Overlook the iPhone 16. The iPhone 17 ‘Slim’ May Be Apple’s Thinnest Telephone Ever

Apple is holding an occasion on Monday, Sept. 9, the place we anticipate the iPhone 16 to be introduced. However even earlier than the following iPhone is formally revealed, there are already rumors concerning the iPhone 17. Apple might shake up its iPhone lineup but once more subsequent 12 months with the introduction of the iPhone 17 Slim, based on analysts’ reviews from tech enterprise information outlet The Info. If true, the shift could be the most recent design change Apple has made to its smartphone household within the final 4 years, coming after it launched the now-extinct “Mini” and “Plus”-sized iPhones in earlier years.

With the rumored iPhone 17 Slim, Apple seems to be specializing in aesthetics above all else, reviews and rumors point out. Because the identify implies, the iPhone 17’s thinness is anticipated to be its foremost draw, not like the Professional fashions which rely extra closely on digicam high quality and processing energy to differentiate themselves from Apple’s customary iPhones. Apple took the same strategy with the 2024 iPad Professional, which the corporate flaunts as being its thinnest product ever. 

The iPhone Plus, which Apple launched with the iPhone 14 lineup as a larger-sized base mannequin choice, could also be phased out in favor of this new iPhone 17 Slim in 2025, says TF Worldwide Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. This implies Apple is searching for new methods to get customers enthusiastic about its non-Professional iPhones, coming after its premium Professional choices have been outshining gross sales of the common iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, based on Shopper Intelligence Analysis Companions.

“The as soon as flagship, now base iPhone 15, is not the modern selection, because the Professional and Professional Max fashions take that position,” wrote CIRP’s Michael Levin and Josh Lowitz in a Could report shared with CNET.

Apple didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark concerning reviews concerning the iPhone 17 Slim. 

With the absence of a foldable cellphone, the iPhone 17 Slim may very well be a intelligent means for Apple to get clients excited concerning the iPhone’s design once more. Here is what we find out about it to date. 

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iPhone 17 Slim launch date and worth

If Apple does launch a slimmer new iPhone, it should seemingly achieve this in 2025 as a part of the iPhone 17 lineup, say reviews from Haitong Worldwide Securities analyst Jeff Pu and co-founder and CEO of Show Provide Chain Consultants Ross Younger (as reported by 9to5Mac). Kuo, Bloomberg and The Info have reported related findings.

Though Apple might lower the iPhone Plus from its lineup, do not anticipate the iPhone 17 Slim to be a direct substitute, says Kuo. As an alternative, it is meant to be a brand new variant solely somewhat than one other taste of the bottom iPhone. The Info reviews that it may even be costlier than the $1,200 iPhone Professional Max. 

iPhone 17 Slim to get barely smaller show

The iPhone 17 Slim might have a 6.6-inch display screen, which might make it barely smaller than the iPhone Plus and iPhone Professional Max, based on the analyst Pu and Kuo. Each analysts additionally foresee modifications to the iPhone 17 Slim’s supplies too, with Pu saying the iPhone 17 Slim (together with the bottom and Professional mannequin) can be fabricated from a “extra advanced” aluminum materials and Kuo reporting the iPhone 17 Slim could have a “titanium-aluminum alloy steel body.” The cutout for the Dynamic Island is anticipated to stay the identical dimension, say each analysts. 

iPhone 17 Slim might have only one foremost digicam  

Apple may make a daring selection with the iPhone 17 Slim’s digicam. The corporate’s super-slim iPhone might solely have one foremost broad digicam, reviews Kuo, which means it could lack the ultrawide and telephoto lenses which were staples inside Apple’s premium iPhone lineup for years. 

The one system in Apple’s present crop of iPhones to return with one rear digicam is the $429 iPhone SE. If true, the transfer would additional underscore that Apple is actually specializing in design above all else with the iPhone 17 Slim, hoping to draw customers that need an iPhone that feels new and completely different somewhat than one with a souped-up digicam. 

The selection to incorporate only one rear digicam would additionally seemingly assist Apple preserve a trim construct with out elevating the worth too excessive. In spite of everything, digicam modules, with their sensors and lens components, can take up fairly a little bit of house. 

All iPhone 17 fashions, together with the Slim, will get an upgraded 24-megapixel selfie digicam, Pu reviews. 

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iPhone 17 Slim processor and different specs

The iPhone 17 Slim will seemingly get different upgrades you’d anticipate with a brand new cellphone, reminiscent of a brand new model of Apple’s cellular processor. Pu’s report suggests Apple may put an A18 or A19-branded chip within the iPhone 17 Slim, which might reportedly match the chip contained in the common iPhone 17.

Different inside elements for the iPhone 17 Slim may embody 8GB of RAM and an Apple-developed 5G modem, which has been the topic of hypothesis ever since Apple acquired nearly all of Intel’s smartphone modem enterprise in 2019.

What I am most inquisitive about, nevertheless, is the iPhone 17 Slim’s battery. Sleeker designs imply much less house for inside elements, so I am hoping that battery life is not the consequence of a considerably thinner design. 

Both means, it is all hypothesis till Apple declares the iPhone 17 Slim — if it does in any respect.

But when the reviews turn into true, the iPhone 17 Slim may sign a turning level for the iPhone, indicating that digicam upgrades might not be probably the most thrilling or important annual change.