With the iPhone 16 now available, rumors focus on the upcoming iPhone 17. This model is expected to be released in the second half of 2025. One of the highlights of this generation could be the iPhone Air, as it seems Apple will no longer bet on a Plus model. Apple executives are calling upcoming new models their “most ambitious” iPhones ever. Here’s what we know about this future phone so far.
Release date
If Apple follows the trend, the new iPhone 17 lineup, including the new iPhone 17 Air, should be released in September this year. If we dive a bit deeper, Apple will likely announce the iPhone 17 lineup during the second week of September, with preorder availability to begin that week and a release likely set for the following week.
That means the iPhone 17 Air release date will likely be Friday, September 19th, 2025, following a preorder launch on September 12th.
According to The Information, Apple has started the manufacturing process to make the regular iPhone 17 models in India. This is the first time Cupertino began the production of a new iPhone line outside China.
In this early manufacturing phase, Apple needs to tweak the iPhone design and experiment with new materials and equipment to ensure that “millions of iPhones can be produced a day across different locations with minimal defects.” This phase will last until early next year.
Apple is already making iPhone 17 Air models in China as they entered the new product introduction phase. The NPI phase is responsible for bringing this iPhone’s concept to life with design validation and prototype testing.
Slim or Air? What’s the name of the iPhone Plus replacement
Rumors so far point to two different possible names for the iPhone Plus replacement: Slim or Air. At first, Slim was the nomenclature used by leakers. However, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman believes Apple will likely call it “Air” due to other successful products using this name.
Apple sees the “Air” strategy as a tried-and-true winner, given its unprecedented success with the MacBook Air over the past 15 years — not to mention the iPad Air. Consumers will probably still ultimately gravitate more toward the iPhone Pro and Pro Max models, but the Air should at least outsell the iPhone 16 Plus.
That said, we’ll only know the name for sure once Apple reveals it in September. iPhone Air could be the internal nomenclature the company’s employers are using, but not necessarily the name of the final product.
iPhone 17 Air could hint at future foldable iPhone
Since Apple introduced the iPhone 12 mini, it has struggled to find a market for the unique variations of its regular iPhone models. The company has seen low sales of the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 15 Plus. While we need to know how the iPhone 16 Plus will sell, Cupertino might be planning a different approach for the iPhone 17.
So far, analysts don’t expect the iPhone 17 Air to be a success, even though it’s expected to drive more sales than the iPhone 16 Plus. In addition, Gurman believes there’s a better reason why Apple wants to manufacture this smartphone:
The iPhone Air also serves as a testing ground for future technologies, including ones that could allow for foldable devices. To fold, iPhones and iPads will need to have bodies and displays that are as thin as possible — and the Air is a step toward that.
Display and design
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to have several design changes, the most important of which is a thinner body. Rumors point to a device between 5.5 mm and 6.5 mm thick. South Korea’s Sisa Journal said this device would be 6.25mm thick, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever.
If true, this device would be 20% thinner than the base iPhone 16 models and 25% thinner than the iPhone 16 Pro. However, top insider Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple could make this device even thinner, at around 5.5mm.
To achieve that design, Apple would have to accept several trade-offs, including an eSIM-only option. Besides that, analyst Jeff Pu expects this device to feature a 6.6-inch OLED display. It’s unclear if it’s going to feature ProMotion and Always-On Display as the iPhone 17.
Made of glass and aluminum, this device is expected to feature an Action Button, Camera Control, and two main cameras.
Specs
If Apple follows its familiar trend, the A19 family of chips will power the iPhone 17 lineup. The Information says Apple is developing two new chips, the A19 and A19 Pro, with the latter using a new TSMC technology for improved efficiency. It seems these chips will continue to use a 3nm manufacturing process.
It’s unclear how much faster they will be, although Neural Engine cores will likely be a priority as Apple plans to improve Apple Intelligence features. However, these devices should get 12GB of RAM for the Pro models and 8GB for the regular and Air models. A rumor says 12GB of RAM will be exclusive to the Pro Max model.
Connectivity
Analysts Ming-Chi Kuo and Jeff Pu believe Apple will use a proprietary Wi-Fi modem for the upcoming iPhone 17 Air. The company wants to rely less on Broadcom and eventually create a chip that will feature cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth technologies in a single silicon.
This Wi-Fi chip is expected to support Wi-Fi 7. Apple might also use its custom 5G modem for the iPhone 17 Air. According to Bloomberg, the first Apple 5G modem will be available in this year’s iPhone SE 4. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this rumor. Multiple sources have corroborated that Apple plans to offer its in-house 5G modem with this iPhone since it has lower sales and already lacks high-end features, such as mmWave technology.
Gurman expects this first-generation 5G modem to offer Sub-6 5G technology and lower data speeds, which shouldn’t be noticeable in daily usage. Later in 2025, a mid-tier iPhone, most likely the rumored iPhone 17 Air, is also expected to feature this chip.
Battery
A rumor believes that the entire iPhone 17 lineup will feature the same battery glue tech that Apple used for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
As shown by iFixit, all you need to do to remove the battery from the chassis is apply a low-voltage current. The battery will come off like magic. The procedure further improves the repairability of the iPhone 16, making battery replacements even easier. The process only works in one direction, allowing you to detach the battery from the frame. Each new battery will feature its own glue strip, and no current will be needed during installation.
While we believe battery life will be a concern for the iPhone 17 Air, a new display component might help Apple improve the battery life of the iPhone 17 Pro models while increasing durability.
iOS 19 and Apple Intelligence features will be key for iPhone 17
So far, we only know that Apple has started developing iOS 19, which has a codename of Luck. It’s unclear what features will be included in iOS 19. However, Apple Intelligence will continue to play a big part in iOS for the foreseeable future.
By 2025, we’ll get the all-new Siri with the ability to understand context. These are some of the features expected to be available on the iPhone 17 models regarding Apple Intelligence and that are available in iOS 18:
Writing Tools: Users can rewrite, proofread, and summarize text nearly everywhere they write, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps;
Image Playground: Users can create playful images in seconds, choosing from Animation, Illustration, or Sketch. This app is built right into apps like Messages and is also available in a dedicated app;
Memories in Photos: Users can create stories they want to see just by typing a description. Apple Intelligence will pick out the best photos and videos based on the description, craft a storyline with chapters based on themes identified from the photos, and arrange them into a movie with its own narrative arc;
Clean Up tool: This Photos app feature can identify and remove distracting objects in the background of a photo without accidentally altering the subject;
Siri: Users type to Siri and switch between text and voice to communicate with Siri in whatever way feels right for the moment.
ChatGPT integration: When you feel Apple Intelligence isn’t enough, you can allow ChatGPT to access Writing Tools and other features for a better response.
More recently, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said iOS 19 will make Siri AI more like ChatGPT. However, this might take longer to occur. He said that Siri will have new abilities to access user data for contextual information about the user and control third-party apps via the new App Intents software. However, Gurman points out that Siri isn’t getting a ChatGPT-like model for these tasks:
These upcoming upgrades will make Siri easier to use on a day-to-day basis, but it’s not the brain transplant that the service really needs. Siri is still based on an outdated infrastructure — AI models that have been overtaken by the technology used by ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Siri hasn’t yet been rebuilt for the generative AI age, even if Apple is trying to create the impression that it has.
Price and storage
Rumors say Apple might be planning to add a 2TB tier for the iPhone Pro models, starting with the iPhone 17. That said, these could be the possible storage options:
iPhone 17: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB
iPhone 17 Air: 256GB and 512GB
iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB
A rumor says Apple could charge more for the iPhone 17 models. So far, we have only heard that the company wanted to charge way more for the future Air model, most likely $1,299. However, new rumors state that it won’t be more expensive than the Pro models. That said, this iPhone’s price would range between $899 and $1,299.
Wrap up
This is everything we know about the iPhone 17 Air so far. We’ll keep updating this article.
The post iPhone 17 Air: Release date, price, features, and everything we know appeared first on BGR.
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iPhone 17 Air: Release date, price, features, and everything we know originally appeared on BGR.com on Wed, 15 Jan 2025 at 13:07:19 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.