iPhone 17 Air leaks: Apple may ditch SIM card tray, adopt single camera setup for its slimmest iPhone yet

As the buzz around Apple's iPhone 16 series fades, rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup are starting to swirl. Of the four models likely to launch next year, the ‘iPhone 17 Air’ has generated the most interest, with reports suggesting it could be the thinnest iPhone ever made by Apple. A new report from The Information has shed more light on the dimensions of this upcoming model.

According to the report, the iPhone 17 Air prototypes have a thickness ranging between 5mm and 6mm. In comparison, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are thicker, measuring 7.8mm and 8.25mm, respectively.

Apple said to remove SIM card tray from iPhone 17 Air:

The significant reduction in thickness is said to lead to several compromises, including the removal of the physical SIM card tray, meaning the iPhone 17 Air could shift entirely to eSIM technology. Notably, Apple has already sold iPhones without a physical SIM card tray in the US since the iPhone 14, though those models in other countries still retain one.

The iPhone 17 Air is also said to feature a large, centered camera bump on the back, potentially housing a single camera sensor, which would mark a downgrade from the dual-camera setup found in the standard iPhone 16 models.

Another possible compromise could be in the battery department, with reports suggesting the iPhone 17 Air could come with a smaller battery than current models, though the exact reduction remains unclear.

Additionally, the iPhone 17 Air might only have a single speaker in the earpiece due to the lack of space for a second speaker in the bottom grill.

However, the report notes that the iPhone 17 Air’s design is not yet finalized, as the phone is still in early production trials at Foxconn. Apple is reportedly working to finalize the battery and other components, indicating that some of these design constraints could still be addressed before the final release