The so-called iPhone 17 Air, which is rumored to be coming this fall, is said to be Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever. But, if the company had gone through some of its earlier plans for the device, slimness may not have been the most talked-about element, Engadget reported.
In the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman writes that Apple at one time planned to ditch the USB-C port “to make the air device Apple’s first completely port free iPhone.”
The company reportedly shelved the idea to avoid sparking fresh problems with EU regulators. According to Gurman, however, Apple is still holding onto it for future slim iPhones depending on the success of the iPhone 17 Air.
Apple is expected to release four iPhones this year, in line with its strategy on the success of the iPhone 17 Air. Apple is expected to release four iPhones this year, in line with its strategy of the last few years, with the one currently named the iPhone 17 Air being roughy 2 millimeters thinner than the rest.
The Verge reported: A set of iPhone 17 dummies appeared last night in a new leak from Sonny Dickson, who has a long history of reliability leaking the nonfunctional versions of iPhones that case and accessory makers use to prepare for the next year’s crop of handsets.
The images look very much like the render’s we’ve seen in recent weeks, down to the phone-spanning camera bump that Apple is expected to add to all but the standard iPhone 17.
The dummies appear to back up rumors that the iPhone 17 Air will be a 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro and 6.9-inch phone, positioning it in between the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro and 6.9-inch 16 Pro Max of this year.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reiterates the it’s going to have a 6.6-inch screen in today’s Power On newsletter. Apple had considered making it 6.9 inches, he writes, but “pulled the plug on that over fears that a thin device with a giant screen would be susceptible to bending.”
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be as thin as 5.5mm, with a single camera on the back like the iPhone16E. Gurman writes that the phone will get a mix of high-end features, like a 120Hz ProMotion display and low-end ones, like an Apple A19 chip instead of an A19 Pro.
Apple Insider reported: Apple had originally planned to make the iPhone 17 Air the first completely wireless model, but has apparently changed its mind on that front.
A new report claims that Apple considered making one of it future iPhones completely port free. The thinner model, for now called the iPhone 17 Air, could have gone without a USB-C port— but Apple has since backed off the idea.
Ultimately, Apple is said to have decided to include a USB-C port for charging after all. This is said to have been done to appease potential concerns from European Union regulators.