With the iPhone 16 now out there, rumors give attention to the upcoming iPhone 17. This mannequin is predicted to be launched within the second half of 2025. One of many highlights of this era may very well be the iPhone Air, because it appears Apple will now not wager on a Plus mannequin. Apple executives are calling the upcoming new fashions their “most formidable” iPhones ever. Right here’s what we learn about this future telephone to date.
Launch date
If Apple follows the development, the brand new iPhone 17 lineup, together with the brand new iPhone 17 Air, must be launched in September this yr. If we dive a bit deeper, Apple will seemingly announce the iPhone 17 lineup through the second week of September, with preorder availability to start that week and a launch seemingly set for the next week.
Meaning the iPhone 17 Air launch date will seemingly be Friday, September nineteenth, 2025, following a preorder launch on September twelfth.
In keeping with The Info, Apple has began the manufacturing course of to make the common iPhone 17 fashions in India. That is the primary time Cupertino started the manufacturing of a brand new iPhone line outdoors China.
On this early manufacturing part, Apple must tweak the iPhone design and experiment with new supplies and gear to make sure that “thousands and thousands of iPhones could be produced a day throughout totally different places with minimal defects.” This part will final till early subsequent yr.
Apple is already making iPhone 17 Air fashions in China because it enters the brand new product introduction part (NPI). The NPI part is liable for bringing this iPhone’s idea to life with design validation and prototype testing.
As of Might 2025, Apple has completed the Engineering Validation Testing for at the very least one iPhone 17 mannequin, as they’re scheduled to be launched and not using a delay.
Slim or Air? What’s the title of the iPhone Plus alternative
Rumors to date level to 2 totally different doable names for the iPhone Plus alternative: Slim or Air. At first, Slim was the nomenclature utilized by leakers. Nevertheless, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman believes Apple will seemingly name it “Air” as a consequence of different profitable merchandise utilizing this title.
Apple sees the “Air” technique as a tried-and-true winner, given its unprecedented success with the MacBook Air over the previous 15 years — to not point out the iPad Air. Customers will most likely nonetheless in the end gravitate extra towards the iPhone Professional and Professional Max fashions, however the Air ought to at the very least outsell the iPhone 16 Plus.
That mentioned, we’ll solely know the title for positive as soon as Apple reveals it in September. iPhone Air may very well be the interior nomenclature the corporate’s staff are utilizing, however not essentially the title of the ultimate product.
iPhone 17 Air may trace at future foldable iPhone
Since Apple launched the iPhone 12 mini, it has struggled to discover a marketplace for the distinctive variations of its common iPhone fashions. The corporate has seen low gross sales of the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 15 Plus. Whereas we have to understand how the iPhone 16 Plus will promote, Cupertino is perhaps planning a special method for the iPhone 17.
Thus far, analysts don’t count on the iPhone 17 Air to be successful, though it’s anticipated to drive extra gross sales than the iPhone 16 Plus. As well as, Gurman believes there’s a greater motive why Apple needs to fabricate this smartphone:
The iPhone Air additionally serves as a testing floor for future applied sciences, together with ones that would permit for foldable gadgets. To fold, iPhones and iPads might want to have our bodies and shows which are as skinny as doable — and the Air is a step towards that.
Show and design
The iPhone 17 Air is predicted to have a number of design modifications, a very powerful of which is a thinner physique. Rumors level to a tool between 5.5 mm and 6.5 mm thick. South Korea’s Sisa Journal mentioned this machine could be 6.25mm thick, which might make it the thinnest iPhone ever. A Chinese language leaker believes this iPhone might be 5.5mm thick with a most thickness of 9.5mm on the digital camera module.
If these rumors are true, this machine could be round 20% thinner than the bottom iPhone 16 fashions and 25% thinner than the iPhone 16 Professional. Prime insider Ming-Chi Kuo additionally believes Apple may make this machine at round 5.5mm. A studio made a idea video of what this iPhone may really seem like. Finally, this design was additionally highlighted because the almost definitely official search for this machine. You’ll be able to even see a 3D-printed model of it.
To attain this ultra-thin design, Apple should settle for a number of trade-offs, together with an eSIM-only choice. In addition to that, analyst Jeff Pu expects this machine to function a 6.6-inch OLED show. It’s unclear if it’s going to function ProMotion and All the time-On Show because the iPhone 17. Nevertheless, a Weibo leaker says all 4 iPhone 17 fashions will get these applied sciences.
This machine is predicted to function the Motion Button, Digicam Management, and a single rear digital camera, though some rumors counsel it’d get two. One other doable change is that the titanium body might be out there for this iPhone solely.
As well as, there’s one thing bizarre about this machine that will frustrate designers.
Lastly, it appears Apple canceled a show function that iPhone customers would have cherished, an anti-reflective coating.
Specs
If Apple follows its acquainted development, the A19 household of chips will energy the iPhone 17 lineup. The Info says Apple is creating two new chips, the A19 and A19 Professional, with the latter utilizing a brand new TSMC expertise for improved effectivity. It appears these chips will proceed to make use of a 3nm manufacturing course of.
At this second, it appears the iPhone 17 Air would be the just one with the A19 chip, because the common iPhone 17 may nonetheless rock the A18 processor.
It’s unclear how a lot sooner these new chips might be, though Neural Engine cores will seemingly be a precedence as Apple plans to enhance Apple Intelligence options. Whereas it was first rumored that solely the iPhone 17 Professional Max would get 12GB of RAM, Apple will provide it for the opposite Professional fashions and the iPhone 17 Air. There’s a risk that even the common iPhone 17 will get it.
BGR‘s Chris Smith believes the RAM bump means Apple will unveil higher AI options quickly.
Connectivity
Analysts Ming-Chi Kuo and Jeff Pu consider Apple will use a proprietary Wi-Fi modem for the upcoming iPhone 17 Air, which we now know known as C1. The corporate needs to rely much less on Qualcomm and Broadcom and finally create a chip that can function mobile, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth applied sciences in a single silicon.
Apple’s present C1 chip helps Wi-Fi 6 and common 5G speeds. Dependable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the corporate plans to switch Qualcomm’s Wi-Fi chips on all the iPhone 17 sequence later this yr.
The analyst writes: “My newest trade survey signifies that each one new 2H25 iPhone 17 fashions will function Apple’s in-house Wi-Fi chips (vs. solely the slim iPhone 17 will undertake Apple’s C1 modem chip). Past value discount, the swap to in-house Wi-Fi chips will improve connectivity throughout Apple gadgets.”
Battery
A rumor means that all the iPhone 17 lineup will function the identical battery glue tech that Apple used for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
As proven by iFixit, all you must do to take away the battery from the chassis is apply a low-voltage present. The battery will come off like magic. The process additional improves the repairability of the iPhone 16, making battery replacements even simpler. The method solely works in a single course, permitting you to detach the battery from the body. Every new battery will function its personal glue strip, and no present might be wanted throughout set up.
Whereas we consider battery life might be a priority for the iPhone 17 Air, a brand new show element may assist Apple enhance the battery lifetime of the iPhone 17 Professional fashions whereas rising sturdiness. As well as, if Cupertino makes use of its C1 chip on the iPhone 17 Air, it’d enormously enhance its battery, even when it’s bodily smaller. Right here’s what we predict would be the secret sauce for strong battery life.
A brand new Apple Intelligence function is perhaps liable for bettering the iPhone 17 Air’s probably poor battery life, as the corporate additionally works on a Sensible Battery Case accent.
iOS 26 and Apple Intelligence options might be key for iPhone 17
Throughout the WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple previewed iOS 26. With the primary betas, we may take a look at one of many key options which may make the iPhone 17 Air battery even higher. With Adaptive Energy, Apple says that “when your battery utilization is larger than ordinary, iPhone could make small efficiency changes to increase your battery life, together with barely decreasing the show brightness or permitting some actions to take slightly longer.”
Among the many new options, customers will be capable of make the most of a brand new redesign known as Liquid Glass. That mentioned, experiencing this rumored machine is perhaps even higher with a complete new UI.
In addition to that, Apple is bettering Apple Intelligence options with Dwell Translation, onscreen ChatGPT consciousness, Genmoji tweaks, and rather more.
Value and storage
Rumors say Apple is perhaps planning so as to add a 2TB tier for the iPhone Professional fashions, beginning with the iPhone 17. That mentioned, these may very well be the doable storage choices:
- iPhone 17: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB
- iPhone 17 Air: 256GB and 512GB
- iPhone 17 Professional and 17 Professional Max: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB
A rumor says Apple may cost extra for the iPhone 17 fashions. Thus far, we have now heard that the corporate needs to cost far more for the long run Air mannequin, which may value $1,299. Nevertheless, new rumors state that it gained’t be costlier than the Professional fashions. That mentioned, this iPhone’s value would vary between $899 and $1,299. Nonetheless, the iPhone 17 may very well be 9% costlier as a consequence of Trump’s tariffs.
A latest Wall Avenue Journal report reveals that all the iPhone 17 lineup may get a value hike. Cupertino needs to make use of these new options as the principle motive for the brand new gadgets’ larger value.
Wrap up
That is every part we all know concerning the iPhone 17 Air to date. We’ll hold updating this text.
