According to the most recent iPhone 17 rumors, Apple is tipped to shake up its flagship smartphone lineup this yr with new designs, new specs, and a wholly new mannequin.
Indeed, the much-rumored iPhone 17 Air has been speculated by many to take the place of the iPhone 17 Plus, swapping it for a thin-and-light model of the bigger non-Pro Apple telephone.
However, as TechRadar readers will know, Apple has been overwhelmed to the punch on this one – we just lately lined the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, which reworks elements of the Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra into an impressively skinny handset.
You can ead to our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge overview for a full breakdown – briefly, it’s fantastic, however doesn’t come with out compromise. The spec sheet means that the battery was one of many large targets – the Galaxy S25 Edge comes with a 3,900mAh battery, down from the 4,900mAh battery discovered within the Galaxy S25 Plus.
But as we have additionally lined, new rumors have made waves for predicting an iPhone 17 Air battery dimension that’s even smaller than tech followers would possibly anticipate, at a surprisingly small 2,800mAh.
For reference, that’s nearly 2,000mAh smaller than the 4,674mAh cell discovered within the iPhone 16 Plus – that means the iPhone 17 Air might have simply 60% of the battery capability of the telephone it’s set to exchange.
Though battery life varies by utilization, our iPhone 16 Plus overview recorded 16 hours and 29 minutes of internet looking – 60% of which is slightly below 10 hours.
Add within the unavoidable undeniable fact that batteries degrade over time and expend a small quantity of cost in standby, the prospect of going a full day with out charging could start to look unlikely.
However, should you ask me there’s no must panic. There are two particular the reason why a small battery capability may not be such a giant deal for the iPhone 17 Air.
Silicon carbon, capability saviour
Firstly, the iPhone 17 Air could possibly be the primary Apple system to make use of a silicon-carbon battery, relatively than a traditional lithium-ion battery.
Silicon-carbon batteries, as their identify suggests, use silicon within the anode of the battery, enabling a a lot higher vitality density and improved energy effectivity.
That could possibly be simply what the iPhone 17 Air must push it over the road of true battery life usability.
I’ve examined a number of telephones that use silicon-carbon batteries and been impressed with every one; my trusty Oppo Find X8 Pro remains to be performing admirably within the battery division.
Granted, that’s an enormous telephone with a 5,910mAh battery, however my level is it nonetheless outperforms expectations due to its silicon-carbon know-how, and that’s a sample throughout the handsets that make use of it.
Surprising optimizing
Next, we have now to think about Apple’s historical past of getting nice efficiency from smaller than common batteries.
Apple by no means lists the capability of its batteries, however unofficial teardowns have revealed that the vanilla iPhone 16 sports activities a battery capability of three,561mAh.
That’s a half-decent capability, however doesn’t fairly stay as much as the 4,000mAh cell discovered within the Samsung Galaxy S25 – and each pale compared to the Google Pixel 9’s spectacular 4,700mAh battery.
However, in our testing, Apple’s most up-to-date baseline flagship saved up with its rivals. Our iPhone 16 overview data about 13 hours of utilization, whereas our Pixel 9 overview discovered Google’s flagship lasted for between 13 and 14 hours. That’s not loads of distinction for a spot of greater than 1,000mAh.
The secret’s Apple’s optimization – we don’t know the precise science, however Apple’s longstanding dedication to sustaining a closed, secure cell ecosystem means its {hardware} and software program are actually constructed for one another.
This is more likely to carry some profit to the iPhone 17 Air; I’d guess that Apple is paying much more consideration than traditional to its synthesis of software program and {hardware} with this rumored all-new design.
So there you have got it: two the reason why a small battery isn’t the tip of the world for the rumored iPhone 17 Air. Be positive to tell us whether or not you’re wanting ahead to the iPhone 17 collection within the feedback beneath.
