(Credit: Eric Zeman/PCMag)
With Apple's iPhone 17 event expected next month, a new leak suggests the company will sacrifice battery capacity to achieve the iPhone 17 Air's ultra-slim design.
Leakers Majin Bu and yeux1122 shared images of the 17 Air's battery on their respective blogs. At 2.49mm thick, it appears noticeably slimmer when placed next to the iPhone 17 Pro's battery.
The images align with earlier reports suggesting a battery below 3,000mAh for the iPhone 17 Air. Yeux1122 puts it at 2,800 mAh, while Bu reports it could be 2,900 mAh. The last time iPhones had such low-capacity batteries was the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12, MacRumors notes.
The big question now is whether this would be enough to make the 17 Air last a day on a single full charge. So far, the reports on that are mixed.
According to The Information, the 17 Air's battery life is worse than that of older iPhone models, and internal tests at Apple suggest that only 60-70% of users will be able to get through the day with a single charge. To compensate for the low capacity, the report adds that Apple might also consider re-releasing the MagSafe Battery Pack.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, on the other hand, says iPhone 17 Air battery life will be on par with current iPhones, thanks to a "herculean effort" by several Apple teams to optimize display, silicon, and software components.
Majin Bu's report also notes that Apple is using a steel battery case, which will improve heat dissipation and increase energy density.
The iPhone 17 Air is seen as a replacement for the underperforming Plus variant. It's also part of Apple's plans to have "the thinnest and lightest products in their categories across the whole tech industry." Apple is expected to unveil the device alongside others in the 17 series in the second week of September, possibly on Sept. 9.
To stay updated on the latest, check out our iPhone 17 rumors roundup.