We do not yet know if Apple’s iPhone 17 Air will be a commercial success when it is launched in the fall, but the non -released slimline -hand set already has a fan. YouTube channel UNBOX therapy caught an early prototype and showed it in a video this week describing the phone’s design as “crazy” and “insane” and predicting that assuming the chassis is good enough to avoid another Bendgate controvers, Apple will “sell a boat load of these things.”
The first reaction of YouTuber, Lewis Hilsenteger, is overwhelmingly positive. “This is crazy. Oh my God!” He says that when the unit comes out of the container. Turned by the difference in thickness between the 17 air and a 17 Pro Max Prototype sent in by the same supplier, he checks the listed dimensions: The slimline model is 5.65 mm at the thinnest point compared to 8.75 mm for 17 Pro Max and 7.96 mm for the 17 Pro.
(In comparison to the current standards, the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max are both listed on Apple’s web site as being 8.25 mm thick, while 16, 16 plus and 16E are 7.8 mm, so the air is a huge reduction, while some other models get thicker, possibly to accommodate larger batteries and possibly to exaggerate Air’s thinness.)
But there are important warnings: namely the reference to Bendgate. The unexpected flexibility of the super-thin iPhone 6 Plus (7.1 mm) back in September 2014 damaged Apple’s reputation for hardware perfectionism for a few years after. But Apple will certainly be laser -focused on durability this time, and it seems unlikely that the company would risk the terrible PR for a repeated incident. Another warning that was added later in the video may be more relevant: Greetings are fighting for “This thing will have a terrible battery life.” It is likely to be true.
More urgent, the iPhone 17 Air is probably an exercise in compromise. Apart from the life of the battery and the possible risk of bending, the phone is expected to have only a rear chamber lens, such as the iPhone 16E, and the processor and the RAM assignment of a standard iPhone model, not a pro -one. If customers are willing to make these compromises for a slim body while paying a relatively high price, we can expect Apple to get harder in that direction. If not, the air experiment will die by one or two models like mini and (presumably) plus.
It is important to say before we get too excited that Apple is not officially announcing the iPhone 17 Air and its sibling products for another five months, so calling the video a “practical” can be considered a bit ihv. This is not an actual 17 air that it will be revealed, but a prototype or dummy delivered by a third -party producer. (The identity of this manufacturer is not revealed for obvious reasons, but it is probably an accessory manufacturer with contacts in Apple’s supply chain.)
Confirmation with other prototypes inspires some confidence that this one is legitimate, but plans may change and it is possible that the final product will be different. But it’s hard not to watch that video and get excited about the launch.
For all the latest leaks and rumors that we lead up to the big day, bookmarks our regularly updated iPhone 17 Megaguide. Or pick up an apartment purchase on a current model with our Roundup of the best iPhone offers.