William Gallagher
A new rumor says that Apple will call the expected thinner iPhone the "iPhone Air," but so far, the claim is as light as the name.
There have been so many reported leaks about a slimmer iPhone that it seems likely one is coming. Front Page Tech YouTube Jon Prosser is not adding to any of those, not backing up any, but instead extrapolating that Apple will use the name iPhone Air.
In a video that takes 12 minutes to say this, he does also posit that rather than being a new higher-end model, the iPhone Air will be priced around the level of the current iPhone 15 Plus. This is based on the expected specifications of the 2025 iPhone being noticeably less than those anticipated for the rest of that year's iPhone 17 Pro models.
Specifically, previous reports have included claims that the processor will be lesser than in the Pro range. Where the iPhone 17 Pro should get an A19 Pro chip, the slim model will get an A19.
It's also been previously reported that the slim iPhone will have a redesigned camera, and also that it will cost $1,299.
Prosser recites all of this in his video, adding credence to some sources, less to others, but in every case bar one, actually relying on those variable sources to back up his idea. The one source he questions before then rejecting, is the $1,299 claim.
Instead, based on what he expects is a single camera, and on the lesser processor, Prosser believes the slim iPhone 17 will be a lower-end device than currently predicted. There have already been claims that to keep selling four models, Apple will abandon the iPhone Plus in favor of the iPhone Slim.
In Prosser's view, the iPhone Air will be a true replacement for the iPhone Plus. He means that in technology, in price, and in the market that it is aiming for.
Note that Prosser has a very mixed track record with leaks, let alone extrapolations like this.
Nonetheless, Apple has long used the name "Air" for iPads and Macs before, it could do so now for the iPhone. It could also do so now for an Apple Watch Air, for that matter.
What makes this rumor possible, though, is not the odds over the naming. Instead, what makes it more certain that we'd give it normally is number of rumors concerning a slimmer iPhone.
A new and thinner iPhone rumors have only surfaced in 2024. For years now there have been claims of a redesigned model coming, more often called the iPhone Ultra.
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
6 Comments
My head wonders if there’d even be a market for this device. After all smaller devices like the iPhone Mini were discontinued due to lack of sales (although I still think they was due to terrible positioning and price proposition vs devices like the iPhone XR).
On the other side I remember the obsession with thin phones before the iPhone was released, or the bend-tastic iPhone 6 line, so I suppose it’s possible.
iPhone 7 slimness was peak.
the current line up is too heavy and thick
I really wish that Apple would release an iPhone in the same form factor as the discontinued iPod touch. But they won't...
It's nearly time for a replacement for my iPhone 12 mini, hope there's another small model on the horizon. But with the heavy emphasis on Apple Intelligence my expectation is that the SoCs will end up drawing more power which will justify a bigger battery.