iPhone 17 Slim to Get Single Rear Camera, A19 Chip as Apple Emphasises Design Over Features: Ming-Chi Kuo

Apple is yet to announce the arrival of the iPhone 16 series, but ahead of it, rumours about next year's iPhone family are emerging on the Web. The purported iPhone 17 series is said to include a new 'Slim' variant instead of the Plus version. Most recently, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shed more light on its specifications and design suggesting that Apple could focus on keeping a thin profile by packing a single rear camera. The iPhone 17 Slim is expected to run on a lower-end A19 chip.

iPhone 17 Slim specifications (expected)

Noted supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared his expectations for the iPhone 17 Slim on a Medium post. He states that the ultra-slim iPhone 17 model will emphasise sleek form factor design rather than competing on hardware specifications. Kuo says it will feature only a single wide-angle rear camera.

The iPhone 17 Slim with a single lens would be an unusual move from Apple as the tech giant traditionally offers two cameras on the standard and Plus models and three on the Pro versions. Details about the capabilities of the iPhone 17 Slim's camera remain unknown, although other iPhone 17 series models are expected to get a 48-megapixel main camera.

Further, Kuo says the iPhone 17 Slim will get a 6.6-inch display with a 1,260x2,740 pixels resolution and dynamic island. It is said to come with an A19 chip under the hood along with Apple's in-house 5G chip. The high-end iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are said to ship with A19 Pro chips.

Apple is expected to use a Titanium aluminium alloy middle frame for the iPhone 17 Slim. The proportion of Titanium could be lower than the current Pro and Pro Max middle frame. Other iPhone 17 models are said to use an aluminium middle frame.

Why Apple plans to replace iPhone 17 Plus?

Kuo's post corroborates rumours about the company's plan to discontinue the iPhone 17 Plus. Due to low sales, Apple is likely to axe the Plus model from the iPhone 17 lineup by adding the new iPhone 17 Slim variant. "The new ultra-slim model is not positioned to replace the Plus. Instead, Apple is exploring new design trends beyond the existing iPhone lineup", said Kuo.

He notes that the Plus model only accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of the overall shipments of iPhone, indicating that Plus is a dispensable model.