Many people say that the real innovation of smartphones has entered a bottleneck period, and in fact, it is true. Without significant progress in relevant technologies, it's really hard to come up with new tricks for phones. However, it can't be completely devoid of novelty. Since there's no major internal improvement, modifying the appearance is a relatively low - tech way. So, making phones thinner has been put on the agenda by mobile phone manufacturers. Samsung is likely to take the lead in this aspect. It is rumored that the S25 edge, with a thickness of only about 5.8mm, will probably be released next month. Following Samsung, it should be the Apple iPhone 17 Air, whose thickness will be further reduced to 5.5mm.
Recently, a foreign blogger shared a comparison picture of the iPhone 17 Air and 17 Pro dummy models. It can be seen that the thickness of the Pro version is almost twice that of the Air version. If the Air version is 5.5mm thick, then the Pro version will be nearly 10mm thick. You know, the 8.25mm thickness of the iPhone 16 Pro is already a bit heavy, and the iPhone 17 Pro is expected to weigh up to 250 grams. Maybe it can be called the "half - pound Apple" in the future.
Moreover, this is just the body thickness. Previously, some sources revealed that although the iPhone 17 Air has a body thickness of only 5.5mm, looking quite thin and light, the camera module protrudes by 4mm, reaching 72% of the body thickness. The total thickness will reach 9.5mm. A thin body surely needs a protective case. But once a protective case is used, the thickness will increase by at least 1mm, and the feeling of a thin and light body won't be so obvious. However, without a protective case, the overly thin body is easily damaged. So users will be quite entangled.
Since the single - rear - camera Air version already has such a thick camera module, the triple - rear - camera Pro version must have more imaging - related components inside the body, and its thickness will surely be even greater. With a nearly 10mm body thickness (easily exceeding 10mm with a protective case) and a more protruding camera module, the sense of heaviness will definitely increase significantly.
Previously, some netizens joked that Apple deliberately made the Pro version heavier to highlight the thinness of the Air version. At that time, many people just laughed it off without taking it seriously. Now, it seems that this possibility is increasing. Because once there is a comparison for any product, it's easier to leave a deeper impression on buyers. Then, isn't Apple worried that the heavy Pro version will affect its sales? In fact, Apple really doesn't need to worry. Every year, the Pro version of the new iPhone accounts for the majority of sales, and the iPhone 17 series will surely be no exception. The extremely thin and light Air version will naturally attract more users, but its drawback is obvious, which is the battery life. With a large screen and the latest chip, it is paired with a battery of about 3300 mAh. If used intensively, users may have to keep the charger with them all the time. While the Pro version has much less of this concern. I wonder which one you would prefer?