Photograph: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 Air is perhaps slimmer than initially rumored. All experiences advised the telephone may have a 6mm skinny waistline.
Nevertheless, a reputed Apple analyst believes the iPhone 17 Air will measure simply 5.5mm at its thinnest level.
A 5.5mm-thin iPhone?
This 12 months, Apple is getting ready to rejig its iPhone lineup by dropping the ‘Plus’ mannequin. As an alternative, it would seemingly introduce the iPhone 17 Air, which can stand out for its super-slim and glossy design. The corporate doubtless hopes to carry slim telephones again into trend with the Air.
Just like the iPad Air, the iPhone 17 Air will give attention to type issue and slimness over options and performance. As a part of this, the telephone will supposedly make a number of compromises, together with that includes a single 48MP rear digicam.
All rumors to this point advised the iPhone 17 Air might be simply 6mm skinny, making it the corporate’s thinnest iPhone ever.
In a Medium publish, TF Worldwide Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims the iPhone 17 Air could also be even thinner. The thinnest a part of the gadget may measure 5.5mm. For comparability, the M4 iPad Professional — Apple’s thinnest gadget but — is simply 5.3mm skinny.
iPhone 17 Air’s lacking SIM card slot might pose an issue
A possible facet impact of the iPhone 17 Air’s slim design is that it would lack a bodily SIM card slot. This shouldn’t be a difficulty within the US, the place iPhones solely ship with eSIM assist. Nevertheless, in China and different markets, this will pose issues, as eSIM adoption remains to be not as widespread.
Kuo believes this may hamper the demand for the iPhone 17 Air in China except Apple makes some design modifications. That is additionally why all iPhones Apple presently sells in China function a twin SIM card slot.
He believes Apple’s slim new iPhone will ship in greater volumes than its Plus fashions. But it surely received’t carry a notable enhance to sagging iPhone gross sales.
For 2024, the analyst expects Apple to ship round 220 million iPhones and round 220-225 million items in 2025. That is notably decrease than the market expectation of Apple delivery round 240 million iPhones this 12 months.