Apple engineers are wrestling with where to put the SIM card, battery, and thermal materials in the rumored iPhone 17 “Slim,” according to The Information. Although US iPhones haven’t had SIM cards for a couple of years now,

The iPhone 17 Slim won't have a SIM card tray because it is too thin to have one, and it probably won't have mmWave either.

There will be no physical SIM card tray on this phone and the fact that iPhone 17 Air is likely going to run only on the eSIM tech.

Next year’s rumored iPhone 17 Slim could miss out on the telephoto camera lens, which could be a tough pill to swallow if it’s as expensive as rumored.

The rumored iPhone 17 Slim won't have a telephoto camera on the back, with a report insisting it will still be a Pro-level feature in 2025.

"The difference between Samsung Galaxy Slim and iPhone Slim models is that Samsung wants to make the camera stronger, stronger than S25, and more similar to the idea of vivo X200 Pro mini, not just thin and light," Ice Universe posted.

Phone 17 Air is expected to be the thinnest iPhone to date, but the ultra-slim design may come at the cost of a significant component: the physical SIM tray.