Not iPhone 17 Pro, but the iPhone 17 Air is getting all the buzz ahead of launch

After gauging the interest of fans for the iPhone 17 series, many are excited about the iPhone 17 Air thanks to its rumoured striking design.

I recently attended two Apple Store launches in quick succession: first at Apple Hebbal in Bengaluru, and today at Apple Koregaon Park in Pune. At both events, I spoke to several customers on day one to find out whether they were most excited about the iPhone 17 series, particularly the iPhone 17 Pro. To my surprise, the Pro was not the centre of attention; instead, the buzz was around the purported iPhone 17 Air, expected to be the thinnest iPhone ever.

iPhone 17 series is expected to be available day-1 at the official Apple Stores in India when they launch. (Shaurya Sharma - HT)

By Shaurya Sharma

Shaurya Sharma is the Technology Editor at Hindustan Times Digital Streams, where he oversees technology coverage across digital and social platforms. With over eight years of experience across editorial, video production, and digital media, his work focuses on smartphones, AI, consumer gadgets, and shaping audience-first content strategies for modern tech consumers.

He began his career in 2018 as a fashion cinematographer before turning his lifelong passion for technology into a profession. From spending his childhood immersed in tech magazines, video games, and the latest gadgets to covering the global consumer tech industry today, technology has remained a constant throughout his journey.

Over the years, Shaurya has worked with some of India’s leading media organisations, including CNN-News18, Sportskeeda, and Guiding Tech, where he led video initiatives that combined strong editorial storytelling with engaging visual and social-first execution.

A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Manipal University, Shaurya has reviewed hundreds of products across categories including smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, cameras, and wearables. Beyond work, he is passionate about animal welfare, environmental causes, and automobiles, particularly turbo-petrol cars

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In fact, the first customer who entered Apple Hebbal, Apoorv VK Rao, also said the same thing. He said that he was more interested in the iPhone 17 Air. When we asked if he was not too concerned about the rumoured single-camera setup, he said that he is not a photographer and simply does not care about the optics. Instead, it is the slim form factor that appeals to him.

That got me thinking: do customers really care about a thin phone? On the basis of this, I asked many other customers to gauge their interest in the rumoured iPhone 17 Air. To my surprise, many reaffirmed it.

People Are Excited About A Super-Thin iPhone 17 Air

People said that they are excited about having a super-thin iPhone. I also asked them if they liked the mini series or the plus series. To this, many users said that they did not care about the plus or mini because these did not offer anything different compared to the mainline vanilla phones except the size. But when it comes to the iPhone 17 Air, it is the super-thin form factor that is rumoured which has got them hyped.

For those uninitiated, the iPhone 17 Air is reportedly going to be under 6mm, and many reports say that it could be just 5.5mm thin, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever, beating the iPhone 6’s 6.9mm design.

Fans Hope Apple Prices iPhone 17 Air Well

Many people also said that they hope Apple prices the iPhone 17 Air sensibly. One fan we spoke to, named Tarun, said that he is ready to buy the iPhone 17 Air, but he simply hopes that Apple does not price it too high. He said, “I’ll definitely get the iPhone 17 Air if it’s priced around ₹90,000, but if Apple prices it close to the Pro models, then it will not make sense, as Pro models do offer a lot of extras.”

What More To Expect?

Reports say that the iPhone 17 Air could pack the same A19 chip, which may be based on 3nm architecture, just like the current chip line-up. Reports also mention that all iPhone 17 models could ship with 12GB RAM to make way for Apple Intelligence and future upgrades. However, at the same time, reports suggest that the iPhone 17 Air may not have a large battery and users may have to compromise on the size. This is why Apple is also reportedly working on a MagSafe accessory to offer extra battery life for the phone.