If current rumors are to be believed, Apple may revamp its iPhone lineup again next year, and after the lackluster performance of both the mini and Plus models, the company is said to be hoping for a third go-around with the iPhone 17 Air (or iPhone 17 Slim), with thinness as a key selling point. The company is said to be hoping for a third time with the iPhone 17 Air (or iPhone 17 Slim), which will make thinness a selling point.

While we're still a bit away from a September 2025 release date for Apple's next numbered device (the iPhone SE 4 is likely to arrive sooner), here are the seven biggest rumors we've heard so far about the iPhone 17 Air.

The iPhone 17 Air's biggest selling point will be its unbelievable depth. The thinnest Apple smartphone to date was the 2014 iPhone 6, which was really thin at 6.9mm, but according to reports, the Air could surpass that at less than 6mm thick.

This may seem overwhelmingly thin, considering that the 13-inch iPad Pro in 2024 could be as thin as just 5.1 mm. However, this is not easy to achieve in a cell phone, where the battery cannot be made thinner without increasing screen size or reducing stamina. There were once plans to make it thinner, but technical problems with the new battery reportedly forced Apple to revert to the old battery

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If correct, even 6 mm would be the thinnest iPhone ever. For reference, the iPhone 16 is 7.8 mm thick, while the Pro model is 8.25 mm.

According to recent reports, one of the ways Apple is slimming down the new iPhone is with an OLED display featuring a new technology called “touch and display driver integration” (TDDI). The touch and display layers are integrated into one, reducing the required physical footprint.

In addition to this, display analyst Ross Young believes that all four iPhone 17 models will feature ProMotion (Apple's brand name for the 120 Hz refresh rate). If true, this would be the first time Apple has offered a refresh rate above 60Hz on a non-Pro iPhone. To me, this is a big deal and I may actually downgrade when the time comes.

More predictable, but no less exciting, is that the new iPhone will mean a new chipset. iPhone 17 Air will use Apple's upcoming A19 processor, and along with improved energy efficiency, single-core and multi-core performance will no doubt be improved.

However, the gains may not be as great, as Apple's transition to a 2nm process is said to not take place until 2026 with the iPhone 18 family. iPhone 17 Air is likely to still feature a 3nm chip.

The iPhone 17 family, including the new Slim model, will reportedly be the first Apple smartphone to feature the company's proprietary Wi-Fi chip.

This is according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who sees this as primarily a cost-cutting measure by Apple. It is unclear at this time how it will affect wireless performance, but as a side benefit it could “increase Apple's ecosystem integration advantage,” he added.

In addition, of course, it will contribute to thinner phones. Using its own modem, Apple could make a smartphone about 2 mm thinner than the iPhone 16 Pro.”

At one point, premium smartphones tried to justify the price increase by adding more and more rear camera lenses, leading to the Nokia 9 Pureview's very crowded-looking back plate.

Apple is reportedly trying to reverse this trend with the iPhone 17 Air. If true, Apple will ditch the ultra-wide lens in favor of a single 48MP sensor.

This sounds disappointing, but aesthetically it should be more appealing, and since Apple has managed to emulate an impressive 2x zoom via pixel binning in the recent telephoto-free iPhone, performance will not be much degraded for the average user Maybe.

What is harder to swallow is the reported premium price. The iPhone mini series costs $100 less than a regular iPhone, while the Plus currently costs $100 more, but rumors suggest that the iPhone Air could become the most expensive device in Apple's history.

If true, this would exceed the $1,199 Apple is charging for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which would be difficult to sell no matter how lightweight and aesthetically pleasing the new model is.

Rumors have been circulating since 2018 that Apple is cooking up its own 5G modem for the iPhone, and it may finally happen with the iPhone 17 Slim Kuo said that iPhones with Apple-designed 5G modems, including the Slim and iPhone SE 4, two models including the SE 4, can be expected to launch in 2025

Current iPhones rely on Qualcomm's modems for cellular connectivity. It remains to be seen whether the switch to in-house modems will benefit consumers, but it is likely to reduce Apple's reliance on Qualcomm and reduce costs for iPhone manufacturers.

Apple's critics often claim that buyers will end up paying more for style than substance, and the patchwork of rumors we have for the iPhone 17 Air certainly seems to fit that stereotype. There's nothing wrong with wanting a thinner device and settling for a simpler camera layout to get it, but if it comes with a big premium, it's pretty hard to justify.

I hope that talk of a large price increase is misplaced and that Apple succeeds in introducing the iPhone Air at a competitive MSRP. If that happens, there is no reason why this won't be Apple's biggest seller in 2025.