Whether or not you have been excited by the… concept of it at any level main as much as final week’s belated launch occasion or felt it was pointless from the second the “Galaxy S25 Slim” rumors began round six months in the past, I consider the time has come for all cellular tech fanatics to confess Samsung’s razor-thin new flagship is a pointless cellphone.
My distinguished colleague Victor Hristov stated it finest within the introduction of his complete Galaxy S25 Edge evaluate the opposite day: “I’ve by no means favored a cellphone I’d by no means purchase a lot.” Fortunately for followers of the ultra-slim high-end handset idea, Apple is broadly anticipated to throw its hat within the ring too comparatively quickly, and since the iPhone 17 Air was purportedly already in growth when Samsung bought the “concept” to start out engaged on a direct rival, I all the time felt hopeful the Cupertino-based tech big would come out with a extra… coherent product within the fall.
However my hopes have been crushed by two numbers that make zero sense. These have been talked about by an often dependable leaker in a brand new report just a few days in the past and illustrated shortly thereafter utilizing a product mockup, so whereas they’re clearly removed from etched in stone, they appear believable sufficient to provide me the chills (and never in a great way).
A sub-3,000mAh battery in 2025?!
I do not learn about you all, however I am sufficiently old to recollect a handset like the unique Motorola Moto Z from all the best way again in 2016. Why am I speaking about such an historical, long-discontinued, and largely failed Android smartphone? As a result of that unhealthy boy packed a 2,600mAh battery into an aluminum physique weighing in at 136 grams and measuring 5.2mm in thickness.
Considerably equally, the iPhone 17 Air is tipped to squeeze a 2,800mAh cell right into a presumably titanium-made building with a 5.5mm profile and 145-gram complete weight. Naturally, the display screen actual property will bounce from a measly 5.5 to as a lot as 6.6 inches, however that is a distinct dialogue.
The iPhone 17 Air (in mockup type) appears unimaginable subsequent to the iPhone 16 Plus. | Picture Credit score — Majin Bu on X
What I need to insist on is Apple’s inexplicable return to a interval within the cellular trade’s evolution nobody appears to be nostalgic for. The iPhone 12 used to pack sub-3,000mAh cell capability in 2020, and properly, let’s simply say there is a cause all subsequent (non-Mini) iPhones have include considerably beefier batteries.
Now, I do know what you are going to say. Apple might work its software program magic or make use of some sort of groundbreaking “high-density” battery know-how tips to make the iPhone 17 Air ship respectable working instances between costs out in the true world. However there’s solely a lot software program optimizations and even the newest {hardware} improvements can do to offset the inherent limitations of a miniature battery, so it is in all probability clever to not count on any miracles on that entrance.
Let’s discuss that 5.5mm waist some extra
Look, I will be completely sincere with you right here. I’ve positively had my share of complaints (each in private and non-private) relating to the pointless bulk of a few of the finest telephones launched over the previous couple of years.
With its 227-gram weight, 8.3mm profile, and 6.9-inch show, the iPhone 16 Professional Max is the stuff a few of my worst nightmares are fabricated from. You could not pay me to make use of that brick as my day by day driver (not that anybody is providing), and naturally, the identical goes for the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Extremely.
Is not the Galaxy S25 Edge skinny sufficient? | Picture Credit score — PhoneArena
However there’s lots of distance between 8.3 and 5.5 millimeters and between 227 and 145 grams, and I’d be terribly dissatisfied if Apple went from one excessive to the opposite with the iPhone 17 Air. In any case, the Galaxy S25 Edge has loads of issues, however its 5.8mm thickness ain’t one. If something, I had hoped the iPhone 17 Air would go a little bit increased in that division to keep away from its most important rival’s battery life pitfalls.
Simply take a look at the “vanilla” Galaxy S25. At 7.2mm, that factor will not be as skinny as a bank card, but when Apple or Samsung had lowered that quantity to, say, 6.5mm or so, they may have achieved the proper stability between model and energy. As issues stand (at the very least based mostly on the newest rumors), the 2 tech giants appear way more involved about measuring their egos and mocking each other than the precise wants and wishes of precise shoppers.
