Insiders: iPhone 17 Air will get an ultra-thin case, but will lose stereo speakers and a SIM card slot

The Information, citing industry sources, shared the first details about the iPhone 17 Air, the supposed “light” version of Apple’s flagship smartphone. In order to create a device with a thin body, the company’s engineers have to make a number of compromises.

According to insiders, the iPhone 17 Air is already undergoing initial production tests at the Foxconn plant. The thickness of the prototypes varies from 5 to 6 mm, which is significantly less than the current iPhone 16 (7.8 mm) and even the thinnest iPhone 6 in the company’s history (6.9 mm).

However, creating such a thin body is associated with difficulties. For example, it is difficult for engineers to find room for the battery and cooling system. They also had to abandon stereo speakers, which will happen for the first time since the iPhone 7. In addition, the device’s design does not yet include a slot for a physical SIM card, which may complicate its sales in some markets.

The device, according to rumors, will be equipped with a single camera module. The iPhone 17 Air is also expected to be one of the first Apple smartphones with a proprietary 5G modem. However, the data transfer speed of the new module is inferior to current solutions from Qualcomm.

The iPhone 17 Air is tentatively scheduled for September 2025, but the final specifications have not yet been confirmed.