The iPhone 17 Air is shaping up to be Apple’s boldest design shift in years, with reports indicating a major push towards a sleeker, more minimalist form factor — even at the expense of certain familiar features. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to ditch the physical SIM tray and forego a dual-camera setup, making it lighter and thinner than previous models. Adding to the list of potential sacrifices, Gurman revealed that Apple internally considered removing the charging port altogether but ultimately decided against it — for now. However, he notes that the iPhone 17 Air’s design "foreshadows a move to slimmer models without charging ports," signaling that Apple hasn’t abandoned the idea of a fully wireless iPhone soon.
Gurman described the iPhone 17 Air as the start of a "sea change" for Apple’s smartphone lineup, explaining that Apple executives see this model as a test case. If the design proves popular, the company could expand this port-free, ultra-slim approach to other models in future generations. This strategy reflects Apple’s ongoing commitment to simplifying hardware, streamlining aesthetics, and encouraging wireless technology adoption — much like when it removed the headphone jack with the iPhone 7.
In addition to the structural changes, the iPhone 17 Air will introduce a reworked Dynamic Island, moving the front-facing camera to the left side of the pill-shaped cutout, a departure from the right-side placement seen in the iPhone 14 Pro and later models. Notably, this shift applies exclusively to the iPhone 17 Air, with the standard iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max models retaining the original right-side camera position.
The design overhaul extends to the device’s overall size and feel. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be strikingly thin — among the slimmest iPhones to date — emphasizing portability and comfort. In contrast, the Pro models are reported to be slightly thicker, likely to accommodate larger batteries and more advanced camera systems. Meanwhile, the standard iPhone 17 is expected to maintain a similar thickness to its predecessor, offering a balanced middle ground.
Apple’s decision to balance innovation with practicality — keeping the charging port while still experimenting with a sleeker form — hints at a careful, phased approach to a port-free future. The iPhone 17 Air, with its redesigned Dynamic Island and ultra-slim body, seems poised to lay the groundwork for that evolution.
