First rumors Will the next iPhone be the thinnest ever?
Barely thicker than a nickel, but with major compromises: The iPhone 17 Slim is set to set new design standards. But which features will fall by the wayside?
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- The iPhone 17 Slim is said to be only 6 to 7 millimeters thick, but does without a SIM card slot and stereo sound.
- The small battery could ensure shorter runtimes, despite a newly developed module.
- The first prototypes are said to already exist, but final production will only begin shortly before the launch in fall 2025.
Apple is on the verge of a paradigm shift - at least if the latest rumors surrounding the iPhone 17 are true. According to insiders, the tech giant is planning to launch a model that is just six to seven millimetres thin, which could be called the "iPhone 17 Slim" or "iPhone 17 Air".
However, the ambitious design decision apparently involves far-reaching technical compromises that do not only mean advantages for users. According to a report by The Information, Apple would have to dig deep into its bag of tricks to achieve this elegance.
Where compromises threaten everywhere
A key victim of the new design is the classic SIM card slot, which has been completely removed. Instead, Apple has opted for eSIM technology, which would make the iPhone 17 Slim the first iPhone to be delivered without a physical SIM slot in Europe. While the eSIM is already standard for many users, the lack of a card slot is likely to be an obstacle for others - for example when traveling or when using certain mobile phone providers.
Furthermore, the sound quality would probably also suffer from miniaturization. According to insiders, the iPhone 17 Slim will only be equipped with one speaker, which is located on the upper side of the device and also serves as an earpiece for phone calls. Stereo sound, a feature now taken for granted in Apple's devices, would therefore be a thing of the past.
But the biggest challenge seems to be the battery. A smaller 5G module has already been developed to replace the module previously used by Qualcomm. Nevertheless, developers are struggling with the limited capacity, which can hardly be expanded due to the ultra-thin housing. This could mean that the iPhone 17 Slim comes with shorter runtimes - hardly conceivable, especially when it comes to power-hungry AI applications.
However, we are still at a very early stage with regard to rumors and speculation about the iPhone 17. Although the first prototypes have reportedly already been spotted in Foxconn factories, final production is not expected to begin until a few weeks before the expected presentation in fall 2025. Until then, Apple still has plenty of time to solve the potential problems.
