The iPhone 17 Air's main selling point is sounding like a huge headache for Apple

Rumors about Apple’s slim iPhone are heating up. Just last week, there was a report that revealed just how thin the iPhone 17 Air could be. A new report has shed even more light on the handset, detailing struggles the Cupertino firm is having and some of the compromises it will make to achieve the form factor it desires.

Starting with the struggles, The Information reports that Apple is having trouble overcoming a design hurdle. It appears the iPhone 17 Air is so thin that its engineers are having trouble figuring out how to fit in a physical SIM card tray. For reference, the iPhone 16 is 7.8mm thick and the prototypes for next year’s thin model are between 5 and 6mm thick.

In the US, Apple can circumvent this problem by relying on eSIMs. However, that won’t work in China, where regulators have yet to approve the sale of smartphones with eSIMs. Apple would miss out on a gigantic market if it’s unable to resolve this problem.

Elsewhere, the thin design is reportedly causing issues with the battery and thermals. Sources close to the matter say Apple’s engineers are having a hard time fitting the battery and its thermal materials into the device.

It seems the company could be planning to go part aluminum and part glass for the build. The thin iPhone is said to have an aluminum frame and an aluminum camera bump, which features a single camera lens. While the rest of the back will remain glass for wireless charging purposes.

There may be a compromise that comes in the form of the number of speakers. Although most iPhones have a speaker in the earpiece and another at the bottom of the device, the iPhone 17 Air may only have a speaker in the earpiece. The reason given for this compromise is that there isn’t enough room in the bottom to fit a second speaker.

One area where it won’t be compromising, however, is in the modem department. It’s believed that Apple will use its in-house 5G modem instead of one supplied by Qualcomm. In comparison, this modem is said to be smaller and more efficient than Qualcomm’s offering. At the same time, however, the sources claim it doesn’t perform as well and its ability to stay connected to cellular networks is slightly less reliable.

This thin iPhone is expected to go on sale next year, potentially replacing the iPhone 17 Plus. If that’s the case, Apple won’t have long to straighten out these issues if it wants the iPhone 17 Air to launch on time.