iPhone 17 Air vs iPhone 16 Plus: Expected differences
The iPhone 17 Air is the next hot thing coming from Apple. But how does it compare to the iPhone 16 Plus?
Intro
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.
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.
iPhone 17 Air vs iPhone 16 Plus expected differences:
| iPhone 17 Air* | iPhone 16 Plus |
|---|---|
| New thin design with different camera housing | Flat-edged design of the past couple of generations |
| Aluminum body, glass back | Titanium frame here |
| New camera housing design | Old square camera bump |
| 120Hz OLED display, but more durable and power efficient | The same ProMotion 120Hz OLED display |
| Slightly smaller 6.6-inch (or 6.65-inch) OLED display, 120Hz ProMotion | 6.7-inch display with 1290 x 2796 pixels resolution, 60Hz |
| New Apple A19 Pro chip built on a next-gen 3nm process | Apple A18 chip with great performance |
| The same 8GB of RAM | 8GB of RAM |
| Single 48MP wide camera | The same 48MP main camera but additional 12MP ultrawide |
| The same old 12MP selfie camera | 12MP selfie camera |
| 3000 mAh battery, potentially shorter battery life | Bigger 4674 mAh battery |
| MagSafe support unclear | MagSafe support |
Table of Contents:
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Design and Size
Thin as a pancake
Apple is gearing up for a big design change this year with the iPhone 17 family. The camera housing will be different, for better or for worse, and the iPhone 17 Air will get the makeover as well.
According to the latest leaked renders, however, the phone looks much classier with its single camera bar than the huge rectangle we expect to see on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models.
The iPhone 16 Plus uses the old, tried-and-tested square camera housing that we've seen in the past couple of generations.
| iPhone 17 Air* | iPhone 16 Plus |
|---|---|
| Thickness 5.5 mm | Thickness 7.8 mm |
| Weight 146 grams | Weight 199 grams |
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.
Let's quickly list the color expectations for the iPhone 17 Air versus what we have available on the iPhone 16 Plus.
| iPhone 17 Air colors* | iPhone 16 Plus colors |
|---|---|
| Black | Ultramarine |
| Steel Gray | Teal |
| TBA | Black |
| TBA | White |
| TBA | Pink |
*speculated or rumored
Display Differences
120Hz ProMotion!
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.
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.
| iPhone 17 Air* | iPhone 16 Plus |
|---|---|
| Size 6.7" (6.6 or 6.65) 120Hz | Size 6.7" 60Hz |
| Brightness 1000 nits (typ) 2000 nits (HBM) | Brightness 1000 nits (typ) 2000 nits (HBM) |
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.
As always, we will conduct our detailed and thorough display tests once we lay our hands on the iPhone 17 Air, so stay tuned.
Performance and Software
A-level silicon
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.
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.
| iPhone 17 Air* | iPhone 16 Plus |
|---|---|
| Chip Apple A19 | Chip Apple A18 |
| Process 3nm (2nm potentially) | Process 3nm |
| RAM 8GB | RAM 8GB |
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.
Camera
Another cyclops
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.
| iPhone 17 Air* | iPhone 16 Plus |
|---|---|
| Main 48 MP f/1.6 26mm (wide) 1/1.56" | Main 48 MP f/1.6 26mm (wide) 1/1.56" |
| Ultrawide - | Ultrawide 12 MP f/2.2 13mm (ultrawide) 1/2.55" |
| Telephoto - | Telephoto - |
The iPhone 16 Plus has the advantage of a dedicated ultrawide camera, it's a 12MP sensor over an f/2.2 lens and it has a focal length equivalent of 13 mm. Neither of these two phones comes with a dedicated telephoto camera, so users will have to rely on 2x crops from the main sensor.
The iPhone 16 Plus managed to score 149 in our camera benchmark, which is a pretty decent result, considering the lack of a telephoto, so it will be interesting to see how the iPhone 17 Air will fare in the same test. For comparison purposes, the single-camera iPhone 16e scored only 118, so things aren't looking good for the Air. Stay tuned for tests and real-life side-by-side photos once we finish the review of the iPhone 17 Air.
Battery Life and Charging
Worrisome capacity...
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.
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.
| iPhone 17 Air* | iPhone 16 Plus |
|---|---|
| Battery capacity 3000 mAh | Battery capacity 4674 mAh |
Charging speeds 35W? | Charging speeds 27W wired 25W wireless (MagSafe) |
In terms of charging, there are some rumors suggesting that the iPhone 17 lineup will receive a bump up in charging speeds with figures floating around the 35W mark. This includes the iPhone 17 Air. If true, the upgrade will bring an advantage for the Air over the iPhone 16 Plus and its 27W charging speeds.
Specs Comparison
Here's a quick (preliminary) specs comparison between the iPhone 17 Air and the iPhone 16 Plus (follow the link for a more detailed comparison on PhoneArena):
| iPhone 17 Air* | iPhone 16 Plus |
|---|---|
| Size, weight 163 x 77.6 x 5.5 mm 146 g | Size, weight 160.9 x 77.8 x 7.8 mm 199 g |
| Screen 6.65" OLED 120Hz ProMotion | Screen 6.7" OLED 60 |
| Processor Apple A19 3nm, or possible 2nm | Processor A18 3nm |
| Versions: 8/128GB 8/256GB 8/512GB LPDDR5 | Versions: 8/128GB 8/256GB 8/512GB LPDDR5 |
| Cameras: 48MP main 12MP front | Cameras: 48MP main 12MP ultra 12MP front |
| Battery: 3000 mAh | Battery: 4674 mAh |
| Charging: USB-C 35W wired MagSafe | Charging: USB-C 27W wired MagSafe |
*rumored or speculated
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Summary
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.
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.
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