According to a new report from The Information and Wayne Ma, next year's much-rumored iPhone 17 Air (or iPhone 17 Slim) could be the thinnest iPhone ever.

Thanks to a prototype of the handset, the report reveals some new details about the slim iPhone. Allegedly, the prototype is between 5mm and 6mm thick; the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus are 7.8mm thick, while the iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick.

Compromises were made in order to lose 2mm to 3mm of thickness. While the design has not yet been finalized, the current version does not feature a physical SIM card tray. This means it will use a virtual SIM card; all iPhones in the U.S. since the iPhone 14 have used eSIM cards, but the technology is currently banned in China.

For the most part, the U.S. iPhone is similar to global releases, unlike some Android manufacturers who change their releases depending on the market. The design is not yet finalized, but it would be interesting to see if Apple tries to push a physical SIM card tray into the phone; Ma reports that Apple plans to discontinue eSIM in as many markets as possible next year.

Outside of the SIM card, the iPhone 17 Air may only have one speaker in the earpiece. This is because there is not enough space on the bottom of the phone for a speaker.

Ma also reported that Apple “engineers also find it difficult to fit a battery and heat-conducting material into the device, one of the people involved said.”

Another compromise is the camera, which according to the report has “a large camera bump in the center of the back” with a single lens. Current iPhone 16 models have two or three rear cameras.

One area where Apple has succeeded in miniaturization is the Apple-designed 5G modem, which is reportedly smaller and more power efficient than the Qualcomm modem in current iPhones. and that overall data speeds will be slower.

The iPhone 17 Air as well as next year's Pro model will be significantly redesigned.

According to the report, the iPhone 17 Pro model will have an aluminum frame instead of a titanium frame. In addition, the back will be “part aluminum, part glass design. The camera bump will likely be replaced by a large rectangle made of aluminum instead of 3D glass. This bump will be larger than on previous Pro models.

The bottom half of the device will reportedly be glass to “support wireless charging.

The glass back was first introduced with the iPhone 8.

These changes represent a significant visual change for the iPhone, as The Information is generally very accurate in its reporting of Apple's rumors.

The iPhone 17 Air, aluminum Pro and Pro Max, and standard iPhone 17 should launch in the fall of 2025, most likely in September.