TL;DR
- According to a new report, the purported iPhone 17 Air will be between 5 and 6 millimeters thick.
- The difficulty could result in several ommissions from the device. For instance, the iPhone 17 Air might come with a single earpiece speaker.
- The report also suggests that the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will switch to an aluminum frame.
Most recently, we heard a rumor about how the iPhone 17 Air could feature a single-camera setup on its back panel. Now, a publication builds upon the rumor, stating that Apple is facing a lot of trouble achieving a perfectly functional yet practical design for the iPhone 17 Air. The company might have to make several compromises in order to fit the internal components in a chassis that is either 5 or 6 millimeters thick.
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The iPhone 17 Air Could Be Between 5 and 6 mm Thick
According to a new report from The Information, the purported iPhone 17 Air will be between 5 and 6 millimeters thick. Compared to the iPhone 16 (review) at 7.8mm, the iPhone 17 Air will feel like a completely different device. From what it looks like, the upcoming Air model could beat the thinnest Apple product record set by the 5.1mm M4 iPad Pro with a 13-inch screen.
However, in pursuit of making the thinnest iPhone ever, Apple’s engineers find it difficult to fit the battery and heat-dissipation materials into the device. This corroborates the previous report from supply chain sources, suggesting that the company is struggling to fit the internal components in a wafer-thin chassis.
The Thin Chassis Is Troubling Apple’s Engineers, Big Time
iPhone 17 Air Might Not Get The Bottom Speaker
The difficulty could result in several ommissions from the device. For instance, the iPhone 17 Air might come with a single earpiece speaker, which won’t sound as good as the two-speaker setup on regular iPhones. As we’ve seen in several teardown videos, a speaker chamber occupies a lot of space, especially those in top-tier smartphones. To cram in all the components in the limited space, Apple might actually remove the second speaker from the bottom.
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iPhone 17 Air Could Ship With A Single-Camera Setup On The Back
The publication also reiterates that the iPhone 17 Air will ship with a single-camera setup in a centered camera bump. We’ve already heard about how the slimmest iPhone will feature the company’s first 5G modem, but the report adds that it won’t support mmWave 5G bands, which deliver ultra-fast wireless speeds over shorter distances.
The Air Model Might Not Feature A SIM Tray
Last but not least, the company’s engineers haven’t found a way to make space for a physical SIM tray. Even though the recent iPhones have switched to eSIM in the United States, there are some markets, like India and China, where the company provides a SIM tray. Nonetheless, despite all the challenges, the iPhone 17 has passed from the proto-1 to the proto-2 stage, indicating that Apple is serious about the product and is pushing for a timely release.
Meanwhile, iPhone 17 Pro Models Could Shift Back From Titanium To Aluminum
The same publication also suggests that the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will switch to an aluminum frame. On the back, the phones will feature an aluminum-and-glass design, wherein the top of the panel will feature a rectangular camera bump (made using aluminum). The bottom half will continue to increase glass, which will make way for wireless charging.
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Could the shift from titanium to aluminum be in favor of using recycled materials? Only time will tell. However, it is a bit odd that the company will degrade the material used on the Pro models, especially when it has used the material as a differentiator between the models in recent years. While the regular iPhone 16 has an aluminum frame, the iPhone 16 Pro ships with a titanium frame; there’s a significant difference between the phone’s in-hand feel.
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