Apple will release its thinnest iPhone to date this year; there’s no question about it. We’ve reached that point during the iPhone rumor season where we have too many leaks saying the same thing. That includes a recent batch of 3D renders for all four iPhone 17 models that explained the big camera module design changes coming to three of them.
As I explained before, the iPhone 17 Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max are all getting camera bars on the back, with the former being the likely culprit for this design change. However, the iPhone 17 Air will have a single camera on the back, just like the recently released iPhone 16e.
The CAD leaks we saw in previous weeks highlighted these design changes, implying the designs must be close to final. I said in the past that we’d soon see dummy units out of China, which usually come from case makers designing accessories for the next-gen iPhones.
Those mockups are usually made of metal, and I’m sure the iPhone 17 series will get the same treatment soon. But we don’t have to wait too long to see iPhone 17 Air mockups in action. Someone used a 3D printer to create dummy units for the three iPhone 17 designs we’ll see this year: iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max, and the base iPhone 17 model.
YouTuber iDeviceHelp partnered with X user Majin Bu to create the renders you’ll see in the clip below. Bu leaked CAD renders in recent weeks for all iPhone 17 models, including the iPhone 17 Air.
As you can see below, the base iPhone 17 model will be identical to the current iPhone 16, and there’s nothing wrong with that. All Apple has to do here is give users the expected specs bump. The iPhone 17 should be a great phone, especially for those iPhone users who did not buy an iPhone 16 flavor this year.
The iPhone 17 Pro mockup shows that elongated camera bar on the back that appeared in previous leaks and rumors. The 3D-printed iPhone 17 Pro dummy unit also tells us the phone will be slightly thicker. We saw a similar claim recently. The iPhone 17 Pro Max thickness increase should help Apple boost battery life.
But if that’s so, can the iPhone 17 Air feature decent battery life with its thin profile? Reports say Apple will use a new battery technology inside the iPhone 17 Air to compensate for the lost thickness. The battery doesn’t have to increase physically if it can store more energy.
The YouTube clip above shows that the 3D-printed iPhone 17 Air measures 5.58mm, which is in line with previous leaks.
The clip also shows us all iPhone 17 Air’s design elements. We see the power and Camera Control buttons on the right side and the Action and volume buttons on the left side. There’s a USB-C port on the bottom and a horizontal Pixel-like camera bar on the back near the top. It’s all in line with what we expect about the handset.
But can the 3D renders and dummy units be trusted? Well, Majin Bu isn’t the only insider posting these files online. Well-known leaker Ice Universe shared a short video on X featuring a 360-degree look at an iPhone 17 Air CAD render that looks identical to the ones Bu shared in the past.
Again, the increasing number of iPhone 17 leaks all say the same thing. The ultra-thin iPhone is coming this year, and we know what it looks like. That’s enough for me to want to buy it. Like Ice says, I’ll wait for Apple to take my money for this thing come September.
