iPhone 17 Air vs iPhone 16 Plus: Expected differences

The iPhone 17 series is coming fast, and the most interesting model shapes up to be the iPhone 17 Air. It will challenge other thin phones, such as the Galaxy S25 Edge, for the slim crown, but there’s another angle to be had.

It will be interesting to see how the upcoming iPhone 17 Air will fare against the last-generation iPhones and, more specifically, against the iPhone 16 Plus. There are many similarities and some key differences between these two, and we’re going to go through all of them in this article.

Bear in mind that the iPhone 17 Air is still under wraps, so this comparison is preliminary and based on leaks and rumors at this point.

Table of Contents:

*speculated or rumored

Given the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be just 5.5 mm thick, we expect a big difference in weight between these two as well. The iPhone 16 Plus weighs a hefty 199 grams, and the Air is expected to come in at 146 grams. That’s a big difference.

In terms of building blocks, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be made of aluminum (grade 7000), and it will feature scratch-resistant glass on the front and back, possibly some variant of Apple’s Ceramic Shield.

The iPhone 16 Plus also features an aluminum frame and glass front and back, so no big difference in durability regarding materials. The thinness of the iPhone 17 Air might result in a more fragile device, but we have to test this firsthand to see.

Let’s quickly list the color expectations for the iPhone 17 Air versus what we have available on the iPhone 16 Plus.

It seems that Apple is about to step into the future (or should we say present?) with the iPhone 17 lineup. All models are expected to receive the ProMotion treatment, giving them a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate. It was about time!

The iPhone 17 Air is expected to have a smaller 6.6-inch (or 6.65-inch; there are conflicting rumors on the subject) OLED display with a resolution of 1320 x 2868 pixels, resulting in around 458 PPI pixel density. The rumored brightness is 1000 nits typical and 2000 nits in HBM (high brightness mode), so pretty similar to the iPhone 16 Plus.

Speaking of which, there’s one big difference here, and it’s the slow 60 Hz refresh rate of the iPhone 16 Plus. Other than that, the resolution is 1290 x 2796 pixels (460 PPI), and the size is slightly bigger at 6.7 inches. The brightness figures are the same, and we managed to measure a tad over 1000 nits at 100% APL, not a bad result.

*speculated or rumored 

There are rumors that point toward a new technology called LDTEE (Low-dielectric TEE) which improves efficiency and durability but we don’t know if the iPhone 17 Air is going to get it or whether it will be reserved for the Pro models.

The iPhone 17 Air is expected to get the next-gen A19 chip. Initial rumors suggested that this silicon might be built on a 2nm manufacturing node, but the latest information points toward an updated 3nm technology featuring better efficiency and more power compared to the A18.

The RAM situation is expected to remain unchanged between these two; the iPhone 17 Air is believed to land with 8GB of RAM, the same amount of RAM is available on the iPhone 16 Plus. 

In terms of storage, we don’t expect big changes; the iPhone 17 Air should offer the same 128/256/512 storage options as the ones available on the iPhone 16 Plus. The synthetic benchmarks will show what the exact leap will be, but we’ll have to wait for these.

*speculated or rumored 

In terms of software, the iPhone 17 Air will launch with iOS 26 out of the box, and the iPhone 16 Plus is expected to get the update as well, sometime around September. You can check out our early iOS 26 preview for more details. 

Apple is going the single main camera route again with the iPhone 17 Air. It’s the iPhone 16e situation all over again, with just a single 48MP wide camera on duty at the back. It’s also the exact same camera as the one found on the iPhone 16 Plus (at least according to the latest rumors), so any potential changes should be attributed to the software processing algorithms.

*speculated or rumored 

Apple is known for its conservative approach toward battery capacity and charging, and we don’t expect this to change with the iPhone 17 series. Given how thin the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be, the sacrifices made with the battery capacity are anything but unexpected.

The latest information from different certification authorities points toward a 3,000 mAh capacity for the iPhone 17 Air, which doesn’t sound that bad, considering the size and weight of the phone.

The iPhone 16 Plus, on the other hand, has a much heftier battery, landing at 4674 mAh, and it also shows in our battery test. The phone ranked #38 for phones tested in the past 2 years with a composite score of 7h 31m.

*speculated or rumored 

Do we need ultra-thin phones? This is the primary question we need to answer before we start judging the iPhone 17 Air. The rumored price of $899 puts the phone right in contention with the iPhone 16 Plus.

So, what’s different? The screen on the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be better (finally getting the ProMotion treatment), and the silicon inside should be faster, judging by the normal tick-tock cycle of Apple chips.

On the downside, compared to the iPhone 16 Plus, you get one less camera and a smaller battery. Whether or not people will opt for that particular trade-off, it’s too early to say. Let’s not forget that the iPhone 17 Plus will feature most of the upgrades of the Air, barring the thin size.

So, if you’re really looking to get a big-screen iPhone and don’t care about paper-thin designs, both the iPhone 16 Plus and its successor will do the job nicely. But if you want to jump on the latest trend and test a 5.5 mm device, there’s no other option on the market; you should wait for the iPhone 17 Air.