Apple may be turning its attention back to making its devices thinner, as reported by Mark Gurman in his PowerOn newsletter. Gurman hints that the upcoming iPhone 17 series, along with new MacBook and Apple Watch models, could all feature notable reductions in thickness.
This speculation follows the recent release of Apple’s iPad Pro, which emphasized a slimmer design without sacrificing much in terms of performance or battery life—a balance likely achieved through the use of Apple’s own M-series chips that power both the iPad and MacBook lines.
iPad Pro 2024
However, specifics about just how thin these new devices will be or the potential challenges they might face were not detailed in Gurman’s report. Achieving a thinner design often necessitates making hardware compromises or integrating new, innovative technologies to balance out the trade-offs.
Considering the compact form factor of phones, which require larger batteries and advanced camera sensors, achieving a thinner design without affecting the user experience would be a notable achievement for Apple.
Past Challenges and Future Prospects
For some context, previous MacBooks with slimmer designs, while visually appealing, encountered issues such as thermal throttling, keyboard malfunctions, and limited CPU/GPU options. Although many of these problems have been mitigated by Apple Silicon, a thinner design for iPhones, MacBooks, and Watches could still lead to smaller batteries. While future chip efficiency might offset this to some extent, reduced battery life could be a significant concern for power users.
Future Outlook
Given Gurman’s reliable history with Apple-related news, the focus on thinner devices seems credible. However, with the iPhone 17 and redesigned MacBook/Watch models still more than a year away, it remains to be seen how Apple plans to achieve this without compromising on performance and battery life.
For now, Apple’s attention is on the iPhone 16 series, which is anticipated to launch sometime in September.
