We are still around a month away from the iPhone 16 series release and rumors of iPhone 17 have already started surfacing. Several rumors indicate that Apple will discontinue its “Plus” model when it launches its iPhone 17 lineup in 2025. Instead, Apple will introduce an advanced, ultra-premium iPhone model that will stand out from the rest of the lineup. Initially, everyone believed it to be the much-awaited and already hyped iPhone Ultra model. However, recent rumors suggest that the new, high-end model will be called the iPhone ‘Slim’. Here’s everything we know about Apple’s so-called iPhone 17 ‘Slim’.
iPhone 17 Slim: Rumored Design
This year, Apple came up with its thinnest product ever, the 13-inch iPad Pro M4. And, it seems the Cupertino tech giant has plans to stick to this trend with its upcoming 2024 Apple Watch Series 10 and 2025 iPhones. According to The Information, Apple is planning to come up with an all-new iPhone 17 model which will be ‘significantly thinner’ compared to other models. Rather than a Titanium frame, the new model will arrive with aluminum chassis and it will be more expensive than the Pro Max model. Also, the iPhone 17 Slim is poised to take design inspiration from the iPhone X. So, we might see the classic iPhone X redesigned in an all-new modern avatar, giving us the thinnest iPhone which people have been waiting for years now.
iPhone 17 Slim: Display
The Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu shared the first details about the size of the thinnest iPhone. He reported that the new iPhone 17 Slim would replace the iPhone Plus model and arrive with a 6.6-inch display. The latest information by Ice Universe corroborates these claims and shows the anticipated display sizes as follows:
- iPhone 17: 6.27-inch LTPO display
- iPhone 17 Pro: 6.27-inch LTPO display
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.86-inch LTPO display
- iPhone 17 Slim: 6.65-inch LTPO display
The iPhone 17 “Slim” is expected to feature a 6.65-inch display, sitting nicely between the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models. Also, the entire iPhone 17 lineup would rock a 120Hz ProMotion Display for smoother performance. All the models will have a Dynamic Island, but the Pro models will have a smaller one. If the iPhone 17 Slim is the new flagship, it should also arrive with a narrower Dynamic Island like the Pro models.
According to a leaker Instant Digital on Weibo, the iPhone 17 models will feature a new anti-reflective display which will make it more scratch-resistant than Apple’s Ceramic Shield on the iPhone 15 models. The iPhone 17’s panel is said to be made of a “super-hard AR layer” that is “more scratch-resistant.” At the moment, there’s no information if Apple is planning to utilize the Gorilla Glass Armor used by Samsung in the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
iPhone 17 Slim: New Redesigned Camera
While the iPhone 17 Slim is speculated to follow a major redesign akin to the iPhone X, it will make an eye-catching entry with a relocated rear camera system. According to The Information, the iPhone 17 Slim could arrive with cameras in locations we have never seen before. The rear cameras could be placed in the top-centre of the device. Since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017, Apple has been following the trend of adding rear cameras on the top-left corner. So, moving the camera to the top-center would be a surprising and notable change.
This change alone is good enough to distinguish the iPhone 17 Slim model from the rest of the lineup. If we are to visualize this, the camera module could look somewhat like what we see on the Google Pixel 8 Pro. It’s also tipped that the “Slim” model would feature a dual-lens rear camera, rather than the triple-lens camera like the Pro models. If this turns out to be true, it won’t secure the title of the “most-premium flagship”. It must have the top-of-the-line specs to justify the tag of a flagship.
In addition to the redesigned rear camera, the “Slim” model will feature an upgraded 24MP front camera. According to Apple Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the entire iPhone 17 lineup is touted to sport a 24MP selfie camera with a 6P lens. The current iPhone 15 features a 12MP front camera with 5 plastic lens elements, and the upcoming iPhone 16 will also have the same hardware. With the upgraded 24-megapixel resolution on the iPhone 17, you capture high-quality photos with finer details, even when cropped or zoomed in.
iPhone 17 Slim: Performance
According to The Information, the iPhone 17 Slim will be powered by Apple’s A19 Pro chipset, which is likely to be based on TSMC’s 2nm process for enhanced performance and improved efficiency. The Pro models will also feature an A19 Pro chipset, but Apple could tweak the number of cores in the chip so the “Slim” model stands out as the new premium.
According to analyst Jeff Pu, the iPhone 17 Slim will feature 8GB RAM, compared to the 6GB RAM on the iPhone 15 Plus model. It’s worth knowing that all the upcoming iPhone 16 models are expected to arrive an 8GB RAM, which is a hardware requirement of Apple Intelligence. Here’s the alleged RAM amounts for the iPhone 17 models:
- iPhone 17: 8GB
- iPhone 17 Slim: 8GB
- iPhone 17 Pro: 12GB
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: 12GB
Looking at the rumored RAM for the iPhone 17 Slim, it doesn’t seem to be the highest-end model. Why would Apple market the iPhone 17 Slim as the highest-end model when it has the same internals and camera hardware as the non-Pro models? This makes absolutely no sense. It seems the information has been assumed because of the replacement of the “Plus” model. The new high-end model can’t lag behind the Pro models in terms of specifications. The maxed-out flagship should make no compromises in terms of the processor, camera system, and other key specifications. If the iPhone 17 “Slim” is the new flagship model, it should feature all the Pro exclusives in a slimmer design.
iPhone 17 Slim Expected Release Date & Price
It’s pretty easy to guess the release date of the new iPhones. Apple usually sticks to its classic timeline of releasing the new iPhones sometime in September. Unless Apple decides to get off its grid, the iPhone 17 Slim is expected to arrive in September 2025.
Now, coming to the most important question- how much the thinnest iPhone will cost you? According to the tipster Ice Universe, the slimmer iPhone 17 could boast a higher price tag than the iPhone Pro Max model, which Apple currently sells for $1,199. Here are the anticipated prices for the iPhone 17 models:
- iPhone 17: $799
- iPhone 17 Pro: $1,099
- iPhone 17 Pro Max: $1,199
- iPhone 17 Slim: $1,299
With a price tag of $1,299, the iPhone 17 “Slim” would become the 2025 Apple flagship and the most expensive iPhone model to date.
That’s everything we know about the iPhone 17 Slim. At the moment, there are mixed views about the mysterious thinnest. It seems to pack a mix of standard and pro features. Right now, it’s uncertain if the iPhone 17 Slim will only replace the iPhone Plus model, or become the highest-end model in the iPhone 17 series. With a huge price tag of $1,299, the iPhone Slim could eventually become the iPhone Ultra model that’s been rumored for years now.
