The iPhone Plus is no better than the iPhone Mini before them on the market, Apple could change strategy again next year for the iPhone 17 series.
It is said that the iPhone 17 Plus would thus be replaced by a iPhone 17 Air which will swap the large dimensions and the large battery for an ultra-thin design. The details are still meager but it would be even thinner than the iPhone 6 and its 6.9 mm thickness.
2 mm less than the iPhone 16 Pro
Journalist Mark Gurman, from Bloombeg, suggests that the iPhone 17 Air would be around 2 mm thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro. the latter being 8.25 mm thick, this would give the future iPhone a finesse de 6,25 mm rarely encountered in the mobile industry, except for certain folding (unfolded) smartphones to ensure a reasonable thickness when folded.
If such finesse is rare, it is because it risks weakening the smartphone which is already not protected from impacts and twists in normal times. On the other hand, this reduces the interior volume of the smartphone, already very constrained with thicknesses of 7 to 9 mm, imposing limitations to integrate all the components and a battery worthy of the name.
In the case of the iPhone 17 Air, we are already expecting a 6.6-inch diagonal screen but with a single photo sensor on the back and a battery whose capacity may be limited.
A 5G modem from Apple
The next iPhone could also be the only one in its range to include a 5G modem directly designed by Apple. This first version would be more compact than the Snapdragon modems usually used but would not have 5G mmWave compatibility.
The latter would then appear when the modem is offered in the iPhone 18 range from 2026 but probably only for the Pro versions.
Credit : iFixit
With theiPhone SE 4 before him, also equipped with a custom modem, it will thus open a new era which will see the end of the presence of Qualcomm Snapdragon modems within three years.
At the same time, Apple is still working on a folding iPhone project giving rise to new designs. Will this help revive a folding smartphone market which is starting to stall?
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