We're expecting to see the iPhone 17 Air dominate both the keynote and the coverage of the Apple Awe Dropping event next week. As the first new iPhone flavor in three years, and one that looks like it'll break at least some of the company's internal design records, Apple's likely going to be emphasizing one thing in its marketing — thin is cool.
I agree to a certain level — slim tech can certainly be great tech. But what trips me up is the underlying assumption that thinness at all costs is something that users want from their phones.
Instead, I think that Apple's already covered its bases as well as it can with a three-iPhone selection. And no matter the features of the rumored iPhone Air, it'll still be outsold by the other iPhone 17 models.
The Tale of The Fourth iPhone
Back in the early days of the iPhone, Apple only sold one model per generation. This went up to two with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in 2006, and then to three with the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR in 2018.
Two years after that, we got our first four-model iPhone series with the iPhone 12, featuring the basic model, a Pro, a Pro Max and a new, smaller iPhone 12 mini.
The mini iPhones were well reviewed, despite the size impacting their battery life. The same applied with the iPhone 13 mini in the following year. But after the iPhone 12 mini failed to be the big seller Apple hoped for, the first attempt at The Fourth iPhone was discarded.
Apple had another idea ready for 2022 — the iPhone 14 Plus, which has since been superseded by the iPhone 15 Plus and, most recently, the iPhone 16 Plus. It bridges the gap between the basic iPhone model and the Pro Max — combining the features and lower pricing of the former and the screen and battery size of the latter.
But despite the apparent logic of the move, the iPhone Plus editions have remained the least popular iPhone model to the present day. And this seems to be why we're apparently going to see the first Air-branded iPhone this year.
What the Air may change
Looking at what Apple has learned from the mini and Plus iPhones, we see that its customers have taken more to a larger basic iPhone more than a smaller one. And fortunately, it sounds like the iPhone 17 Air will be 6.7 inches in size, the same as an iPhone Plus. But from there, things seem to diverge.
In keeping with its Air name, the iPhone 17 Air will apparently be thinner and lighter than the other iPhones in its family. But in order to do this, it seems like Apple will be dropping the rear camera count down to just one, shrinking the battery and downgrading the chipset slightly.
It's an apparent distillation of the "basic and big" formula that gave us the Plus iPhones, and sounds like it will result in some impressive specs. But with less power, less longevity and fewer cameras, I'm not confident that thinness alone going to dazzle people into making a purchase.
Air-ing on the side of caution
Perhaps trying to split customers' attention between four different iPhones is unrealistic. The only comparison we have right now is the Galaxy S25 Edge, which became Samsung's own fourth flagship just a couple of months ago.
Unoffical figures claim that Samsung sold about 65 million Galaxy S25 Edge units in its first month, which is roughly identical to the monthly average sales of the Galaxy S25 Plus. Given that the Edge launched separately from the rest of the Galaxy S25 line-up, it's not a totally fair comparison, but it suggests that the market for these mid-tier flagship phones is a limited one.
Aside from Samsung, no other company is trying to sell four editions of its flagship phone. Consider how there are three Pixel 10 models (excluding the foldable, an almost completely different edition), or how many Chinese phone makers like OnePlus or Xiaomi only offer two versions of their flagship phones, or even just one.
But if Apple insists that the iPhone 17 series needs to be made up of four models, it's still worth a try. An iPhone is an iPhone after all, and the Air will likely generate sales figures that any other smartphone company would make Faustian bargains for.
I still believe Apple is probably better off sticking to three models. But despite my skepticism to the new fourth model's success, I must admit I'm still looking forward to seeing what makes the iPhone 17 Air unique, and what's been done to get it so thin.
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More from Tom's Guide
- I ditched my iPhone and iPad for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for 2 weeks — here’s what happened
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