The incredible iPhone that shrinks and stretches

We’ve already heard rumors about an iPhone Slim model taking the place of the iPhone Plus in 2025, making it the iPhone 17 Slim. Now, a new report from Apple supply chain expert Ming-Chi Kuo corroborates previous claims suggesting that the company’s incredible shape-shifting non-Pro iPhone is about to evolve once again.

Kuo agrees that it will come with a 6.6-inch display and adds that it will only have a rear camera along with the company’s in-house 5G chip. Kuo adds that the slim model won’t be a direct replacement for the Plus; rather, it represents “new design trends beyond the existing iPhone lineup.” This follows rumors that Could cost more than the $1,200 Pro Max.

Apple spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the second non-Pro iPhone in its lineup should look like. First, it was the Mini. That didn’t sell very well, so it became Plus.

The answer now appears to be to simply eliminate it altogether. According to Kuo, the Plus “represents just 5 to 10 percent of new iPhone shipments,” and Apple considered it redundant to the other high-end models it sells. So starting next year (potentially) the Plus will be released and the Slim will join.

It all feels like a “Is this a thing?” that lasted for years? exercise. iPhone owners are holding onto older phones longer than ever before, and Apple really wants us to upgrade our iPhones more often, so it keeps spinning the big Price is Right wheel to see what combination of size and features will kick off the powerful refresh cycle at high speed again. It wasn’t a small phone and it wasn’t a big phone.

Personally, I’m all for a thin iPhone. I’m excited to put it in my back pocket, forget about it, and snap it in half. Or maybe I’ll wield it like a Swiss Army knife the next time I’m at a birthday party and we’re looking for a knife to cut the cake. Maybe I can get two thin iPhones, attach them to the long edges like a book, and make the world’s first foldable iPhone. I’m just saying that we shouldn’t limit our imagination here.

More realistically, the iPhone Slim would just be the latest manifestation of Apple’s fixation with thin devices. That’s great! But I just hope this is a stepping stone to a real Foldable iPhone, which is coincidentally also back in the rumor mill. A foldable clamshell phone like the Motorola Razr or Samsung Galaxy Z Flip would bring significant benefits compared to a regular old iPhone. And if Apple expects me to upgrade my beloved tiny iPhone 13 Mini for less, I better think differently.