The iPhone 17 Air internal battery pack is just 2.49mm thick and appears to be about half as thin as the iPhone 17 Pro battery, based on new information and images coming out of Korea.
Posted by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, an image allegedly shows the iPhone 17 Air battery next to the iPhone 17 Pro battery for comparison. The same account was first to claim that the Air's battery capacity is 2,800 mAh. A Chinese leaker has since said it will be below the 3,000 mAh mark.
We do not yet have any rumors indicating the battery capacity of the iPhone 17 Pro, only for the iPhone 17 Pro Max – which is said to be at or above 5,000 mAh.
Some of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models were the last with battery capacities at or below the 3,000 mAh mark. However, mAh values can only be directly compared when the batteries have the same voltage, with Wh a preferred unit of measurement. iPhone batteries typically do have the same voltage, allowing for mAh comparisons.
In May, the same Naver blog account claimed that the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight of approximately 145 grams – similar to an iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 13 mini, which are 148 grams and 141 grams, respectively. The all-new ultra-thin device itself is believed to be around 5.5mm thick, making it the thinnest ever iPhone.
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in March that device will have a "high-density" battery. More recently, a report out of Asia has suggested that the iPhone 17 Air could become the first Apple smartphone to adopt advanced battery technology, with Apple supplier TDK preparing to ship its new generation of silicon-anode batteries by the end of June.
Having said that, reports have been mixed regarding the iPhone 17 Air's potential battery performance. The Information's Wayne Ma claimed the device will have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models.
In internal testing, Apple apparently determined that the percentage of users who will be able to use the iPhone 17 Air for a full day without needing to recharge the device throughout the day will be between 60% and 70%, according to the report. For other iPhone models, the report said that metric is apparently between 80% and 90%.
To mitigate this problem, the report said that Apple is planning to release a battery case as an optional accessory for the iPhone 17 Air.
On the other hand, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has offered a more optimistic outlook, stating that battery life would be "on par with current iPhones" thanks to hardware and software optimizations.
The 5.5mm-thin device is also rumored to incorporate Apple's power-efficient C1 modem and lack an Ultra Wide camera, which could potentially provide more internal space for a larger battery. We'll know for sure when the device replaces the "Plus" model in Apple's iPhone 17 lineup, which is expected to launch around mid-September, per Apple's typical fall release schedule.
