Online Reporter
SAN FRANCISCO. − When this year’s iPhones are revealed, there’s one that’s creating a lot of buzz.
That model, nicknamed iPhone 17 Air, will be super-slim, as little as 5.5mm thick.
But a new dummy has emerged which shows a curious redesign of the USB-C port.
Here’s why it’s so curious and it comes at a time when interest in the new phone is growing.
And there’s already a report on subsequent iPhone Air models.
Let’s start with that.
Respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from TFI Securities has published a schedule of iPhones, as he sees it, from now until the second half of 2027.
There are some intriguing details, but here we’ll stick to what it means for the Air models, or “iPhone 17 Slim,” as Kuo calls it.
His belief is that the second half of this year will see the launch of the first model, the iPhone 17 Slim.
We can be confident this means in September, as that’s the routine month for iPhone releases.
Then, in the second half of 2026, alongside several iPhone 18 handsets, there will be the iPhone 18 Slim. Previous rumors about the 17 Air have been promising, such as better performance than expected, hints about new colors, and how its thinness compared to the rest of the range could be remarkable.
The latest dummies being exhibited by leakers, such as this one released in a video by Apple Track, are exceptionally detailed.
The video compares the dummy of the 17 Air to the current iPhone 16 Pro, and the difference in thickness is striking − and the difference will be even more pronounced if rumors about the iPhone 17 Pro Max design prove true.
But the cost of that 5.5mm svelte design could come at the cost of symmetry on the base of the phone.
That’s because, as pointed out by MacRumors, “Achieving this level of thinness is unlikely to come without compromise. Dummy models… suggest that Apple has made some subtle adjustments to accommodate internal components in the tighter chassis. Most notably, the USB-C port on the bottom edge is no longer centered front-to-back,” it points out.
The dummy seems to show the socket is closer to the rear of the device than the front, which is “likely to accommodate display components within the enclosure,” the report claims.
Look closely within the USB-C port and the central element around which the hollow USB-C connector wraps when you plug it in, seems to be a little off-center, too, sitting lower than the middle.
For many, this will look a little off, to say the least. But let’s put this in perspective.
There is a limit to how thin a display can be, while still accommodating touch capabilities and so on. − Forbes
Mathew Masinge