iPhone 17 Air has a major rival already – and it's not the one you're thinking of

We're entering a new era of thin phones, with Samsung stealing the lead with the Galaxy S25 Edge and Apple expected to introduce the iPhone 17 Air next week. But it's not only huge global brands making waves with skinny phones – an unexpected rival was shown off at IFA 2025.

Tecno is something of a disruptor brand. While it's not widely known, it has on a regular basis, come up with devices to rival the moves by the biggest companies in tech. We've previously seen the Phantom Ultimate G Fold Concept and now, there's a super slim phone, too.

The Tecno Slim comes with a really slim profile, using curved edges to make it even skinnier in the hands. There are two versions, a 4G model in the Pova range and a 5G model in Spark range.

The Tecno Spark Slim is 5.95mm thick, but what might surprise you is that it has a 5,160mAh battery and 45W charging.

Reducing the thickness of this phone has come thanks to re-engineering some of the core components, like the battery, speaker and charging port, with a range of customised components.

The rear of the phone is fiberglass, which is stronger than other composites, but thinner. The curved AMOLED screen is topped with Gorilla Glass 7i for protection, while there's an IP64 rating too.

The display is 6.7-inches, with a 144Hz refresh and 1.5k resolution. The curved edges – which used to be common on Samsung devices – are a little retro compared to today's trend for squared edges, but it looks smart enough.

The 4G model (which is 5.93mm thick) is powered by the MediaTek Helio G200, while the 5G model offers more oomph thanks to the Dimensity 6400 platform.

The phone launches on Android 15 with the HiOS interface, and while Tecno is saying that it will be available from September, there's very little confirmation as to where you might be able to buy one, or how much it might cost.

Apple's iPhone 17 Air has been rumoured for some time, with the skinny device expected to offer a single camera experience, but with a premium build and price point. As is always the case with Apple, very little is known about the device, including whether it will actually be announced.

We'll be covering next week's "Awe Dropping" event to find out.