iPhone 17 Slim could be biggest redesign in a decade — but the price may sting
Yet another report has surfaced about the iPhone 17 Slim, a potential replacement for the Plus-sized replacement in the 2025 iPhone lineup. And this one claims the new phone will have a very un-Plus-like price.
According to a report in The Information, this 2025 release would be a "significantly thinner version of the iPhone" arriving at the same time as the iPhone 17. The report also claims the new model could cost more than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is currently Apple's most expensive handset at $1,199.
In initial reports from earlier in the week, analyst Jeff Pu seemed to suggest that the iPhone 17 Slim would sport a tweaked design and a 6.6-inch display. With a Plus-sized iPhone expected to be part of the iPhone 16 release this coming fall, the Slim would knock the Plus out of the lineup a year later.
But The Information's report suggests the iPhone 17 Slim could be a bit higher-end than the Plus, with a redesign as significant as the new look introduced by the iPhone X in 2018. That model became the first $1,000 smartphone Apple sold, though subsequent releases have gone over that mark.
While it's early yet, potential design changes cited by The Information's sources don't sound all that high-end. For one the phone is said to feature an aluminum chassis and not the lighter, more durable titanium frame Apple introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro models. Other potential changes included in the report point to a smaller hole and pill-shaped cutout for the iPhone 17 Slim, along with an A19 chipset running the show — not exactly the sorts of things that would justify a price hike above the pricey Max models.
Thinness seems to be a big selling point at Apple, which recently unveiled a 5.1mm-thin iPad Pro 2024. Currently, the iPhone comes in at 7.8mm.
There's a lot of time between now and when we would see any sort of iPhone 17 model, let alone the Slim. The iPhone 16 has yet to launch — that's coming in the fall — and only then will talk turn to the 2025 models.
