iPhone 17 Air to Be Apple's Thinnest-Ever Phone; A19 Chips to Be Built Using TSMC’s New Technology: Report

iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 could run on Apple's purported next-generation 3nm A19 chip.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 19 November 2024 14:56 IST

iPhone 17 Air to Be Apple's Thinnest-Ever Phone; A19 Chips to Be Built Using TSMC’s New Technology: Report

Photo Credit: Apple

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus run on A18 chip

Highlights

Apple is working on an ultra-slim version of iPhone for next year
A19 chips are said to offer increased transistor density
iPhone 16 range was launched in September

iPhone 16 range was launched in September, but details about Apple's next-generation smartphones have already begun to surface online. The Cupertino-based company could discontinue the iPhone Plus model next year and replace it with an iPhone 17 Slim version, according to recent reports. A well-known analyst now states that the purported Slim model will be thinner than the iPhone 6. Additionally, the analysts claimed that Apple's next-generation A19 chips for the iPhone 17 lineup will be manufactured using updated technology from TSMC.

iPhone 17 Air Could Be Only 6mm Thick

Jeff Pu of Haitong International Tech Research in his latest research note (via MacRumors) claims that the iPhone 17 Air will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," the analyst reportedly stated.

Apple's thinnest iPhone to date is the iPhone 6 with a thickness of 6.9mm. If the latest claim turns out to be true, the iPhone 17 Air will be Apple's thinnest iPhone ever. The latest iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max have a thickness of 8.25mm, while the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are slimmer at 7.8mm.

iPhone 17 Air May Feature an Ultra-Thin Display From Novatek: Report

The analyst reportedly stated that Apple's A19 and A19 Pro chips for the iPhone 17 series will be manufactured with TSMC's latest third-generation 3nm process called 'N3P'. Both iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air are said to run on the A19 chip, while the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are said to ship with the A19 Pro chip.

The current A18 and A18 Pro chips for the iPhone 16 lineup are built with TSMC's second-generation 3nm process known as 'N3E'. The A17 Pro chip that powers the iPhone 15 Pro series is based on TSMC's first-generation 3nm process 'N3B'.

The A19 chips manufactured using the N3P process are said to offer increased transistor density. Therefore, we can expect iPhone 17 models to provide improved performance and power efficiency compared to the iPhone 16 models.

Apple to Bring 120Hz Displays to All iPhone 17 Models: Report

iPhone 16 Pro

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.30-inch

Processor Apple A18 Pro

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1206x2622 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 16 Pro Max

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Massive screen size
Brilliant display
Performance beast
Camera Control is a boon
Fantastic battery life

Bad
Big phone for one-hand use
Expensive
No Apple Intelligence at launch
Slow-wired charging support

Read detailed Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max review

Display 6.90-inch

Processor Apple A18 Pro

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1320x2868 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 16 Plus

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Stunning display
Solid build quality and lovely colour options
Battery life is bonkers on this one
Excellent for gaming and performance (in general)
Improved cameras

Bad
Still offers a 60Hz refresh rate and misses out on AOD (always-on display)
No fast charging
Comes with USB 2
No Apple Intelligence features out of the box

Read detailed Apple iPhone 16 Plus review

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Apple A18

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1290x2796 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 16

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A18

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 18

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

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Further reading: iPhone 17 Slim, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Series, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 16

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More