Apple’s obsession with putting form over function is back in the spotlight, and this time it’s all about the rumoured iPhone 17 Air.
The device is expected to be one of the slimmest iPhones ever made. While that sounds cool on paper, not everyone’s excited. In fact, a lot of people are already side-eyeing this move, wondering if Apple is trading too much function for form.
Thinner body, fewer features?
The biggest rumour doing the rounds is that the iPhone 17 Air might ditch the ultra-wide camera lens just to save on space. That’s a bold move considering how often people use that lens to snap wide shots, landscapes, or just fit more people into a selfie.
If this is true, Apple could be taking away a genuinely useful feature just to shave a few millimetres off the phone’s profile.
And considering that the iPhone 17 Air will be Apple’s slimmest iPhone yet, you can all but guarantee that Apple will be packing in a smaller battery into it, than what we get with the current iPhone 16 Plus.
There are also whispers that the phone might only come with a single speaker instead of the usual stereo setup. If you're someone who loves watching content or listening to music straight from your phone, that’s a big red flag. Sound quality matters, and going backwards in that department just for a sleeker frame doesn’t make much sense.
Samsung is doing more with less
What makes this rumour even more frustrating is the fact that Samsung just pulled off something similar with the Galaxy S25 Edge.
It’s one of the slimmest Android phones out there, yet it still manages to pack in an ultra-wide camera. Yes, it might lack a telephoto lens, but at least you’re not missing some of the other essentials. If Samsung can do it, why can’t Apple?
Feels more like a downgrade
Here’s the part that’s really confusing — the iPhone 17 Air might be priced similar to the iPhone 16 Plus. That device offers a dual camera setup, bigger battery, and stereo speakers.
So why would anyone pay the same amount, or possibly more for less features, and? A thinner phone isn’t enough to justify cutting down on features that people actually use every day.
It’s starting to feel like the iPhone 17 Air could end up being a downgrade masked as an upgrade. Sure, it might look slick and futuristic, but if it doesn’t deliver where it counts, people won’t be impressed.
Who even asked for this?
Let’s be real, nobody’s out here begging for a super-thin phone. What people really want is a smaller iPhone that still packs premium features without breaking the bank. But if the rumours are true, the iPhone 17 Air will be slim, expensive, and missing key features. Smaller battery, single camera, maybe even just one speaker — that’s not the compact flagship people were hoping for.
Apple might think going thinner is the next big thing. But unless it finds a way to do that without sacrificing the things users actually care about, the iPhone 17 Air could fall flat.
