An iPhone 17 Slim model could be coming next year according to multiple respected leakers, featuring a large display and a 5mm thickness but also a high price and a single rear camera. This mix of features will require some careful branding by Apple, but it probably has the best possible name for such an iPhone within its toolbox already.
This struck me as I watched a new video from Jon Prosser of Front Page Tech, in which Prosser suggests Apple should call this new model the iPhone 17 Air. Feeling confident in his argument, Prosser also makes a trademark dramatic bet in the video that he'll shave his head if Apple decides to sell this phone as the iPhone 17 Slim.
While not providing any new evidence, Prosser is certainly placing a lot of faith in Apple using an existing title for its alleged all-new iPhone design. And if Apple is smart, it'll use the Air suffix for its new skinnier iPhone, and save Prosser from the clippers in the process.
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Like the MacBook Air or iPad Air, this rumored iPhone 17 Slim seems to prioritize lightness and approachability over power. The higher price this iPhone could command doesn't quite fit with this pattern, as Air models are usually priced cheaper than Pro ones, but Air remains the most relevant branding Apple currently has for such an iPhone.
Using Slim as the official name would mean a brand new suffix for an Apple product. It's something Apple does manage from time to time, with the Max label first appearing on the iPhone XS Max in 2018, or Ultra with the first-gen Apple Watch Ultra in 2022. But these two labels have much more versatile meanings, suggesting both power and price in a way that Slim does not.
While Slim would be more specific about one particular defining feature of the new iPhone, using this name would require a full process of teaching its buyers what exactly it means in the Apple-verse. And why do that instead of relying on a title that Apple customers have been familiar with for over 15 years?
We've still got over a year to wait, and the iPhone 16 series to meet, before the iPhone 17 debuts. That gives Apple plenty of time to change or even abandon its apparent iPhone 17 Slim plans, rendering this whole discussion a little premature. But hopefully Apple's taken notice of how much excitement its 2025 iPhone is already generating, and is therefore encouraged to continue development.
The exact name of the iPhone 17 Slim won't govern how good a phone it is to use. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, after all. But it could still impact the way potential buyers see the phone, and the way it may or may not fit into their existing tech loadout. And with mini iPhones and Plus-sized iPhones having proved to be mediocre successes at best, Apple would be wise to give its third attempt at expanding the iPhone line all the chances it can to do well.
So fingers crossed that Apple sticks with a tried-and-true name to dub its all-new iPhone design within a year or so's time. Although if Slim doesn't work out, I'm not sure where Apple would go next. After trying big, small and thin, the logical next step would be an iPhone Thicc, but I don't think that would prove particularly popular.
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