iPhone Air vs iPhone 17
Verified 2026-10-31
A factual specification comparison between the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17.
Image: Photo: Ahmad Ali Karim, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
AppleiPhone Air
Fully verifiedSmartphoneReleased · 2025-09-19Announced 2025-09-09
Specs: source
View full specs
Image: Apple Inc.
AppleiPhone 17
Fully verifiedSmartphoneReleased · 2025-09-19Announced 2025-09-09
Specs: source
View full specsKey differences
| Specification | iPhone Air | iPhone 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) | IP68 (up to 6 meters for 30 minutes, IEC 60529) |
| Display | 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR all-screen OLED display with ProMotion and Always-On | 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED, ProMotion up to 120Hz, Always-On display |
| Chipset model name | A19 Pro | A19 |
| Wired charging | Up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter or higher | Up to 50% charge in 20 minutes with a 40W+ adapter |
| SIM | Dual eSIM (no physical SIM) | Dual eSIM (no physical SIM tray) |
| Operating system at launch | iOS 26 | iOS 27 |
| Biometric authentication | Face ID | Face ID (TrueDepth, Center Stage front camera) |
| Colors | Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue | Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, Lavender |
| Resolution | 2736 x 1260 pixels at 460 ppi | 2622×1206 pixels (460 ppi) |
| Chipset | Apple A19 Pro (6-core CPU, 5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, 16-core Neural Engine) | Apple A19 (6-core CPU: 2 performance + 4 efficiency cores) |
Facts shown above are the specifications where both devices have a confirmed value and those values differ — not an indication that either device is better. Showing 10 of 19 differing facts, spread across categories — see the full specification table below for the rest.
Configurations
iPhone Air
- 256GB
- 512GB
- 1024GB
iPhone 17
- 256GB
- 512GB
Cameras
iPhone Air
- Rear · Fusion Main: 48MP, ƒ/1.6
- Front · Center Stage front: 18MP, ƒ/1.9
iPhone 17
- Rear · Main: 48MP, ƒ/1.6
- Front · Center Stage: 18MP, ƒ/1.9
- Rear · Ultra Wide: 48MP, ƒ/2.2
Specifications
| Specification | iPhone Air | iPhone 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Design & Build | ||
| Water resistance | IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) | IP68 (up to 6 meters for 30 minutes, IEC 60529) |
| Colors | Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue | Black, White, Mist Blue, Sage, Lavender |
| Weight | 165 g | 177 g (6.24 oz) |
| Dimensions | 156.2 x 74.7 x 5.64 mm | 149.6 × 71.5 × 7.95 mm |
| Build materials | Titanium design; Ceramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back | Aluminum frame, Ceramic Shield 2 front, color-infused glass back |
| Display | ||
| Display | 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR all-screen OLED display with ProMotion and Always-On | 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR OLED, ProMotion up to 120Hz, Always-On display |
| Peak brightness (nits) | 3000 | 3000 |
| Refresh rate (Hz) | 120 | 120 |
| Resolution | 2736 x 1260 pixels at 460 ppi | 2622×1206 pixels (460 ppi) |
| HDR support | — | Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG |
| Performance | ||
| Chipset model name | A19 Pro | A19 |
| Chipset | Apple A19 Pro (6-core CPU, 5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, 16-core Neural Engine) | Apple A19 (6-core CPU: 2 performance + 4 efficiency cores) |
| Battery & Charging | ||
| Wired charging | Up to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter or higher | Up to 50% charge in 20 minutes with a 40W+ adapter |
| Video playback | Up to 27 hours (up to 22 hours streamed) | Up to 30 hours video playback |
| Wireless charging | MagSafe up to 20W; Qi2 up to 20W | MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W; Qi2 wireless charging up to 25W |
| Camera | ||
| Video recording | Not disclosed | 4K Dolby Vision at 24/25/30/60 fps; 1080p Dolby Vision at 25/30/60 fps; Cinematic mode up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps; Action mode up to 2.8K Dolby Vision at 60 fps; slo-mo up to 240 fps |
| Connectivity | ||
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 6 | Bluetooth 6 |
| SIM | Dual eSIM (no physical SIM) | Dual eSIM (no physical SIM tray) |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Apple N1 wireless networking chip | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Cellular technology | 5G (sub-6 GHz), Apple C1X cellular modem | 5G (sub-6GHz and mmWave) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE |
| Positioning | Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, NavIC) | Precision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou, and NavIC) |
| USB | USB-C (USB 2, up to 480Mb/s) | USB-C (USB 2, up to 480Mb/s) with DisplayPort support |
| Audio | ||
| Speakers | — | Built-in stereo speakers |
| Software | ||
| Operating system at launch | iOS 26 | iOS 27 |
| Security & Sensors | ||
| Biometric authentication | Face ID | Face ID (TrueDepth, Center Stage front camera) |
Sources & verification
iPhone Air
Verified 2026-10-31- AppleManufacturer specificationsTier 1
- AppleManufacturer newsroomTier 1
- Photo: Ahmad Ali Karim, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)Independent technical sourceTier 2
iPhone 17
Verified 2026-09-29- Apple Inc.Manufacturer specificationsTier 1
- Apple Inc.Manufacturer newsroomTier 1
Tier 1 sources are the manufacturer's own product pages, technical specification sheets, or support documentation. Tier 2 sources are reputable independent technical references, used only for facts that couldn't be confirmed from official documentation, as is the case for some facts here.