The iPhone 16 is expected to launch sometime in the fall of 2024. However, there’s a report that claims that Apple is already working on the 2025 edition of its best-selling iOS smartphone and that it could be a major redesign.
Bloomberg’s well-known Apple leaker Mark Gurman posted his weekly Power On newsletter today, and he reports via unnamed sources, that the folks in Cupertino are working on what he calls “a significantly skinnier phone”. He adds that the new design could be ready in time for the launch of the iPhone 17 in the fall of 2025.
This change in design comes after Apple launched the newest version of the iPad Pro in May. The new design for the higher-end tablet came with an advanced OLED display and the first appearance of the company’s new and powerful M4 processor. All of that advanced technology was put inside a very thin 5.1mm aluminum chassis.
Gurman says Apple sees the new iPad Pro as the first of a series of much thinner devices from the company. In addition to the 2025 iPhone 17, he says we could see future versions of its MacBook Pro and Apple Watch with much thinner and lighter designs, although he did not say if they would be ready in 2025 as well.
The “thin and light” category has been a popular one for both Windows and Mac notebooks over the years, but making other devices like smartphones or smartwatches thinner and lighter has not been as big of a priority for mobile device companies. They have preferred to concentrate on making displays bigger or, in the case of smartphones, improving their cameras.
If Apple could make the iPhone 17 in 2025 truly thinner and lighter than other smartphones, it could start another major trend in mobile device design.