iPhone 17 Air hands-on: this is the thinnest iPhone ever
We spent an afternoon with Apple’s ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air. It is gorgeous — and more practical than its 5.6mm frame suggests.
At just 5.6mm, the iPhone 17 Air is the thinnest phone Apple has ever built — thinner than a 2010 iPod touch. I went hands-on with it ahead of launch, and the first impression is almost unfair: it feels impossibly light and impossibly thin in the hand.
Thin, but not fragile
The titanium frame is reassuringly rigid, and the single 48MP camera bumps down the corner with the same confidence as the Pro. It will absolutely need a case, but it does not feel delicate in the way ultra-thin phones often do.
The trade-offs
There is one main camera, a 60Hz display, and battery life that trails the standard iPhone 17. Those are deliberate compromises in exchange for the design. If thinness alone is not your priority, the regular iPhone 17 is the better value.
Our verdict
Design you can feel
Brave, gorgeous and thinner than anything before. Buy it for the statement; buy the iPhone 17 for value.
Community rating
8.7/10
How would you rate this verdict?
Community score 8.7/10 from 25 votes
Aya Mensah
Senior Editor · iPhoneAya has covered Apple since the original iPhone. She specialises in hands-on iPhone reviews and smartphone comparisons for African readers.
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