone 17 Air's L-shaped battery, measuring just 2.49 mm thick and encased in a steel sheet. By measurement that is thinner than three stacked credit cards, and significantly slimmer than the battery in the iPhone 17 Pro.According to another Naver tipster, yeux1122, the iPhone 17 Air's battery capacity is expected to be around 2,800 to 2,900 mAh, much smaller than the 4,674 mAh battery found in the iPhone 16 Plus, which it is said to be replacing. Despite the reduced size, Apple is rumoured to use silicon-carbon (Si/C) battery technology to enhance battery strength. However, only time will tell how well the phone performs in real life use.Performance of the iPhone 17advertisementUnder the hood, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to feature Apple's A19 chipset; the same chip is anticipated for the regular iPhone 17. While the A19 Pro chip will likely remain exclusive to the Pro models.In terms of memory, the iPhone 17 Air is rumoured to come with 12GB of RAM, matching the Pro lineup or 8GB RAM matching the base iPhone 17.Single camera on the iPhone 17 AirAnother compromise on the iPhone 17 Air could be its camera setup. According to rumours, the Air may come with just a single 48-megapixel camera. However, Apple is likely to optimise it with computational photography enhancements to make it capable in terms of mobile photography. iPhone 17 Air launch date and pricingAccording to sources including Mark Gurman, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 17 during Apple's September event, possibly on Monday, 8 September, or Wednesday, 10 September 2025. As for pricing, the Air is expected to sit above the base iPhone 17 but below the Pro models, positioning it as a premium mid-tier option. It could be priced similarly to the outgoing Plus model.- Ends