'iPhone 17 Air' plans may be on thin ice — here's why

Rumor has it that Apple is working on a thin next-gen device called iPhone 17 Air. However, new whispers claim that Apple is having trouble with it.

The source comes from news aggregator account yeux1122 on the Korean blog site Naver, per MacRumors. According to unnamed industry sources, the post speculates that Apple is struggling to produce the rumored “iPhone 17 Air” thin enough to match its name. The usual culprit? The battery size.

SEE ALSO: Apple's new iPhone update is locking law enforcement out of phones

Apple is reportedly planning to use a 6mm-thick battery in the new, slimmer iPhone, which limits just how thin the device can actually be. It will likely be at least a few tenths of an inch thicker when you factor in everything else that goes into building a phone, too.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

As MacRumors noted, the thinnest iPhone to date was the iPhone 6, measuring 6.9mm thick. If this rumor is accurate, the iPhone 17 Air likely won’t be much thinner than that.

Of course, a rumor from a news aggregation account nearly a year ahead of the iPhone 17’s release should be taken with a grain of salt. But if there’s any truth to it, some might find the new slim iPhone a bit underwhelming.