This fall’s much-anticipated iPhone 17 Air launch may very well be the beginning of one thing even larger, if a brand new report is to be believed. Apple, it’s claimed, is utilizing the 17 Air as a testbed for a lot extra radical modifications in its wider design technique, and if that gadget is profitable we might see portless and foldable iPhones from as early as subsequent yr.
Within the newest instalment of his Energy On publication, Bloomberg author Mark Gurman discusses the slimmer mannequin anticipated to kind a part of the 17-series iPhone launch (which he refers to because the 17 Air, however may very well be known as 17 Slim or another branding), and explains that its present design is a watered-down model of an initially extra bold plan. At one stage, for instance, Apple hoped to launch a cellphone with no bodily port, relying completely on wi-fi charging and information switch, however ultimately determined towards this out of concern it will anger EU regulators. It additionally needed to offer the 17 Air a 6.9-inch display screen, however was apprehensive this might result in a repeat of 2014’s Bendgate controversy and plumped as a substitute for six.6 inches.
Whereas this fall’s handset represents a compromise on Apple’s unique imaginative and prescient, nonetheless, it might result in extra thrilling issues if it proves profitable. The corporate, Gurman claims, is engaged on a plan to make use of the technological developments within the 17 Air to create much more groundbreaking iPhones in future. A foldable iPhone, he says, might arrive as early as 2026 because of the 17 Air’s battery, show, modem and silicon breakthroughs. Apple intends to make additional makes an attempt at a portless iPhone. And by 2026 or 2027 components of the Dynamic Island may very well be moved beneath the display screen convey the iPhone nearer to a very all-screen design.
“The iPhone 17 Air represents the start of a sea change for Apple,” writes Gurman, “ushering in a brand new industrial design that accompanies this yr’s revamped iOS.” However provided that it’s profitable. The 17 Air might be used to check shopper appetites for slender cellphone design and willingness to tolerate compromises in different areas, a lot because the iPhone 16e is presently getting used as a testbed for the C1 modem and its execs (improved energy effectivity) and cons (weaker mobile efficiency).
All of the extra cause, then, to hope that the slim iPhone is successful. Though the struggles Apple has had promoting the mini and Plus fashions that precede the Air because the fourth mannequin within the line-up, together with the 17 Air’s anticipated $900 price ticket and single rear-facing digicam lens, counsel it’s hardly a assured hit. We’ll know extra in September.
For all the most recent information and rumors about this fall’s launches, try repeatedly up to date iPhone 17 superguide. Should you can’t wait that lengthy, bookmark our information to the finest iPhone offers as a way to get the very best value on the present vary.
