2025 is the year when the "slim phone" trend took off. What started with Samsung ended with a bang with the iPhone Air. Now, while both these brands seem uninterested in following their slim devices with a sequel, it looks like Xiaomi is ready to step in.
Xiaomi 17 Air is reportedly in the works
As per tipster Smart Pikachu's new Weibo post, Xiaomi is developing its own version of a slim smartphone dubbed as the Xiaomi 17 Air. The smartphone is reportedly equipped with a 6.6-inch 1.5K display and a massive 200 MP main camera.
Moreover, the 17 Air is said to be e-SIM only. This makes sense since the most obvious trade-off with thin phones is the physical SIM tray, which is crucial to save on limited internal space. Other than that, the leaker has not made any comment regarding the other peripherals of the smartphone.
However, if we take a separate post made by tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) into consideration, we expect the Xiaomi 17 Air to be close to 6mm in thickness. This will bring the phone at par with the likes of the Galaxy S25 Edge, the iPhone Air and the Tecno Pova Slim, all of which revolve around the 5mm to 6mm mark.
So, at a time when both the Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge and the next iPhone Air variant stand very likely cancelled, brands like Xiaomi are taking the charge to keep the slim phone trend well and alive in 2026. And this could be a good thing as well.
The primary reason why Samsung and Apple had to rethink their slim phone strategy is due to the reduced battery capacity in these phones. Now, that is not the case with Chinese OEMs. They have been the first to adopt and widely offer silicon-carbon battery technology within their smartphones.
So, a 6mm 17 Air from Xiaomi could very well pack above 6,000mAh capacity. For context, Xiaomi has managed to pack a 7,500mAh battery inside the 8mm thick Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. Hence, the prospect of a large battery capacity inside the Xiaomi 17 Air is not too unlikely.
That said, not much about the upcoming smartphone is known at the time of writing. It is still in its early leak days. We will make sure to update on any substantial detail as and when they appear.
