iOS 26 beta 2 seemingly confirms the existence of the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air

Macworld

Until it launches in September, Apple won’t officially acknowledge the existence of its long-rumored iPhone 17 Air, but the second beta of iOS 26 is already giving us some clues. Hidden in the system code, we found references to a new display resolution that doesn’t match any current or previous iPhone model, but it matches the leaked resolution of the rumored ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air.

As seen by Macworld, the second iOS 26 developer beta, which was released on Monday, includes a new version of the iconic clownfish wallpaper with a resolution of “420×912@3x,” or 1260×2736 pixels. There’s no iPhone model with such a resolution, at least not yet.

But here’s where things get more interesting. The new resolution wallpaper we found matches a report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo last year, which claimed that the iPhone 17 Air would have a screen of around 6.6 inches with a resolution of approximately 1260×2740.

In other words, the wallpaper all but confirms the existence of a new iPhone model with that exact display resolution. Given that iOS 26 will almost certainly be released in September along with the new iPhones, it’s clear that Apple is already making the final adjustments for the next-generation iPhone.

Since other iOS 26 wallpapers don’t have that resolution, most likely, the wallpaper was forgotten by Apple within the build released today for developers and shouldn’t be seen by the public.

According to rumors, the iPhone 17 Air will be just 5.5 millimeters thick, making it the thinnest iPhone ever released. It should weigh around 145 grams, much less than current iPhones. We’re hoping to get our first hands-on with the new phone at an event in September 2025, but iOS 26 may have just given us our first concrete clue that the iPhone 17 Air is real and coming soon.