With a possible September 2025 release date growing closer, rumors and leaks are bubbling up about the iPhone 17 Air, a new addition to the iPhone line-up with a radical design change.
While the name hasn't been confirmed yet (as we've also seen "iPhone 17 Slim"), Bloomberg's Mark Gurman seems to think Apple will go with the "Air" naming convention to boost sales — an idea first suggested by Apple leaker and YouTuber Jon Prosser.
Whatever the name ends up being, we've rounded up the best leaks and rumors about the iPhone Air's specs, price, release date, and more.
iPhone 17 Air rumors: Latest news
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iPhone 17 Air rumors: Release date & price
In a report from The Information, it's said the iPhone 17 Air "could be priced higher than the iPhone Pro Max." The iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199 right now, so the iPhone 17 Air could very well start at $1,299 or higher.
This rumor matches up with rumors from July 2024 that a 'Slim' iPhone would become the most premium model in the iPhone lineup. However, rumored specs up to this point indicate the iPhone 17 Air will feature lower-end specs compared to the Pro Max, so a higher price doesn't make the most sense.
Another rumor from analyst Jeff Pu via an investor note seen by 9to5Mac suggests the iPhone 17 Air may act as a "replacement" for the iPhone's "Plus" model. If Pu means the Air model would fully replace the Plus model in the iPhone 17 lineup, then the Air's starting price could match or hover around the iPhone 16 Plus' $899 starting price.
Of course, Trump administration tariffs could lead to significantly higher prices on the entire iPhone 17 line-up, but it's difficult to predict just how much of a price increase we could see due to how frequently tariffs have been changing.
When it comes to a release date, Apple is much more predictable. The iPhone 17 Air, if it exists, will likely launch in September 2025, along with the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup.
iPhone 17 Air rumors: Specs
None of the following specs have been confirmed by Apple yet, but here's what we've heard so far from leakers and analysts regarding the iPhone 17 Air's possible specs.
iPhone 17 Air rumors: Design & display
By far the biggest selling point for the iPhone 17 Air will be its design.
The iPad Pro M4 is the thinnest product Apple has ever made — even thinner than the iPod Nano — and the company reportedly has plans to bring that sleek, thin design to the iPhone, MacBook, and Apple Watch.
YouTuber Unbox Therapy showed off a mockup of the iPhone 17 Air in a hands-on video in April, which featured a design that closely matches the leaked images we've seen so far. If this design is accurate, the iPhone 17 Air will be just 5.55 mm thick. For context, the iPad Pro M4 is 5.1 mm thick.
This means the Air will be significantly thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus (6.9 mm), which is important to note since the iPhone 6 Plus was infamously the subject of the "bendgate" controversy back in 2014. Users discovered the phone was bending unusually easy in their pockets and one YouTuber even bent it on camera with his bare hands.
Hopefully, Apple has figured out how to solve this durability issue or it might be doomed to repeat history with the iPhone 17 Air.
Besides its thickness (or lack thereof), we also know that the iPhone 17 Air will feature a much larger camera bump than previous iPhones. It resembles the camera bumps normally seen on Google Pixel phones, stretching nearly the full width of the phone. The camera bump on the iPhone 17 Pro is even bigger, a design change some may not be fans of.
Additionally, many rumors suggest the iPhone 17 Air will adopt a fully aluminum casing, in an effort to make the phone feel lighter. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, thinks the phone's chassis will be constructed of both aluminum and titanium, "with a lower percentage of titanium than the current Pro and Pro Max metal frames."
As for its display, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to feature a 6.6-inch display with a 2,740 x 1,260-pixel resolution, ProMotion capabilities with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and potentially a smaller camera cutout, thanks to Apple's rumored "metalens" technology.
A leaker on Weibo (via MacRumors) says all iPhone 17 models will adopt a "super-hard AR (anti-reflective) layer" that's "more scratch-resistant" than the existing outer glass. Then, there's also a slim possibility that the iPhone 17 Air could be one of the first to sport an OLED display panel (via Tom's Guide).
iPhone 17 Air rumors: Cameras
For the longest time, iPhones either have two or three cameras in the rear camera array. With the iPhone 17 Air, however, the company might shake things up and risk upsetting the Apple cart.
According to a research note by industry analyst Jeff Pu (seen by MacRumors), the iPhone 17 Air will reportedly be getting a single 48-megapixel rear wide camera featured in the iPhone 16 line-up, notably as part of a much larger than usual camera bump.
Unfortunately, this may also mean it won't have a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. If the 17 Air's price is to remain the same as the existing 16 Plus model, this camera omission will definitely be an issue (let alone if it ends up being more expensive).
On the front, the selfie camera will reportedly be getting an upgrade, leaving its 12-megapixel camera behind in favor of a much better 24-megapixel camera. This change is supposed to be hitting all iPhone 17 models, not just the Air.
iPhone 17 Air rumors: Outlook
The iPhone 17 Air will likely be a stunner if its chassis is as thin as the leaks and mockups so far suggest. As nice as that design may be to look at, it could also present issues like reduced battery life and durability concerns. The ever-shifting state of Trump administration tariffs could also cause issues for the phone's launch and potentially lead to an unusually high price.
We can expect more info to trickle in as we get closer to WWDC 2025. As an iPhone gets closer to its release date, we often start seeing more leaks of both info and photos, so stay tuned.
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