Latest Leak Has Unwelcome News
Apple is thought to be releasing four iPhones this September (read here for the exact release date). Alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will be a super-thin model, presumed to be called iPhone 17 Air. But the thin profile has ramifications when it comes to how long the battery will last.
Apple is soon to release its latest iPhones and one could be super-thin.
Since the new phone is thought to be just 5.5mm thick from front to back (so, even thinner than the recently released Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge), there’s not much room for a big battery.
Squeezing stuff in to a svelte device like this will be tough — and may be why there’s only one rear camera expected on it as sensors and lenses take up space internally as well as outside.
iPhone 17 Air: The Bad News
A new post on Weibo from regular leaker Instant Digital, picked up by MacRumors, says that the battery capacity will be less than 3,000 mAh. When you compare that to reports that the iPhone 17 Pro Max (expected to be a record-breaking Pro iPhone for thickness and other features) will have a 5,000 mAh battery and you can see why people might be disappointed.
After all, a thin, gorgeous design is desirable, but not if it conks out at lunchtime.
This report corroborates a previous rumor that the battery will have a lower capacity than most iPhones of recent years.
However, there’s good news as well.
iPhone 17 Air: The Good News
The leaker has some comfort: “Although the battery does not exceed 3000mAh, the whole power saving mode should be able to last for one day,” they say.
The power saving mode seems to refer to the Adaptive Power Mode coming with iOS 26, something Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has previously noted, and which should provide a windfall of extra battery life for all iPhone 17 models — and even some current iPhones.
Note that Instant Digital is still only predicting “one day” of battery life. But, after all, nearly everyone charges their iPhone overnight, right?