Latest news with #SamKohl
Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
iPhone 17 Air: Ultra-thin design could be Apple's boldest gamble yet
Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Air is shaping up to be one of the most radical design shifts in recent years, with leaks and dummy models suggesting it will be just 5.5mm thick, roughly half the thickness of current iPhones. But with Samsung already launching a similarly slim device, the market's appetite for ultra-thin smartphones could soon be put to the test. The latest insights into Apple's 2025 iPhone line-up come from Sam Kohl of the AppleTrack YouTube channel, who showcased dummy models of the iPhone 17, 17 Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max. Among them, the iPhone 17 Air stood out for its incredibly thin chassis, making it the slimmest iPhone ever, and one of the slimmest smartphones on the market. Apple is reportedly banking on design as a key differentiator, but it remains unclear whether consumers will pay a premium for a sleeker aesthetic, especially if it comes with trade-offs like reduced battery capacity or fragility. Interestingly, Samsung may have already beaten Apple to the punch. The newly unveiled Galaxy S25 Edge measures just 5.8mm thick, and is being positioned as the thinnest flagship Android phone available. Priced from ₹1,09,999, it will go on sale from 30 May. While the Galaxy S25 Edge is marginally thicker than Apple's rumoured 5.5mm device, the two are close enough to serve as direct comparisons. The Samsung phone could act as a litmus test for the ultra-thin segment, offering early clues about market demand and durability concerns. With the Galaxy S25 Edge set to hit consumer hands later this month, tech enthusiasts and Apple observers will be paying close attention to both critical reviews and user feedback. Will the design wow reviewers, or will they raise durability questions, particularly around potential bending or damage under pressure? As YouTubers and teardown experts begin to stress-test the S25 Edge, Apple will be watching closely. If the device is praised for its aesthetics and usability, the iPhone 17 Air may enjoy a smooth launch later this year. If not, Apple could find itself needing to justify a bold — and potentially risky, design decision.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
I must admit, if the iPhone 17 Air is this thin I'd never stop worrying
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Quick Summary A video showing a dummy iPhone 17 Air has been posted online, showing just how thin it's expected to be. If like me you are already scared to take your iPhone out of its case, this could really give you the heebie-jeebies. This should be a big year for iPhone launches, with newly designed camera units expected for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Then, of course, there's what's come to be known as the iPhone 17 Air. The superslim addition to the family will reportedly arrive as part of the annual iPhone refresh and will present something new for the mega brand. It also scares me. Having just seen a new selection of dummy units – this time in a video hosted by AppleTrack on YouTube – I can't help but feel that owning a phone that thin would give me a stress rash. If the dummy models shown in the video and subsequent screen grabs (as per 9to5Mac) are close to the real deal, the iPhone 17 Air is mind-numbingly thin. It is claimed to measure just 5.5mm – thinner even than the current 11-inch iPad Pro (which is 5.9mm). Considering I already panic when my iPhone 16 Pro Max is out of its case, this would just about tip me over the edge. As AppleTalk's Sam Kohl puts it: "It does not feel real in your hand." He shows it compared with the 16 Pro Max and it's almost half the size. I could easily imagine myself forgetting it's in a back pocket or something and breaking it. Of course, that will have been at the forefront of Apple's mind when designing it (not my rear pocket, of course). And I'd imagine that it'll be wrapped in Titanium for extra strength, but as good as it looks from the side, surely a phone is about the display and experience? For me, that comes better (and more stress-free) when it's built like a brick. Still, the video is well put together and the dummy units on show are among the best we've seen to date. I'm still not convinced by the candy bar camera units on both the new Pro variants and Air (especially with just the one lens on the latter), but at least Apple seems to be trying something new this time around. Now all we need is the fabled foldable iPhone and I'll be happy. Indeed, for the sake of my blood pressure, I may just hold on until it finally arrives.
Gizmodo
05-05-2025
- Gizmodo
Apple's Super-Skinny iPhone 17 Air Might Have a Huge Downside
A super-thin iPhone 17 'Air' (as everyone has been calling it) is coming this fall whether we want it or not. Influencers will fawn over its slim profile; I will definitely try to cut cake with it. But phones barely thicker than a USB-C port will likely nix the creature comforts that we're all used to on our normal-sized slabs. In addition to reporting that Apple is planning to shuffle up its iPhone release strategy starting next year—premium iPhones including the 18 Pros, 18 Air, and a foldable iPhone in the fall, and more affordable models like the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e in the spring—The Information claims this fall's iPhone 17 Air will have shorter battery life compared to the iPhone 17 and 17 Pros. 'The percentage of users who can go a single day without recharging the thin phone will be between 60% and 70%,' the report states. 'For other models, that metric is between 80% and 90%, one of the people said.' Naturally, a thinner phone requires a slimmer battery that can fit inside of the iPhone 17 Air's metal chassis. There are other ways Apple could compensate for a smaller battery, such as using efficient chips, but that may not be the case for this first-gen iPhone Air. Instead, Apple is reportedly planning to sell a battery case that users can attach to extend the time between charges. The cynic will say this is classic Apple creating a problem to sell an accessory as a solution. Of course, idealists will defend the thinness and tell you to just buy a regular iPhone or Pro model if having the longest battery life is at the top of your checklist. Apple has pitched an accessory before to make up for reduced battery life; alongside the iPhone 12, Apple sold a MagSafe Battery Pack. Apple will never say outright why it sold a battery case, but it's almost certainly because the iPhone 12s, which were the first to include power-hungry 5G modems, couldn't last a full work day. Apple discontinued the MagSafe Battery Pack several years later. Was it a coincidence that that happened as iPhones got thicker and battery life longer? Or did Apple stop production because it didn't want to swap out the accessory's Lightning port for a USB-C one after the EU forced it to switch to the universal port? I'm sure there are Redditors ready to cry conspiracy. Reduced battery life on the iPhone 17 Air will lead headlines, but that's not the only downgrade. We already know this phone will have a single rear camera—one that juts out quite a bit. The Information also reports that the thin iPhone will have a single speaker instead of the dual speakers in the other iPhone 17s. None of this is news that will go down well with consumers come this fall, but getting a battery pack is the reality that you'll have to accept if you want Apple's thinnest iPhone ever. YouTuber Sam Kohl shared a video showcasing high-quality dummy models for the new iPhone 17 and 17 Pros, as well as the iPhone 17 Air—and yeah, the skinny one is absurdly thin. The ultra-thin iPhone 17 is happening. There's already too much smoke. Worse will be the added cost to what is shaping up to be a costly iPhone. Rumors suggest the iPhone 17 Air could start at $900 or more. Apple has a tendency to charge extra for thin bragging rights. We've still got an entire summer to get through before we know how much an iPhone 17 Air and a battery pack will cost. We also don't know whether any of Trump's tariffs will drive that price into the stratosphere. Better brace yourself now, though, so the shock doesn't stun too hard when Apple throws the price slide up on screen at Apple Park.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
The entire iPhone 17 lineup just got revealed in new video — here's the biggest changes
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The whole iPhone 17 lineup has appeared in dummy form in a new video from Sam Kohl and AppleTrack. While Kohl says upfront that what he's showing us are only mockups of all four phones in a white colorway, this is still a great way to check out this year's upcoming iPhone models, including the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, and their alleged changes. The iPhone 17 Air appears first with its impressive thinness. Even if it's only armed with a single 48MP camera on the back, Kohl shows that, compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, the Air is nearly half as thick, while still offering a large 6.6-inch display. Perhaps by being so technically impressive, the iPhone 17 Air will capture the public's attention in a way that Plus or mini iPhones of the past have not been able to. Kohl also points out the iPhone 17 Air's off-center USB-C port, which is closer to the back of the phone than the front due to the display circuitry taking up more space in the shrunken design. There are also fewer speaker holes on the Air's bottom edge, which could indicate worse audio than the other iPhone 17 models. We then move on to the new Pro and Pro Max models. Both of these have new camera blocks that cover the whole width of the phone, just like the Air, except with three cameras instead of one. Those cameras are still in the same place and triangular arrangement, but the flash and LiDAR sensor are now on the far side. The new block is supposedly there to help add a 48MP sensor to the telephoto camera, currently the only Pro iPhone rear camera still using a 12MP sensor. Kohl notes that there isn't any sign of leaked changes, such as a new MagSafe cutout, a unibody design or aluminum sides (replacing the titanium of current Pros) on these dummies. But that could be due to their construction or the leaked schematics underpinning them, rather than those older leaks not being accurate The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max still measure 6.3 and 6.9 inches, like the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max we have now. Their button layouts aren't any different on the dummies either, and while it's hard to tell on a model without a functional screen, the Dynamic Island notch doesn't seem to have changed at all either. Finally, there's the iPhone 17 base model, which looks a lot different from the other new iPhones since it lacks the new wider camera bump. In fact, it still looks basically identical to the iPhone 16. Hopefully, some internal specs and color options will change, but otherwise, it seems Apple is only planning minor changes to the vanilla iPhone for 2025. Whether you're interested in the new iPhone 17 Air, the upgraded iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max or the plain old iPhone 17, we've got rumor hubs for them so you can study up on what the rumors and leaks have revealed so far. And we'll continue adding info to them right up until these phones launch, which, unless we hear differently, should be at Apple's habitual time of early September. I ran a marathon with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Fenix 8 — here's the winner Apple CarPlay just got 3 upgrades with iOS 18.4 — here's what's new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 could be the thinnest foldable ever made
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
The entire iPhone 17 lineup just got revealed in new video — here's the biggest changes
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The whole iPhone 17 lineup has appeared in dummy form in a new video from Sam Kohl and AppleTrack. While Kohl says upfront that what he's showing us are only mockups of all four phones in a white colorway, this is still a great way to check out this year's upcoming iPhone models, including the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, and their alleged changes. The iPhone 17 Air appears first with its impressive thinness. Even if it's only armed with a single 48MP camera on the back, Kohl shows that, compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, the Air is nearly half as thick, while still offering a large 6.6-inch display. Perhaps by being so technically impressive, the iPhone 17 Air will capture the public's attention in a way that Plus or mini iPhones of the past have not been able to. Kohl also points out the iPhone 17 Air's off-center USB-C port, which is closer to the back of the phone than the front due to the display circuitry taking up more space in the shrunken design. There are also fewer speaker holes on the Air's bottom edge, which could indicate worse audio than the other iPhone 17 models. We then move on to the new Pro and Pro Max models. Both of these have new camera blocks that cover the whole width of the phone, just like the Air, except with three cameras instead of one. Those cameras are still in the same place and triangular arrangement, but the flash and LiDAR sensor are now on the far side. The new block is supposedly there to help add a 48MP sensor to the telephoto camera, currently the only Pro iPhone rear camera still using a 12MP sensor. Kohl notes that there isn't any sign of leaked changes, such as a new MagSafe cutout, a unibody design or aluminum sides (replacing the titanium of current Pros) on these dummies. But that could be due to their construction or the leaked schematics underpinning them, rather than those older leaks not being accurate The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max still measure 6.3 and 6.9 inches, like the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max we have now. Their button layouts aren't any different on the dummies either, and while it's hard to tell on a model without a functional screen, the Dynamic Island notch doesn't seem to have changed at all either. Finally, there's the iPhone 17 base model, which looks a lot different from the other new iPhones since it lacks the new wider camera bump. In fact, it still looks basically identical to the iPhone 16. Hopefully, some internal specs and color options will change, but otherwise, it seems Apple is only planning minor changes to the vanilla iPhone for 2025. Whether you're interested in the new iPhone 17 Air, the upgraded iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max or the plain old iPhone 17, we've got rumor hubs for them so you can study up on what the rumors and leaks have revealed so far. And we'll continue adding info to them right up until these phones launch, which, unless we hear differently, should be at Apple's habitual time of early September. I ran a marathon with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs. Garmin Fenix 8 — here's the winner Apple CarPlay just got 3 upgrades with iOS 18.4 — here's what's new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 could be the thinnest foldable ever made
