This is confirmed, Apple would have all the difficulty in the world to develop a truly slim iPhone 17 Air. The thinness of the device would pose a problem in particular for integrating a drawer dedicated to the SIM card… but not only that.
We have been talking about it for several months, Apple would be working on a particularly refined model of iPhone 17. Expected next year instead of the current “Plus” model, the device would be called iPhone 17 “Slim” or “Air” and would rely on a very thin chassis, while embedding cutting-edge technologies. A bold bet for Apple, which has not significantly changed the design of its iPhones for years… but which would confront the firm with significant difficulties in terms of design.
We actually learn from The Informationvia Neowinthat Apple would have refined the chassis of its iPhone 17 Air so much that it would now have difficulty housing certain components there. One of the main concerns encountered by the group's engineers concerns the integration of the drawer dedicated to the SIM card.
On a device that is too thin, the addition of this physical SIM slot could, for example, lead to structural fragility of the chassis.
Some markets are put off by eSIM…
The best VPN for Apple devices
During Black Friday, the most efficient VPN on the market is slashing its prices like never before and offering 6 months of free subscriptions on top of that! The perfect VPN for iPhone, Mac and iPad
Apple risks being forced into arbitration in this case. Two options would in fact be open to the firm: choosing to make its iPhone 17 Air compatible only with eSIM technology; or make your device a little thicker to accommodate a SIM slot without risk.
On a strictly technical level, Apple could very well choose to limit itself to eSIM only. This is also the solution favored by the company for several years now in the United States. Across the Atlantic, iPhones have in fact been sold without a SIM slot since the launch of the iPhone 14.
Generalizing this “dematerialized” approach on the iPhone 17 Air, however, seems unlikely, particularly for certain regions. In India and China in particular, eSIM deployment is low, and therefore demand for devices with a physical SIM slot remains strong. It's hard to see Apple risking upsetting users in these two (huge) markets… especially for the launch of a brand new product.
Towards an iPhone 17 Air ultimately not so thin?
The possibility of an increased thickness of the iPhone 17 Air seems to be the most likely. Several rumors already point in this direction. This thesis is all the more credible as the finesse of the iPhone 17 Air would also pose a problem for Apple in another area: that of the modem.
The device is in fact supposed to adopt one of the very first modems designed internally by Apple… and this chip, potentially less advanced than those of Qualcomm, may not be suitable for a chassis that is too thin.
An iPhone 17 Air that is too thin may also pose a problem for the inclusion of other components such as speakers, the battery or even the cameras… not to mention the thermal concerns caused by the very (too much?) chassis. refined.
