According to a report by Mark Gurman in his PowerOn newsletter, Apple may once again focus on reducing the thickness of its devices. Gurman suggests that the iPhone 17 line, as well as the MacBook and Apple Watch, may undergo a significant reduction in thickness.
This news comes on the heels of the recent release of the Apple iPad Pro, which prioritized a thinner design without sacrificing performance or battery life – a feat likely made possible by Apple’s proprietary M-series chips that power the iPad and MacBook lines.
However, Gurman’s report does not provide specifics on how thin these devices will be or the problems that may arise. Reducing the thickness of a device often means that the manufacturer will have to cut some hardware costs or introduce innovative technologies to compensate.
Given the compact form factor of phones in general, which requires larger batteries and camera sensors, achieving a slimmer design without compromising the user experience would be a major milestone for the brand.
To put this in context, previous MacBooks with thinner designs, while aesthetically pleasing, have faced issues such as thermal throttling, keyboard issues, and limited CPU/GPU capabilities. Although Apple Silicon has solved many of these problems, the thinner design of iPhones, MacBooks, and watches may still lead to reduced battery capacity. Increased efficiency in future chips may mitigate this problem to some extent, but reduced overall battery life may be a major concern for intensive users.
Given Gourmet’s track record, Apple’s focus on thinner devices seems plausible. However, with the iPhone 17 and MacBook/Watch redesign still more than a year away, it remains unclear how Apple plans to make this transition without sacrificing performance and battery life.
What we do know for sure is that Apple is currently focused on the iPhone 16 series, which is expected to debut sometime in September.