Apple will supposedly replace the iPhone 17 Plus model next year with a redesigned ultra-thin handset that could be called the iPhone 17 Air. Specs listed in a chart posted by leaker Ice Universe back in July show that the iPhone 17 Air might be all about the design since the specs don’t seem to be noteworthy. The phone is expected to carry a 6.65-inch OLED panel with the ProMotion display offering a 120Hz refresh rate. The Low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) screen can vary the refresh rate depending on the content on-screen.
Under the hood, the A19 application processor (AP) will be powering the iPhone 17 Air; recently TF International’s reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that all iPhone 17 models will be powered by the A19 SoC produced by TSMC using its third-generation 3nm process node (N3P). The iPhone 17 Air will sport 8GB of RAM allowing it to support Apple Intelligence. The phone might carry a single camera in the back.
The iPhone 17 Air could be extremely thin (hence the originally rumored ‘iPhone Slim’ name for the device) and it is expected to be the most expensive iPhone 17 model with a rumored starting price of $1,299 which tops the $1,199 and up that Apple will probably charge for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. At that price, you might have expected better specs for the iPhone 17 Air which would indicate that Apple believes consumers will pay up for the iPhone 17 Air’s new ultra-thin design.
Render of the iPhone 17 Air based on design rumors. | Image credit-FPT
According to a new report, Apple has decided to source some of the technology for the iPhone 17 Air’s thin display from Taiwan’s Novatek. The latter is expected to begin mass production of its OLED TDDI technology during the second quarter of 2025. This report says that Apple is “expected” to be one of the first customers for the technology which will allow the tech giant to use thinner displays for the iPhone 17 Air. This would be accomplished by integrating the touch and display driver layers.
The report goes on to say that Apple might first test out the technology on lower volume devices such as iPad and Apple Watch models before using it on any iPhone model. It also notes that Novatek’s technology could be used to produce displays for foldable iPhone and iPad models.