iPhone 17 Air's battery life could be the shortest in years

AppleInsider

The iPhone 17 Air's battery life could be very low compared to a normal iPhone, with a leaker claiming it will have a capacity of just 2,800mAh.

A mockup of the iPhone 17 Air - Image Credit: AppleInsider

Rumors about the iPhone 17 Air have not only discussed how thin it will be, but also how it could have a limited battery capacity. In a Friday post from a serial leaker, it could be considerably smaller than usual.

Posting to Naver, leaker "yeux1122" makes some claims about the iPhone 17 Air. The information is said to be from a "mass production-confirmed sample."

The details include a 5.5mm thickness, which has been raised before, as well as a weight of approximately 145 grams (5.1 ounces). That puts it at almost an ounce lighter than the six-ounce iPhone 16.

However, the lightweight and thin body is accompanied by a smaller battery. According to the leaker, it will just be a 2,800mAh-capacity battery in the smartphone.

Yeux1122 has a relatively mixed track record for Apple leaks. However, given other rumors lie in a similar vein for the device, this seems fairly believable.

Size struggles

The small capacity claim is unsurprising, since Apple has to somehow pack in all of the necessary electronics into a much thinner body than usual. Sacrifices have to be made, and a physically smaller battery is seemingly one of them.

The 2,800mAh claimed to be inside the iPhone 17 Air is a far cry from the capacities of current-gen models, such as the 3,561mAh iPhone 16 or the 4,685mAh iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Indeed, you have to go back to the 2022 iPhone SE to find a relatively recent iPhone with a smaller battery, at 2,018mAh.

The physical limitations have forced Apple into working in new ways, including changing the battery technology. On May 16, it was reported that the iPhone 17 Air could be the first to use an advanced silicon-anode battery technology to increase capacity by 15%.

The lacking battery has also raised the prospect of the revival of the iPhone battery case. Adding a second external battery in a thicker case would run counter to the aim of creating a thin smartphone, but it could be a fix for consumers who want the better device without sacrificing battery life.

Rumor Score: Possible

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macxpress

Even if it is true, you have to give something somewhere. Where the hell is the battery going to go in something that thin. The only thing Apple can really do is try to make the logic board as small as possible so they can put as long and wide of a battery as possible. I think the neat thing about something like that challenge is it helps the other phones in the future because they'll have to develop new technology to make something like this all work which they can then eventually put into other iPhones. 

anthogag

Battery life will probably be better than expected. iPhone Air is an exercise in how thin and light can Apple make an iPhone and what battery optimizations and technologies can we use...

My current device is iPhone 16 Pro. I would love to add an iPhone Air to my plan like I added my Watch Ultra and iPad Pro. Can Apple work this out with carriers?     

edited May 18

retrogusto

Of course, it’s also possible that the battery capacity will be lower than average but battery life will be higher, since battery life depends on much more than just the battery capacity.

charlesn

AppleInsider said:

The lacking battery has also raised the prospect of the revival of the iPhone battery case. Adding a second external battery in a thicker case would run counter to the aim of creating a thin smartphone, but it could be a fix for consumers who want the better device without sacrificing battery life. 

BUT... it's not "the better device." It will carry a premium price like "the better device" but will have worse battery life, the same camera as the cheapest iPhone and will lack UWB 5G. The ONLY advantages to Air will be that it's 2mm thinner and an ounce lighter. And strapping a battery case to it would negate those advantages, so you just end up with a premium priced phone without premium features.

Despite the rumors to date saying otherwise, I continue to think/hope that Apple at least solved the battery life issue because it just seems too insane to debut a premium-priced phone that's less full-featured AND has shitty battery life. 

edited May 18

rikipedia

Apple is so transparent. Don't you see that the thin iPhone is all a prelude to the folding iPhone? They HAVE TO get these shells small enough to so that two shells can clamp together and not look like a giant sore thumb. Apple wants their R&D to be paid for, in part, by the consumers. It's a smart strategy and one that Apple has used for years. The final iteration of the thin phone will be a folding phone with all the battery life you need. 

tht

You should also note that the nominal iPhones, with about 8 mm of thickness, have a stacked logic board system. Two PCBs are layered on top of each other, and hold all the computing chips, resistors, capacitors, ports for connectors etc.

With the 5.5 iPhone 17 Air, this two layer board system likely can't be employed. This will make the footprint for its logic board larger relative to the 6.7" models. So, they likely only could use 1 camera, possibly one speaker, and the battery still has to be smaller than a battery of the same footprint would imply. Taptic engine could get smaller. Not much else is left. Well, no Face ID is an option.

But, if it is as light as a 4.7" iPhone SE, that's a big usability win.

yyzguy

Seems like a silly tradeoff.   I foresee an opportunity for battery case makers, negating Apple’s bragging rights for the thinnest iPhone ever.   Perhaps they will lower the price on the16 series to something more reasonable.   Staying with refurbished 13 mini (with battery case) for the time being.

carmb

How many consumers have expressed dismay over the thickness of current iPhone models? Why is making the iPhone thinner a thing?

pulseimages

CarmB said:

How many consumers have expressed dismay over the thickness of current iPhone models? Why is making the iPhone thinner a thing?

Probably the same logic that is if Android can make it work so can Apple. 

citpeks

retrogusto said:

Of course, it’s also possible that the battery capacity will be lower than average but battery life will be higher, since battery life depends on much more than just the battery capacity.

Condemning a product based on a rumored battery capacity?  How about let's see what the finished product is, and more importantly, how it performs.  Apple has always designed for performance/usage goals, not necessarily the best paper specs, and the cell capacities in iOS devices have regularly "lagged" behind those of competitors'.

BTW, the six-year old iPhone XS I still use has a 2658 mAh cell (10.13Wh, which is a more telling figure that doesn't omit voltage), and ~84% capacity after a bit less than 700 cycles.

And dual cameras with OIS, A12 made on a 7nm node…the power efficiency of components hasn't been standing still in those six years…the battery cell is one component of many that comprise the device.

The Air is likely to be a niche product, and those attracted to it shouldn't be going in blind to whatever compromises it may end up having.

sloth77

rikipedia said:

Apple is so transparent. Don't you see that the thin iPhone is all a prelude to the folding iPhone? They HAVE TO get these shells small enough to so that two shells can clamp together and not look like a giant sore thumb. Apple wants their R&D to be paid for, in part, by the consumers. It's a smart strategy and one that Apple has used for years. The final iteration of the thin phone will be a folding phone with all the battery life you need. 

Not sure why you are getting the "dislikes", as I think you've 100% hit the nail on the head.

tht

CarmB said:

How many consumers have expressed dismay over the thickness of current iPhone models? Why is making the iPhone thinner a thing?

Apple wants to sell iPhones. They think they will get enough buyers for the iPhone 17 Air, at about $900 base price (?), to make it a worthwhile effort. There is a niche of people who want a large display phone that is light and thin. It's basically that simple.

There's also a niche of people who want a small model, about 5.5" display, too. I'd like Apple to offer that too. Like I said before, it is a margins game. A 5.5" model that has modern components will need to cost $800 to be worthwhile, otherwise, either Apple uses prior year components to price it at $700, or do what they have done, which is not to offer it. I do think that an iPhone mini with n-1, or n-2, components would be worth it, but I'm not Apple.

It is likely that Apple will have better margins on a $900 iPhone 17 Air versus a $700 iPhone mini. They keep trying at that $900 price knowing that, at least. An $800 iPhone mini would be a tough sell.