The upcoming iPhone 17 lineup is expected to debut on September 9, and one of the most talked-about models is the iPhone 17 Air – a device set to replace the iPhone 16 Plus after its underwhelming sales. 
While many have speculated about its hardware, a fresh leak from China has shed light on the Air’s chipset choice, and it’s a surprising twist.
According to the rumor, the iPhone 17 Air will indeed feature Apple’s latest A19 Pro processor, a chip usually reserved for the Pro models. However, this won’t be the exact same version found in the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. The Air’s variant will sport a slightly downgraded GPU with five cores instead of six, making it just a hair less powerful in graphics performance. CPU performance is expected to remain identical.
The leak also suggests the iPhone 17 Air’s display won’t match the Pro’s premium panel, and its body thickness will range between 5.65mm and 5.7mm – still impressively slim. This new information contradicts earlier reports from July claiming the Air would use the standard A19 chip like the base iPhone 17.
As always, these details remain unconfirmed until Apple takes the stage, but if true, the iPhone 17 Air could offer near-Pro power in a slimmer, potentially more affordable package – with just a small sacrifice in GPU muscle.