The iPhone 16 series was introduced in September, but information about Apple’s upcoming smartphones has started to emerge online. Reports indicate that the Cupertino-based company might eliminate the iPhone Plus model next year in favor of a new iPhone 17 Slim variant. A well-known analyst has stated that the alleged Slim version will be more slender than the iPhone 6. Furthermore, this analyst mentioned that the forthcoming A19 chips for the iPhone 17 lineup will utilize upgraded manufacturing technology from TSMC.
The iPhone 17 Air is expected to measure around 6mm in thickness. According to Jeff Pu of Haitong International Tech Research in a recent research note (as reported by MacRumors), he aligns with the recent speculations of an ultra-slim design for the iPhone 17 Slim model at 6mm thickness.
Currently, Apple’s thinnest iPhone is the iPhone 6, which has a thickness of 6.9mm. If this new information is accurate, the iPhone 17 Air will surpass it as the slimmest iPhone ever made. In comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max have thicknesses of 8.25mm, whereas the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are slightly slimmer at 7.8mm.
The analyst also indicated that Apple’s A19 and A19 Pro chips for the iPhone 17 series will be produced using TSMC’s latest third-generation 3nm process known as ‘N3P’. Both the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Air are expected to be powered by the A19 chip, while the A19 Pro chip is anticipated to be included in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models.
The current A18 and A18 Pro chips utilized in the iPhone 16 series are manufactured using TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process, referred to as ‘N3E’. Meanwhile, the A17 Pro chip powering the iPhone 15 Pro series is based on TSMC’s initial 3nm process, known as ‘N3B’.
Chips produced with the N3P process are anticipated to deliver greater transistor density. Consequently, we can expect the iPhone 17 models to achieve enhanced performance and energy efficiency when compared to the iPhone 16 models.
