A few days ago, Majin Bu posted details and images of the alleged iPhone 17 Pro’s battery (article was updated to reflect his correction). Now, “yeux1122” on the Korean-language Naver blog posted an image that allegedly depicts the size comparison between the iPhone 17 Air battery and the iPhone 17 Pro battery. As you can see in the photo, the 17 Air’s battery measures at around 2.49mm, which would be half as thick as the 17 Pro’s battery. The same source claims that the Air’s battery capacity is rated at 2,800 mAh, which is in line with previous claims that it would be under 3,000 mAh. For comparison, both the iPhone 12 mini’s and 13 mini’s battery were rated at under 2,500 mAh, so the battery for the 17 Air would be a bit smaller in capacity to the rest of the lineup. Usually, iPhone models’ batteries are rated at around the same voltage, so we can make fair comparisons between mAh capacities. Consequently, the 17 Air is expected to cut corners to make room for the battery such as removing the Ultra Wide camera and the second speaker. However, Apple is willing to find ways to mitigate those concerns for battery life with the following:
- the new, efficient C1 modem introduced in the iPhone 16e
- enhanced power efficiencies in the A19 chip
- iOS 26’s Adaptive Power Mode for optimized usage
- an option battery case similar to Apple’s older Smart Battery Case accessories
Even then, Apple expects the percentage of users who will be able to use the iPhone 17 Air for a full day without recharging at any point for that day will be between 60% and 70%, rather than 80% and 90% for the rest of the lineup. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to weight about 145 grams (which would be just as light as the iPhone 13 mini at 141 grams) and be 5.5mm thick at its thinnest point (which would be just as thin as the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro at 5.3mm). The 17 Air’s battery could pioneer new battery technology, potentially higher-density silicon-anode batteries.
On the other hand, iPhone 17 Pro Max’s battery is expected to be at least around 5,000 mAh, so this means iPhone 17 Pro Max may have the longest battery life ever in an iPhone, but the device could get even thicker to accommodate for the larger battery.
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to make its debut next month along with the rest of the iPhone 17 series, so we’ll know the final details for each and every model.
