- The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be 5.5mm thick
- It is expected to replace the iPhone 16 Plus
- Samsung is also rumored to launch a Galaxy S25 Slim
If the rumors are true, we will get a new iPhone model this year: the iPhone 17 Air. Courtesy of a well-known Apple analyst, we may now know just how thin this handset will be – and it’s apparently going to beat the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim in terms of thinness.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors), the iPhone 17 Air will be just 5.5mm, front and back, at its thinnest point. In comparison, the current iPhone 16 measures 7.8 mm front and back – so the new phone will be almost 30% thinner.
From what we’ve heard about the Galaxy S25 Slim, it will be 6.x mm thick. If you’re looking for the thinnest flagship phone you can buy in 2025, the iPhone 17 Air could well be it – although those dimensions are still to be confirmed, of course.
The iPhone 17 Air may only offer eSIM support and remove the physical SIM card slot to reduce thickness, according to Kuo. The handset is expected to replace the iPhone 16 Plus from the current lineup.
Slimming down
The Plus model is said to be the least popular model in the iPhone range, and Apple will be hoping to generate some extra sales with a redesign and a new name – with the phone’s thinness apparently the main selling point.
If the 5.5mm prediction is correct, the iPhone 17 Air will claim the honor of being the thinnest iPhone ever built. The current record holder in that regard is the iPhone 6, which was launched in 2014 and measured 6.9 mm from front to back.
The phone is also rumored to use a thinner and more efficient display technology, which will help it hit the 5.5mm target. As with the other iPhone 17, we can also look forward to a bump in performance.
However, it will be Samsung that gets to show off its super-slim phone first: the next Samsung Unpacked event is scheduled for January 22, and we think we’ll see four different Samsung Galaxy S25 models, including the Galaxy S25 Slime.
