Apple’s 2025 iPhone lineup could add a new dimension with the iPhone 17 Slim. Here’s what the rumor mill believes is on the way.
The iPhone 17 generation is expected this September, as usual for Apple’s flagship device releases. However, the 2025 collection could make a big change to the lineup, with the replacement of one of the models.
According to multiple rumors, the iPhone 17 Plus could be removed from the lineup, due to a lack of popularity compared to the other models. In its place, Apple could introduce something brand new.
Current expectations are that it could be the iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Air, a version of the iPhone that aims to be thinner than the others in the range.
What follows is a compilation of the rumors and speculation about the inbound slimline smartphone, and what you can expect from it if it ships later in 2025.
iPhone 17 Slim will be really thin
As the name implies, the iPhone 17 Slim will be much thinner than the usual iPhone. The iPhone SE is the thinnest in Apple’s range at 0.29 inches, with the iPhone 16 at 0.31 inches.
As to how thin it could go, an obvious guide is the iPad Pro with M4. The thinnest mobile device in Apple’s catalog, it is a miniscule 0.20 inches thick.
Going back to May 2024, a report insisted that a thin iPhone will ship in 2025, as part of the iPhone range. The device, codenamed D23, represented a major redesign for the iPhone, with the changes apparently as groundbreaking as the introduction of the iPhone X.
However, that report didn’t say how thick it could be, other than sporting a thinner chassis.
The iPhone 17 Slim could be very thin, compared to existing iPhones
Two months later, Ming-Chi Kuo chimed in on the matter. However, apart from insisting it will have a titanium-aluminum alloy frame for strength, Kuo also didn’t offer how thin it could get.
An October rumor added that the thickness of the iPhone Slim was limited by the battery. There was an apparent need to use new substrates to make the battery thinner, which seemingly limited the iPhone 17 Slim to a minimum thinness of 6mm.
By November, analyst Jeff Pu made the claim that the iPhone 17 Slim would measure only 6mm (0.23 inches) thick, echoing the battery rumor.
Kuo offered in another report in January that the thickness could be even smaller, just 5.5mm. However, that could be for just the thinnest part of the device, rather than an average thickness or at its thickest point.
iPhone 17 Slim may have a smaller screen than the Plus
While the iPhone 17 Slim will almost certainly be thinner than the would-be Plus model, it won’t necessarily be bigger.
Kuo’s earlier rumored specifications list said it would have a 6.6-inch display. This would be smaller than the 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus screen.
An April 2024 report from DSCC’s Ross Young also brought up that the Plus model in 2025 could be have a small amount of display shrinkage. It’s not entirely out of the bounds of reality for Young’s report to be about the Slim’s display as the replacement to the Plus.
Pu’s October report also mentioned the use of a 6.6-inch display, which correlates with Kuo’s proclamation.
iPhone 17 Slim could have a slightly smaller screen than the iPhone 16 Plus
When it comes to the other display specifications, Kuo insisted that it would have a resolution of 2,740 by 1,260, which would be close to the 2,76 by 1,290 resolution of the iPhone 16 Plus.
There were also claims that the Slim could inherit the 120Hz ProMotion display system from the Pro models. This was raised as a rumor as recently as December 30.
While an attractive addition for the iPhone 17 Slim, especially if it is to be a featured model release, there is still some doubt to it actually happening. For Apple to add ProMotion to the model, it would mean the Pro models would lose one of the line’s big selling points.
iPhone 17 Slim is probably eSIM only
Creating a very thin smartphone can create some considerable engineering challenges, which assembly partners and supply chain members have to solve.
This was apparently evident when the model moved to the New Product Introduction phase of manufacturing in December. A phase where assembly partners check Apple’s design and determine how to actually mass-produce it.
Obviously, with thin designs come compromise, and in November reports, that apparently means some connectivity issues.
It was claimed that the body was too thin to squeeze a SIM card slot into the side.
The iPhone 17 Slim may have only one camera, and no SIM slot at all.
This won’t necessarily sound like an issue in the United States, which has already switched over to eSIM use. However, in countries such as China that rely more on physical SIM cards and have regulatory worries over eSIM use, it can become a problem.
A connected connectivity compromise could be 5G connectivity. Reports claimed that Apple would switch to using its own in-house modem instead of a Qualcomm model.
This would be a win for Apple, but with claims that the peak speeds weren’t as high for the new modem, and with less cellular reliability, Apple had to scale back its ambitions. This supposedly included pulling mmWave from the modem.
It will still support 5G, but the sub-6GHz bands, not the high-speed high-bandwidth ones.
The wireless communication changes may not be limited to just 5G. In October, Kuo forecast that Apple will be reducing its reliance on Broadcom for Wi-Fi chips, in favor of its own designs.
That shift is set to start in the second half of 2025, coinciding with the iPhone 17 generation, including the Slim.
iPhone 17 Slim’s camera bump controversy
Being extremely thin may not be the only visible change in the iPhone 17 Slim. It may also have a major alteration to the outside, which can impact how thick the overall device can be.
The camera bump on the rear is a bit that sticks out on the iPhone, primarily due to the large volumes required for the camera module itself. Even if Apple slims down the main body, the modules will still take up a lot of space.
In one possible solution, an early claim from Kuo’s specifications list is that Apple could reduce the bump by eliminating some of the cameras. It’s plausible for Apple to work around the need to free up space by simply using one Wide camera instead of multiple sensors.
This doesn’t seem that odd as a plan. Apple already fakes a telephoto camera sensor in the iPhone 16 simply by cropping the high-resolution main camera, giving users “three” cameras instead of two.
It’s not much of a stretch to believe Apple could go one further with the Slim, moving to one physical sensor but two cameras.
The limited number of cameras was also raised by TheElec in November, insisting that the impressively-featured Slim won’t have a Pro-style triple camera setup, and would be more likely to have the dual setup of non-Pro models.
An example of the supposed bar placement on the iPhone 17 Slim – Image Credit: Digital Chat Station/Weibo
In December, the rumors about the rear cameras went a bit weird, with claims that Apple was going to switch from a square or small camera bump in favor of a camera bar. Stretched across the width of the back of the iPhone 17 Slim, the bump would put the cameras in a row across the top.
Along with one Weibo claim at the time, another leaker offered up an image supposedly depicting an iPhone chassis frame that supported the rumor. However, it was impossible to tell whether it was a real image or a deliberately-created fake.
Less than a week later, another Weibo leak claimed the redesign was not going to be as major. There would still be a triangular layout for three cameras, not the horizontal bar.
This would’ve been put to bed, but another leak in January revived the bar rumors.
An image sourced from the “public Internet” and shared by a leaker and a BilliBilli video depicted what looked like an iPhone back, with a section at the top that resembled the camera bar, complete with holes for cameras.
Again, there was no way to determine if it was real or fake. But, since it’s a component that also covers the space of where the front camera for Face ID would go, it became a fairly doubtful rumor to believe.
On the slightly more believable front, Pu’s August note on the iPhone 17 insisted that the TrueDepth camera will be upgraded to a 24-megapixel version. This seems a lot more plausible, and also a lot more likely to be included in the Slim.
