The iPhone 17 Air is really very fine, the proof in pictures

The one we're calling the iPhone 17 Air while we wait for Apple to release its real commercial name should be much thinner than the iPhone 17 Pro according to this image comparison.

As we know, Apple will replace the iPhone 17 Plus with an iPhone 17 Air (name to be confirmed) with its next generation of smartphones. This brand new model will feature a slim and lightweight design, but just how thin will this device be? We're starting to see things more clearly.

The leaker Majin Bu, who is very active at the moment, has published an image comparing the iPhone 17 Pro to the iPhone 17 Air. These are not the actual devices, which have not yet entered production. They are more likely prototypes, or molds designed based on their supposed technical characteristics. But they do have the merit of clearly showing the difference in thickness that we should see between the two smartphones.

A very thin iPhone 17 Air, but at what price?

As you can see in the image below, it looks like the iPhone 17 Air is almost twice as thin as the iPhone 17 Pro. According to several indiscretions, the iPhone 17 Air should be only 5.5 mm thick (9.5 mm including the camera unit). For comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro is 8.3 mm thick. The gap would therefore be far from being negligible.

iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Air in comparison pic.twitter.com/Xtgz1j1nMN

— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) March 25, 2025

We can see the presence of a space for a USB-C port on the model. This could be kept, while some rumors suggested it would be removed to make it the first iPhone to rely 100% on wireless charging. We're not there yet, but it's not impossible that Apple will take the plunge in the future. However, it's not ruled out that the physical SIM card slot be removed to make way for the eSIM. This freed up space, and Apple has already made a habit of doing this for all its iPhone models sold in the United States for several years.

In any case, we can ask questions about the battery life of this iPhone 17 Air. Such thinness will inevitably result in concessions in terms of battery size. We know that Apple is working on optimizations for its batteries, but also on reducing the energy consumption of certain components, such as the screen or the modem.