Sources within the supply chain have confirmed that the iPhone 17 Air has advanced to a new phase in Foxconn's New Product Introduction (NPI) process.

The term NPI stands for "New Product Introduction," which refers to the process of bringing a new product from design through production verification to high-quality mass production. The NPI process typically encompasses four key stages:

• Proto (Prototype): Initially, 3-5 product prototypes are created to present to customers, ensuring the appearance and feasibility meet expectations.
• EVT (Engineering Verification): This stage involves validating the product design's integrity and addressing any functional defects.
• DVT (Design Verification): A comprehensive testing phase that includes functionality, performance, and reliability tests to finalize the product design.
• PVT (Production Verification): Small batch verification before full production to ensure that the manufacturing process is efficient and the quality systems are error-free.

These stages streamline the route to market, allowing new products to meet customer requirements quickly and accurately.

Reports indicate that the iPhone 17 Air will be Apple's slimmest phone to date, measuring approximately 2mm thinner than the iPhone 16 Pro, which has a thickness of 8.25mm. Thus, the iPhone 17 Air measures 6.25mm in thickness.

Additionally, the iPhone 17 Air is anticipated to sit between the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max in terms of size, with an expected display size of 6.5 to 6.6 inches. It will also feature a 48-megapixel bump camera centered on the device.

Further enhancements include Apple's proprietary 5G baseband, designed to be smaller than Qualcomm's counterpart. This smaller, more integrated chip is intended to conserve internal space, allowing for a larger battery.

The internal reports highlight that Apple's 5G baseband, codenamed "Sinope," supports quad-carrier aggregation but does not offer millimeter wave (mmWave) technology.