The iPhone 17 Air is the next hot thing from Apple. But how does it compare to the iPhone 16 Plus?
The iPhone 17 series is out in the open after Apple’s Awe Dropping event, and the most interesting model shapes up to be the iPhone 17 Air. It aims to challenge other thin phones, such as the Galaxy S25 Edge, for the slim crown, but there’s another angle to be had.
It’s very interesting to see how the newly launched iPhone 17 Air fares against the last-generation iPhones and, more specifically, against the iPhone 16 Plus. There are many similarities and some key differences between these two, and we’re going to go through all of them in this article.
iPhone 17 Air vs iPhone 16 Plus differences:
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Apple dropped a big design change this year with the iPhone 17 family (was this the Awe Dropping from the title?). The camera housing is completely different on the Pro models, for better or for worse, and the iPhone 17 Air is also getting a makeover, albeit a much more understated one.
The phone looks much classier with its single camera bar than the huge rectangle on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models that Apple calls extended plateau.
The iPhone 16 Plus uses the old, tried-and-tested square camera housing that we’ve seen in the past couple of generations.
Given the iPhone 17 Air is just 5.6 mm thick, there’s a big difference weight-wise as well. The iPhone 16 Plus weighs a hefty 199 grams, and the Air is comes in at 165 grams.
In terms of building blocks, the iPhone 17 Air is made of titanium, and it features Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2 both on its front and back. Apple says it’s the most durable iPhone ever.
The iPhone 16 Plus, on the other hand, features an aluminum frame and glass front and back, so there’s a substantial difference when it comes to materials.
Let’s quickly list the color options for the iPhone 17 Air versus what we have available on the iPhone 16 Plus.
Display Differences
Apple has finally stepped into the future (or should we say present?) with the iPhone 17 lineup. All models feature the ProMotion treatment, giving them a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate. It was about time!
The iPhone 17 Air comes equipped with a smaller 6.5-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1320 x 2868 pixels, resulting in around 458 PPI pixel density. The cited brightness is 3,000 nits peak, so a bit brighter than the iPhone 16 Plus.
Speaking of which, there’s one big difference here, and it’s the slow 60 Hz refresh rate of the iPhone 16 Plus. Other than that, the resolution is 1290 x 2796 pixels (460 PPI), and the size is slightly bigger at 6.7 inches. The brightness figures are different but we managed to measure a tad over 1000 nits at 100% APL, not a bad result.
There was information that pointed toward a new technology called LDTEE (Low-dielectric TEE) which improves efficiency and durability and judging by what Apple showed during the Awe Dropping event, the iPhone 17 Air probably has it on board.
As always, we will conduct our detailed and thorough display tests once we lay our hands on the iPhone 17 Air, so stay tuned.
The iPhone 17 Air boasts the next-gen A19 chip and its Pro version at that. It has 40% more sustained performance compared to the last year’s Pro models and even more if we compare it to the non-pro A18 chip. What’s the exact difference? You’ll have to wait for our benchmarks for some hard numbers on that.
The RAM situation is as follows: the iPhone 17 Air has 12GB of RAM (confirmation still pending), while the iPhone 16 Plus comes equipped with only 8GB of RAM.
In terms of storage, Apple has phased out the 128GB base models from its Pro lineup, and the iPhone 17 Air also starts at 256GB. The iPhone 16 Plus starts at 128GB.
In terms of software, the iPhone 17 Air launches with iOS 26 out of the box, and the iPhone 16 Plus is expected to get the update as well, later this September. You can check out our early iOS 26 preview for more details.
Apple has went the single main camera route again with the iPhone 17 Air. It’s the iPhone 16e situation all over again, with just a single 48MP wide camera on duty at the back. Apple tried to convince us that this 48MP Fusion camera counts as four different lenses but we’re not completely sure about that.
The iPhone 16 Plus has the advantage of a dedicated ultrawide camera, it’s a 12MP sensor over an f/2.2 lens and it has a focal length equivalent of 13 mm. Neither of these two phones comes with a dedicated telephoto camera, so users will have to rely on 2x crops from the main sensor.
The selfie camera is new across the iPhone 17 lineup. It’s a 24MP sensor but it’s square so you get 18MP photos. The reason behind this is that the phone lets you take horizontal selfies while holding your phone vertically, cropping from the sensor depending on the orientation you want for your photo.
The iPhone 16 Plus managed to score 149 in our camera benchmark, which is a pretty decent result, considering the lack of a telephoto, so it will be interesting to see how the iPhone 17 Air will fare in the same test.
For comparison purposes, the single-camera iPhone 16e scored only 118, so things aren’t looking good for the Air. Stay tuned for tests and real-life side-by-side photos once we finish the review of the iPhone 17 Air.
Apple is known for its conservative approach toward battery capacity and charging. This time around, though, Apple boasted about larger batteries, although, in typical Apple fashion, the company didn’t share any numbers besides video playback times.
The latest information from different certification authorities points toward a 3,000 mAh capacity for the iPhone 17 Air, which doesn’t sound that bad, considering the size and weight of the phone, but we’ll have to wait for teardowns to learn the exact number.
The iPhone 16 Plus, on the other hand, has a much heftier battery, landing at 4674 mAh, and it also shows in our battery test. The phone ranked #38 for phones tested in the past 2 years with a composite score of 7h 31m.
In terms of charging, Apple was relatively silent during the presentation but the MagSafe battery accessory the company showed tells us that the iPhone 17 Air supports wireless charging. A real feat considering the thickness of the device.
Here’s a quick specs comparison between the iPhone 17 Air and the iPhone 16 Plus (follow the link for a more detailed comparison on PhoneArena):
Also read:
iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 17 Pro vs iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 17 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 17 vs iPhone 17 Pro
iPhone 17 Air vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Style versus power
Do we need ultra-thin phones? This is the primary question we need to answer before we start judging the iPhone 17 Air. The kinda steep price of $899 puts the phone right in contention with the iPhone 17 Pro. You can think of it as a thinner Pro with fewer cameras, so to speak. Where does the iPhone 16 Plus slot in?
The screen on the iPhone 17 Air is better (finally getting the ProMotion treatment), and the silicon inside is faster. The building blocks are tougher (titanium and ceramic shield 2), and there’s more RAM and base storage.
On the downside, compared to the iPhone 16 Plus, you get one less camera and a smaller battery at a bigger price. Whether or not people will opt for that particular trade-off, it’s too early to say.
So, if you’re really looking to get a big-screen iPhone and don’t care about paper-thin designs, the iPhone 16 Plus will do the job nicely. But if you want to jump on the latest trend and test a 5.6 mm device, there’s no other option on the market; you should pay the $100 extra for the iPhone 17 Air.