iPhone 17 Air to feature ultra-thin design but lose three familiar functions

Apple is once again prioritizing design, and to achieve record-breaking thinness with the iPhone 17 Air, the company is prepared to sacrifice several key features. According to MacRumors, the new smartphone may lack a bottom speaker, an ultra-wide camera, and a physical SIM card slot.

No Bottom Speaker

Rumors of significant structural changes to the iPhone 17 Air first surfaced last year in a report from The Information. It was suggested that the ultra-thin chassis simply wouldn’t have room for a traditional audio system.

Recent 3D renders of the device circulating online support this theory. The bottom edge of the iPhone 17 Air shows only small openings for microphones, with no sign of a speaker. Instead, it’s likely that the earpiece speaker at the top edge will double as the primary audio output.

Camera Without an Ultra-Wide Lens

Another surprising change is the removal of the ultra-wide camera. If these leaks hold true, the iPhone 17 Air will feature a single 48-megapixel Fusion camera.
This means users will be limited to shooting at 1x magnification and a 2x “optical-quality” zoom, with the 0.5x ultra-wide mode no longer available. The space freed up inside the chassis, however, could potentially be used to accommodate a larger battery.

Full Transition to eSIM

Apple began phasing out physical SIM cards in the U.S. with the iPhone 14 in 2022, promoting the use of digital eSIM technology. Now, according to The Information, the company may extend this shift globally by eliminating the SIM card slot in all versions of the iPhone 17 Air.
If this happens, the smartphone will become eSIM-only worldwide, not just in the U.S.

When to Expect the Announcement?

Apple traditionally unveils new iPhone models in September, and the iPhone 17 Air is expected to follow this pattern with an official announcement at that time.