It's rumored that Apple will release a new iPhone 17 variant this year that has been referred to as the iPhone 17 Air.
There have been multiple leaks of dummy models for the super-thin iPhone showing how it's almost half the thickness of the iPhone 16 Pro. Still, all the rumors focus on the physical size of the phone, as there has yet to be credible news about the internals–such as the processor, storage, and something important to many people, battery life.
A new report from The Information does appear to shed some light on that last point, and it might not be what some hopeful iPhone 17 Air buyers wanted to hear.
According to the report, the iPhone 17 Air will have a lower battery life than what's expected. The metric used was the percentage of users who could last a whole day with the iPhone 17 Air on a single charge. Most phone models reportedly have 80%–90% of users lasting the whole day without recharging, but the iPhone 17 Air comes in at the 60%–70% range, which is a significant drop-off.
Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the iPhone 17 Air's battery life.
iPhone 17 Air is stunningly thin compared to iPhone 16 Pro in latest leak pic.twitter.com/1N480JzkWgApril 30, 2025
Bring back an energy blast from the past.
To counter this potential problem, Apple is reportedly looking to bring back its Smart Battery Cases.
The Smart Battery Cases were cases with an external battery built into them. So when used with a phone, the external battery would be the first source of power for the phone, lasting most of the day, before the phone started using its own internal battery. The cases were praised for providing that extra battery life, but their bulkiness was always a downside.
Apple made multiple Smart Battery Cases for its iPhones over the years, but stopped with the iPhone 12. This was when Apple became more focused on MagSafe products, and the bulky case wouldn't work properly with it.
What else do we know abou the iPhone 17 Air?
As mentioned earlier, there is not much else known about the iPhone 17 Air other than its dimensions.
Those dimensions, in particular, have some wondering if we'll see another "Bendgate," which was when the iPhone 6 was so thin, for the time, that it would actually bend with enough pressure. It's unlikely that Apple would let that happen again, but it does have some people who remember that controversy a little concerned.
There was a report that Apple wanted to make the iPhone 17 Air so thin that it originally didn't have a USB-C port. Apple reportedly has been wanting to have a completely plugless iPhone with all the data transfers and power charging being wireless.
One issue other iPhone enthusiasts have had is the lack of creativity with the iPhone 17 Air's looks, mainly the camera bump. There have been comparisons made to other smartphones, and there are questions about whether Apple is getting lazy with its designs.
If the iPhone 17 Air becomes a reality, Apple will likely show it off in September. This month is usually reserved for a big event unveiling the new iPhones, which will be released later in the month or in early October.
