23 hours ago
3
📱 Apple’s iPhone 17 Air could have a tiny battery
🔋 A new leak suggests the battery will only weigh in at 2,800mAh
⚖️ It’ll fit inside a phone that’ll reportedly weigh just 145 grams
🧪 The same leaker says Apple could still switch to a new battery tech for increased density
📅 We expect the iPhone 17 Air to launch this September
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 17 Air later this year, and one of the biggest mysteries around the device is how big its battery will be. A new rumor claims to shed light on its size, and it’s not pretty.
The iPhone 17 Air battery will reportedly be just 2,800mAh, according to known leaker yeux1122 on Naver. The number, which is said to be sourced from a “mass production confirmed sample” of the phone, is even lower than previous estimates pegged the 17 Air’s battery, which ranged between 3,000mAh and 4,000mAh. For context, this is slightly larger than the 2,406mAh cell that was in the iPhone 13 mini and considerably smaller than the iPhone 16’s 3,561mAh cell.
The leaker also says the iPhone 17 Air will weigh just 145 grams, which would make sense for a phone 5.5mm thin. It would be even lighter than the 163-gram Galaxy S25 Edge.
With such a slim design, a small battery has seemed inevitable for the iPhone 17 Air. Apple is said to include a handful of efficiency optimizations for the device, including the C1 5G modem that debuted in the iPhone 16e and a custom Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip. iOS 19, which is expected to get a total redesign at WWDC, could also come with a new battery feature that uses AI to minimize power draw.
Still, the battery will be physically small, which is said to be forcing Apple to ship an iPhone 17 Air battery case so that more users can get a full day out of the battery.
That being said, yeux1122 does mention one possibility that could keep the iPhone 17 Air from dying before the end of the day: new battery tech.
Apple is said to be considering the same silicone-carbon battery technology used in phones like the OnePlus 13 to increase the density of the 17 Air’s battery without increasing size. The same Naver blog post says that Apple isn’t ditching that possibility - in fact, it could wind up using it in a battery that would typically hold 2,800mAh. If it happens, the density could increase by 15-20%, which would help the phone last noticeably longer on a charge.
As of now, it’s very unclear whether Apple will opt for the new technology or if it’ll use a normal battery like in the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup.
The iPhone 17 Air release date is rumored to arrive sometime in September. The device is expected to include a 6.6-inch 120Hz display, the A19 processor, a single rear camera, one speaker, and the thinnest phone design Apple has ever shipped.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
.png)
English (US) ·