iPhone 17 Air Review: Apple's Thinnest iPhone Ever at 5.5mm

The iPhone 17 Air is Apple's boldest iPhone experiment in years. At just 5.5mm thick, it's nearly half the thickness of the iPhone 17 Pro Max and represents Apple's vision of what a truly pocketable smartphone can be.

The thinness is immediately striking. Holding the iPhone 17 Air feels almost like holding a credit card that happens to have a 6.6-inch display. The titanium frame and flat edges give it rigidity despite the slim profile. It's comfortable in ways that regular smartphones simply aren't.

To achieve this profile, Apple made some sacrifices. There's a single 48MP camera instead of the triple-camera system on Pro models. It's a capable shooter—essentially the main camera from the iPhone 16—but you lose the ultrawide and telephoto options.

The A19 chip (not A19 Pro) provides flagship performance for everyday tasks. It's slightly less powerful than the Pro variant but handles everything most users need without issue. Gaming and demanding apps work well, though the thermal constraints of the thin body mean sustained performance is slightly reduced.

Battery life is the biggest concern. Apple claims 'all-day battery life,' which in our testing translated to about 6-7 hours of screen-on time. Heavy users will need to charge by early evening. The 20W charging is adequate but not fast by 2025 standards.

The 6.6-inch OLED display is gorgeous with ProMotion 120Hz and 2,000 nits peak brightness. Dynamic Island is present. Face ID works reliably. The single bottom-firing speaker is serviceable but lacks the stereo separation of other models.

There's no physical SIM tray—eSIM only. The Lightning port is replaced with USB-C (finally universal across the iPhone lineup). MagSafe works, though the thinner profile means some accessories may not align perfectly.

At $1,199, the iPhone 17 Air costs more than the standard iPhone 17 despite having fewer features. You're paying for engineering and design. For those who prioritize thinness and portability above all else, it delivers something no other phone can match.