We just saw the Galaxy S25 Edge confirmed literally yesterday, but Cupertino is reportedly working on a similar iPhone 17 Air model that could be as svelte as 5.5mm thick if rumors are to be believed. Now, an alleged image of what could be the shell for that device has made its way onto X thanks to a leaker known as Maijin Bu.
The image shows a pair of iPhone shells lying face down, so we can't say with any certainty what the possible thickness could be. But there's another very big rumor about Apple's next phones that this image plays into.
Back in December, there were murmurings that Apple could shake up the slim iPhone's design and move from a pill-shaped camera bump to a Google Pixel-style horizontal bar. One look at these alleged iPhone 17 shells gives you an idea of what that could look like.
iPhone 17, the design seems confirmed. pic.twitter.com/5Wh6alUiMrJanuary 21, 2025
The addition of a camera bar has been rumored for both the iPhone 17 Air and the iPhone 17 Pro, so it's not immediately clear which of these models is supposedly being shown off here. However, a close look at the image shows a circular cutout on the left that could be for a single rear-facing camera with the LED flash positioned on the right. Since the iPhone 17 Air is the device tipped to ship with just a single rear camera, it stands to reason this is the model shown here.
Of course, this is also just an internet leak at the end of the day — so the whole image could simply be a fake. And while I'm treating this as little more than speculation, it's worth pointing out that Maijun Bu correctly revealed the "Desert Titanium" name for the iPhone 16 Pro series before it was revealed.
So take this blurry image with a decent pinch of salt, although it does build on December's claim from leaker Jukanlosreve that they had seen an iPhone 17 Air frame from a Chinese supply chain report. That leak also showed a horizontal camera bar but it was hard to determine if it was an actual photo or just a render.
2025: Year of the slim phone?
Samsung gave us a last-minute surprise at the end of yesterday's Galaxy Unpacked event by confirming the upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge — a super-slim smartphone that could measure just 6.4mm thin. Samsung didn't reveal specs for the phone at the event but as well as offering an alternative to the 8.2mm thick Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung possibly has one eye on what Apple is working on.
Will Apple copy Google's lead and equip the iPhone 17 Air with a camera bar? It's hard to say at this point. Doing so will give the iPhone it's biggest outward design change in years, but if the iPhone 17 Air is likely to be as thin as predicted (Mark Gurman recently reported it could be around 2mm thinner than current iPhones) then it could make sense.
Spacing the camera components out across a bar will mean less prominence than a concentrated bump leading to an overall thinner handset. It may even make the device more stable when lain face-up on a flat surface for those who prefer to go caseless.
None of us will know for sure until at least September when Apple will likely reveal the device to the public. In the meantime, make sure you check out our initial impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge from the Unpacked launch event in San Jose this week.
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