Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 Air in about a month, the ultra-thin iPhone that should replace the Plus version in the iPhone 17 lineup. Featuring a thickness of just 5.5mm, the iPhone 17 Air will be the thinnest iPhone ever made, and Apple will surely spend ample time on stage to detail the innovations that made such a phone possible.
The ultra-thin battery inside the iPhone 17 Air should be one of the topics of Apple’s segment dedicated to the incredibly thin phone. Apple will likely explain how it managed to achieve all-day battery life from such a thin device, and compare the iPhone 17 Air’s battery life to other devices. Battery life is going to be the primary concern of any iPhone buyer considering the Air model. What better way to prevent battery anxiety than tell consumers that they have nothing to worry about?
That might be speculation for now, but it’s based on Apple’s recent history with iPhone battery life. Apple has improved battery life dramatically in recent years, with the iPhone 16 series being a good example of that. The iPhone 16e has even better battery life than the base iPhone 16. Apple wouldn’t launch an ultra-thin iPhone unless it was confident it could offer battery life comparable to older, thicker iPhone models. However, the iPhone 17 Air battery is incredibly thin, as you can see in the leaked images below, and it’s the component most likely to give users issues.
How thick is the iPhone 17 Air battery?
A few days ago, a leaker posted purported images of the iPhone 17 Air battery before correcting himself by noting that the photos actually showed battery designs for the iPhone 17 Pro. The photos above and below come from a different person — the well-connected Korean leaker yeux1122, who posts Apple rumors regularly. The image above shows two iPhone 17 batteries side by side. Both feature metal enclosures, with the iPhone 17 Air battery being significantly thinner than the iPhone 17 Pro battery next to it.
The iPhone 17 Air battery is supposedly just 2.49mm thick. If the figure is accurate, the battery will take up less than 50% of the iPhone 17 Air’s 5.5mm profile. Rumors also say the battery capacity sits at 2,800 mAh or 2,900 mAh. Last year’s iPhone 16 models feature 3,500 mAh batteries. The implication here is that the iPhone 17 Air will have worse battery life than the iPhone 16 models, and that might be the case.
However, the iPhone 17 series will introduce new technology that can improve battery life. The A19 chips powering the iPhone 17 models should be more efficient than the A18 processors. The OLED panels should also bring energy consumption improvements. Then there’s the use of AI battery optimization in iOS 26 that can improve battery life. Finally, rumors say the iPhone 17 series might feature faster wired and wireless charging, which will come in handy if the iPhone 17 Air’s battery runs out much faster than others.
What sort of battery life should we expect?
Apple’s battery life estimates for the similarly sized iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16, and iPhone 16e are 27 hours, 22 hours, and 26 hours for video playback, respectively. It’s too early to tell whether the iPhone 17 Air will match them, but I’d expect Apple to at least match the iPhone 16’s 22 hours. The base iPhone 15 model got a 20-hour estimate a year before. Giving the iPhone 17 Air the same battery life as the base iPhone 16 is a reasonable expectation.
I’m looking forward to buying the iPhone 17 Air despite the compromises. That includes dealing with worse battery life than on larger models. On that note, I still miss the amazing battery life of the larger iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max phones. I’ve used both of them, and battery life has been incredible. I’m not worried about the iPhone 17 Air battery for now. I have reasons to believe Apple will do everything in its power to give the iPhone 17 Air the best possible battery life in an ultra-thin iPhone.
Reasons to worry
However, I have concerns for long-term use. Apple’s battery estimates never tell the full story. We’ll have to wait for independent battery life tests and real-life use to see how good the battery truly is. If it turns out you have to charge the iPhone 17 Air more than once a day, you’ll cycle the battery faster than the other iPhone 17 models. While I expect the iPhone 17 Air to retain 80% of its original capacity at 1,000 cycles, you might reach that number faster than you would on the other iPhone 17 models.
Battery life might be decent in the first year, but it might degrade faster, as Battery Health drops and you recharge it more often than a thicker iPhone 17. That’s when the iPhone 17 Air’s ultra-thin battery is going to become a problem. You might have to decide between replacing the battery early or swapping the phone out for another model. After all, rumors suggest that the slim phones of 2026 (Galaxy S26 Edge and iPhone 18 Air) might introduce new battery technology that will make ultra-thin batteries perform much better than 2025’s.
