The iPhone 17 Air is shaping up to be exceptionally slim, as following a claim that Apple’s thin phone will be just 5.5mm thick, we’ve now seen how that apparently looks compared to an iPhone 17 Pro.

Tipster Majin Bu shared a comparison image on X, showing that the iPhone 17 Air looks to be little more than half the thickness of the iPhone 17 Pro. It looks dramatically thinner than most other phones too, which – given that a slim design is reportedly this phone’s USP – is arguably a good thing. But if anything this just leaves me more concerned about it.

After all, a phone that thin is almost inevitably going to have some major spec compromises, and we already have a good idea of what some of those compromises might be.

A compromised stepping stone to a foldable iPhone

Previous leaks have suggested that the iPhone 17 Air will have just one rear camera for example, and it’s also hard to imagine that such a slim phone will have particularly good battery life – though some leaks do promisingly point to a high energy density battery, which might last longer than other similar-sized batteries would.

Still, it’s very unlikely that this phone will match the specs of even the base iPhone 17, despite probably having a much higher price, so will it really be a success? Do people actually care that much about having a super-slim phone?

My guess is not, but it will be interesting to find out when the iPhone 17 Air launches, which will probably happen in September.

And even if it bombs, this endeavor might not be a total loss for Apple, as we recently heard that the foldable iPhone – which could launch next year – might inherit a lot of tech from the iPhone 17 Air.

It’s important for foldable phones to be thin, so the lessons Apple learns and the technologies Apple develops with the iPhone 17 Air could help make the foldable iPhone better.