iPhone 17 Slim could put ill-fated Plus series out of its misery

The iPhone 16 is still a distant glimmer on the horizon, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill going wild. New leaks suggest that the iPhone 17’s Plus model could be discontinued in favor of an iPhone 17 ‘Slim’.

It appears that this iPhone Slim model will appeal to a different area of the market by focusing on the design, not by packing in revolutionary specs. Rather than taking part in the ever-constant camera arms race like the other best 5G phones, this Slim handset is rumored to include a single rear camera instead.

By reducing the technical capabilities of the handset, it seems that Apple could be able to create the thinnest iPhone yet. This could follow in the footsteps of Apple’s iPad Pro, which is rumored to have a depth of just 5mm. However, while the iPhone Slim will focus on reducing its depth, there doesn’t appear to be any sacrifice in the length and width of the screen. The leaks posit that the iPhone 17 Slim would have a 6.6” screen with 1260×2740 resolution. Inside the device, there is rumored to be an A19 chip, Apple’s own 5G chip, and the same Dynamic Island as the iPhone 15 range (and, presumably, the iPhone 16 range as well).

Analyst Ming-Chu Kuo has claimed that the Plus has driven the worst sales of Apple’s current line-up, making up just 5-10% of the entire iPhone range’s sales. Meanwhile, rumors from earlier this year have suggested that the iPhone 17 range could see some hefty hardware upgrades – this includes a 120Hz LTPO panel on all four predicted models (the base iPhone 17, the 17 Pro, the 17 Pro Max, and the 17 Slim).

The upcoming Slim model might end up being the thinnest-ever iPhone, but this is rumored to come at a pretty eye-watering price. Kuo has stated that it will allegedly be $1,299, which will be higher than the Pro Max in the same range. This is despite the handset having a “focus on design over hardware specifications” that will leave the 17 Slim lacking the competitive specs we would ordinarily expect from a model of that price range.

An iPhone designed with aesthetics primarily in mind is an interesting proposition, and we’ll be interested to see whether this rumor has any legs to it – and whether it could be a serious contender for the best gaming phones as well.