Apple launched a new lighter iPhone that\u2019s a third slimmer than its Pro models. The Irish Independent was among the first to get hands-on time with it.\n<\/p>\n
As the name suggests, it\u2019s a skinnier, lighter version of the iPhone 17 Pro \u2014 with most of the power and a big bright \u2018Pro\u2019 screen, but in a relatively featherweight form.<\/p>\n
In an age of giant, bulky smartphones, that could mean less strain on your jeans or jacket pockets. Or it might make it easier if you work out or run with your iPhone in your hand.<\/p>\n
And because the case is made of tough titanium, Apple also says that it should be as tough and durable as any other iPhone, despite its thinness.<\/p>\n
The iPhone 17 Air comes with a lot of Apple\u2019s high-end features, including a 6.6-inch \u2018Pro\u2019 display and Apple\u2019s fastest engine, courtesy of the tech giant\u2019s latest A19 Pro chip under the hood.<\/p>\n
But it also comes with two big compromises. It only has one rear camera, compared to two rear lenses on a regular iPhone 17 or three on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models.<\/p>\n
And because it\u2019s so thin, its battery is smaller than regular iPhone 17 models, which could mean it doesn\u2019t last as long on a single charge.<\/p>\n
Even with these limitations, Apple could be betting that a chunk of the market likes large-screen devices but doesn\u2019t like how bulky they\u2019ve become, stretching and misshaping jeans and jacket pockets with their weight.<\/p>\n
It may also be recalling how its MacBook Air grabbed attention for its sells design when Steve Jobs pulled it out of a brown envelope at the company\u2019s big product launch back in 2008. The MacBook Air went on to become the world\u2019s best-selling laptop with most rival manufacturers copying its design.<\/p>\n
A \u2018skinny\u2019 iPhone may also be a test-run for the release of a folding iPhone in 2026 or 2027, according to Bloomberg\u2019s Mark Gurman, who has an unrivalled record at revealing Apple\u2019s future product plans.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, rival phone maker Samsung launched a \u2018skinny\u2019 version of its flagship Galaxy S smartphone, calling it the S25 Edge. That phone is priced just above the base Galaxy S25 models, at \u20ac1,069.<\/p>\n
However, the iPhone Air costs a lot more, costing from \u20ac1,239 (256GB) to \u20ac1,739 (1TB).<\/p>\n
Some analysts think that the new model will inject life into what had become an increasingly boring upgrade cycle for phones.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a few years since Apple has had new iPhones that you could put on the table in a coffee shop, meeting room or pub, and people would ask whether that\u2019s the new iPhone,\u201d said Ben Wood, chief analyst with CCS Insight.<\/p>\n
\u201dWith the iPhone Air and the redesigned iPhone 17 Pro models, particularly the bright orange variant, Apple is delivering products that will create renewed interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past few years, the iPhone has stayed so similar that it was easy to go onto a website and click on the model you want. The iPhone Air may tempt people back into the shops to take a look to see how thin it is. That\u2019s an excellent opportunity for operators and retailers. If the new phones attract people into retail stores, there’s a better chance to sell them a new plan or a new phone, even if they leave with something other than an iPhone Air.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple launched a new lighter iPhone that\u2019s a third slimmer than its Pro models. The Irish Independent was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[61,60,202,80],"class_list":["post-11335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}