iPhone 17 and 'iPhone 17 Air' Expected to Lack 5x Optical Zoom Lens

Next year's iPhone 17 and all-new "iPhone 17 Air" will not have a 5x optical zoom lens, according to Korean publication The Elec (via 9to5Mac).

iPhone 17 Slim Feature
The report said the tetraprism camera system that enables 5x optical zoom will remain exclusive to the Pro models in next year's iPhone lineup, meaning that it would only be available on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Of course, with the iPhone 17 Air expected to be very thin, this is no surprise.

In the iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, the tetraprism camera system has a "folded" design that allows it to fit inside the smartphones, enabling up to 5x optical zoom and up to 25x digital zoom on those devices. The smaller iPhone 15 Pro, the iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max are limited to up to 3x optical zoom.

The standard iPhone 16 offers up to 2x optical-quality zoom, so the iPhone 17 should too at a minimum. However, zoom specifications for the iPhone 17 Air are still unclear, as the device is rumored to feature only a single 48-megapixel rear camera.

iPhone 17 Air rumors have been a mixed bag so far. The device could become the thinnest iPhone ever, but some of its specifications will seemingly be lacking compared to the Pro models, which will make for a tough purchasing decision. In other words, if you want the cool new iPhone with the thin, new design, there will be tradeoffs.

There have been conflicting rumors about the iPhone 17 Air's design and specifications, but most sources have agreed that it will have around a 6.6-inch display. In July, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he expects the device to have a standard A19 chip, a Dynamic Island, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G modem.

That means the iPhone 17 Air would have quite a large display, but the 6.9-inch iPhone 17 Pro Max would still be larger. With an A19 chip, the device would certainly be performant, but the iPhone 17 Pro models will get a superior A19 Pro chip. A single camera would put the device on the same tier as the iPhone SE for photography.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Air could be one of the first devices with an Apple-designed 5G modem, but it is unclear if it will have any obvious consumer benefits over the Qualcomm modems that are expected to be used for iPhone 17 Pro models. Nevertheless, Apple's cellular future will debut in this device rather than the flagship Pro models.

It's still early, so we should learn a lot more about the iPhone 17 Air over the coming months.

Related Roundups: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...

Top Rated Comments

mitchferrino Avatar
19 weeks ago
I’d pay literally anything for a pro iPhone without a GD camera bump.

I hate it so much. At the very least make it centered & rectangular so the phone doesn’t rattle back and forth when typing on it when it’s laying flat.

It feels like the most un-Apple design choice.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
19 weeks ago
Makes sense. After all, it's Air, not Pro.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Slix Avatar
19 weeks ago
iPod touch 8th generation.

;)
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Supermallet Avatar
19 weeks ago

Have to assume that this product is Apple's new approach to spicing up the entry level models, which are largely unattractive. Because nothing else really makes sense. A new mix and match of features that enables an ultra portable iPhone, to appeal to the mass market.
The entry level models are attractive for people who want a great phone at a reasonable price. The Pro models are overkill for most people and unnecessary. Apple has been very good at trickling down the tech from the Pro models to the base models year over year. Of course some features remain exclusive to the Pro models because Apple wants people to feel the FOMO and spend more money, but really the base models are what most people should go for.

We're outliers, we're so interested in tech and in Apple in particular that we signed up to post on an Apple-centric message board. By default we do not represent the average Apple consumer.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleWarMachine Avatar
19 weeks ago
i guess it's good if you're looking for a phone with less features and a thinner battery and have to charge your battery by lunchtime :rolleyes:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Black.Infinity Avatar
19 weeks ago
I don’t see this product last more than 2-3 generations before canceling it because of low sales
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)