The iPhone 17 Air is a brand-new addition to the series, and it’s meant to launch as the slimmest smartphone ever designed by Apple. Rumors suggest it could be roughly 5.5mm thin, but a chassis this size comes with an obvious disadvantage. A new leak reports a disappointing battery size for the iPhone 17 Air.
The leak came from Instant Digital on Weibo, a usually reliable source for insights into Apple. The tipster said iPhone 17 Air’s battery will not exceed 3000mAh, which is pretty weak by today’s standards. A previous leak on the Air’s battery size suggested the same thing.
Instant Digital’s claim seems to align with yeux1122’s report from a few weeks ago in May. In that leak, the leaker gave away the exact battery size for the iPhone 17 Air, which is 2800mAh. It’s nowhere near the capacity of the standard and Pro iPhone 17 models in the family.
The Pro Max variant in the lineup has been tipped with a 5000mAh battery this time, which is almost two times the size of the iPhone's latest Air model. This could be a deal breaker for a lot of people. The iPhone 16 Plus, which this new device is meant to replace, had a 4674mAh cell lasting a full day under normal usage.
There’s no doubt the iPhone 17 Air will struggle with battery longevity. That’s why Apple is working on a software solution to circumvent this particular issue. The company might introduce an Adaptive Power mode in iOS 26, which could offset the phone’s physical limitation with a smaller battery.
In theory, the phone will enable per-app power limitations based on the user’s activity, and that will save more and more battery as you continue to use the device. Apple has even planned to make an optional battery case accessory that you can haul around and put on when the phone runs out of juice.
The battery case is just putting a band-aid on a bigger issue. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, which is almost as thin as the iPhone 17 Air, has a way larger 3900mAh battery. And right on its heels, the Infinix Hot 60 Pro+ comes in at 6mm profile and a 5160mAh battery. Seeing how competitive the slim phone category is right now, the iPhone 17 Air might be a deal breaker for some users.
