iPhone 17 Air Model Enters Product Introduction Phase at Foxconn

Friday December 13, 2024 2:57 am PST by Tim Hardwick

Apple's rumored new iPhone 17 Air model has entered the new product introduction phase (NPI) at Foxconn, according to supply chain sources (via DigiTimes).

Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island single camera
The NPI phase transitions a product from concept to mass production, beginning with design validation and prototype testing, followed by supplier qualification and manufacturing process development. Pilot production runs test the assembly and refine quality control, while aligning logistics with the supply chain, with the ultimate aim of ramping up to full-scale manufacturing.

The iPhone 17 Air is expected to replace the Plus model in Apple's lineup and will reportedly offer a significantly slimmer design that current iPhone models. The handset will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

As for size, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to fall somewhere between the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. Separate rumors have claimed 6.55 inches, 6.6 inches, and 6.65 inches as the display size that Apple has settled on, which would make it smaller than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but larger than the 17 Pro.

Apple is expected to equip the ‌iPhone 17‌ Air with its own custom-designed 5G modem chip, which is smaller than 5G modem chips from Qualcomm. Apple has focused on making the chip more integrated with other Apple-designed components to save space within the ‌iPhone‌ without sacrificing battery life or display quality, according to Gurman.

Meanwhile, the rear camera will be relocated from the upper left side of the iPhone to the center of the device, as part of a "large, centred camera bump," according to The Information. Analyst Jeff Pu believes it will feature a single 48-megapixel lens.

The iPhone 17 Air will debut next year alongside a standard iPhone 17, an iPhone 17 Pro, and an iPhone 17 Pro Max – the Pro models of which are said to have significant design changes of their own.

Related Roundups: iPhone 17, iPhone Air

Buyer's Guide: iPhone 17 (Neutral), iPhone Air (Neutral)

Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

Newbie67

24 months ago

Would much prefer the aesthetic goal of removing the camera bumps and integrating the lenses into the frame of the phone.

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

sunapple

24 months ago

In trying to understand who this phone is for I’ve come up with the idea that this is probably the ultimate minimalist phone.

As a 13 mini user I won’t be happy with the screen size, but it might still have a lot of the same appeal. Don’t need three cameras, don’t need a huge battery to watch TikToks, just the essentials in an efficient design.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

DrJR

24 months ago

Please end the suffering of a skipped generation and call it "iPhone 9".

[HR][/HR]

This is the kind of post I would normally delete. I found the advanced editor features, but I still can't figure out how to delete posts. If you've read this far, let me know where to click. I've spent many years developing in WordPress and I am ashamed to ask.
[HR][/HR]
Update: there is no way to delete a comment. The sites I work on disallow comments, so I’ve had no experience with them, nor the cretins who make them. I’m not a content creator either.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

davidec

24 months ago

A thinner phone would be lovely. I love my iPhones but the camera bulk is a huge trade off.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

mazz0

24 months ago

What I'd love would be something like the iPod touch with the curved back:

I always thought that felt lovely in the hand. And if they were truly putting the camera in the *centre* (ie the middle on both axis) then you could make it thick enough in the middle to do it without a camera bump, while being thin at the edge and feeling great in the hand.

Very inefficient use of space though, technically. Though frankly I wouldn't care.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

wikiverse

24 months ago

Please end the suffering of a skipped generation and call it "iPhone 9".

The 6S was the 9th generation iPhone. The 8 was the 11th and the X was the 12th. Then there was the XS before the 11. Making the iPhone 11 the 14th generation.

If anything we need to skip 2 more numbers and call the iPhone 17 the iPhone 20... or the iPhone XX.

Maybe that's what this phone is, a 20th generation special edition phone.

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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iPhone 17 Air Model Enters Product Introduction Phase at Foxconn

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