The next big smartphone is going to be used in iPhone 17 Air Apple. With rumor thickness of just 5.5 millimeters and high density batteries, it is going to perform several innovations later this year. But Apple’s plans for slimmer phones make the road voice even more ambitious.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is planning to make a phone so thin that it will lack any physical port. In fact, the company detected the idea for the iPhone 17 Air, but decided to wait on those plans for several reasons.
“The air device was a big idea of apple to make the first perfectly port-free iPhone, which leaves the inlet as well as the physical SIM tray. This would mean losing the USB-C connector and all–in on sinking data with wireless charging and cloud, ”the report states.
Apple had one of the reasons for killing the port-less design idea for the iPhone 17 air, especially in the European Union block. Apple was the last major brand offering an ownership port on its smartphone, finally before switching to the USB-C interface on the iPhone 15 series.
The absence of a port would mean that the air of iPhone 17 will only have to rely on the Magsafe Wireless Charging System. In addition, data storage duties will be integrated tightly with the iCloud system, as there is no hardware route to extract or move data through the cable.
This will be a cumbersome step for an average buyer, especially from a repair point of view. However, Apple is clearly serious about the whole idea. According to Bloomberg’s report, if the iPhone 17 Air proves to be successful, Apple may find out the idea of making port-free smartphones again.
Apple will not be the first
Apple will not be the first person to try that moonshot. Back in 2019, Chinese smartphone veteran Vivo performed the Apex concept. It was a device that lacked a USB port, SIM tray, button or even speakers. In fact, the entire screen doubled as a large -scale fingerprint sensor on it.
In the same year, fellow Chinese brand Meizu revealed the zero concept. It was a high-end phone idea without charging port or headphone jack. The company kept a phone for crowdfunding but failed to hit its financial support target.
Meizu later confirmed that zero was never intended as a mass-market device. But it seems that in 2025, the return of the minimum smartphone design will be seen in 2025. The choice of Samsung, Honor and Oppo is allegedly working on his own ultra-slim phone.
Tecno also wore a crowd with a spark slim smartphone working samples in MWC 2025. Xiaomi is also allegedly working on a phone that will lack any physical button, but so far, the brand remains a mummy on any such plan.
