iPhone 17 Air Battery Leak Gives the Galaxy S25 Edge… Well, the Edge

This year is shaping up to be all about sleek, thin flagship phones. Apple is reportedly replacing the Plus model in the iPhone 17 lineup, which debuts at its annual fall event. Instead of a Plus, the new lineup will include an iPhone 17 Air. Once it’s out, we’ll finally see how it stacks up against Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge. In the meantime, there’s some early info about the iPhone 17 Air, and not all of it is encouraging.

iPhone 17 Air battery capacity may have just leaked, and you won’t like it!

Battery life has already proven to be a weak spot for thinner phones. The Galaxy S25 Edge, for example, comes with a 3,900mAh battery. In our testing, even with light use, it needed to be charged twice a day just to make it through the night.

A new rumor from Instant Digital (via MacRumors) suggests the iPhone 17 Air could have an even smaller battery, possibly under 3,000mAh, with estimates around 2,800mAh. That’s a big drop compared to the S25 Edge, which already struggles with all-day endurance.

Apple is reportedly planning to offset iPhone 17 Air’s smaller battery with software. iOS 26 is said to introduce an AI-powered Adaptive Power Mode designed to extend battery life. That might help, but whether it can truly make up for the limited capacity is unclear.

The rest of the iPhone 17 lineup is expected to feature larger batteries. The base model may keep the same 3,561mAh capacity as the iPhone 16. The 17 Pro could see a bump to around 3,700mAh, and the Pro Max might cross the 5,000mAh mark, offering longer use between charges.

It will be interesting to see how the competition plays out and who ends up with the edge. Rumors also suggest the iPhone 17 Air could be just 5.5mm thick. That would be impressive, but hopefully not at the cost of practicality.