New images reported to be showing the iPhone 17 Air have emerged, revealing how skinny the phone is by putting it next to an iPhone 16 Pro Max. And it’s not like that’s a thick phone — the iPhone 16 Pro Max measures 8.25mm thick.
The new images come from noted leaker Majin Bu on X, but they didn’t elaborate on where they acquired the photos. With all of these leaks and rumors, it’s always best to take them with a grain of salt. At the same time, if these images are legit, it could give us a taste of the thickness Apple is targeting with the iPhone 17 Air.
While it’s hard to say how much thinner the iPhone 17 Air is based on angles and camera tricks, it looks to be about half the depth of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
If that’s the case, that would put it at a little over 4.12mm thick, though previous rumors have suggested 5.5mm. The latter number is more likely, as we haven’t seen a phone maker able to build a phone less than 5mm yet. Perhaps Apple wants to be the first to break through that barrier.
For reference, we recently went hands-on with the Tecno Spark Slim, the thinnest phone on the market at 5.75mm. If Apple gets its slim phone down to less than that, it’ll have the thinnest phone on the market, as the upcoming Samsung S25 Edge is rumored to be about 6mm.
The iPhone Air also serves as a testing ground for future technologies, including ones that could allow for foldable devices.
Mark Gurman, Bloomberg
Outside of depth, the images also show off the Pixel-like camera design allegedly found on the iPhone 17 Air.
We should learn more about the iPhone 17 Air from Apple during the Fall of this year, as we expect it to debut with the rest of the iPhone 17 models (perhaps without a Plus, which the Air is rumored to replace).
With these leaks, the phones are usually a mockup and not the final design, so there could be some changes. Still, if they’re legitimate, these could give us an early peek at Apple’s thin phone and the iPhone 17 design.
If you want to see more iPhone 17 Air leaks, including the camera array changes, a recent iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Air leak showed off the phones.
