The chances of Apple releasing a 'thinpossible' iPhone 17 in 2025 just took a blow

Apple has apparently changed its plans for the iPhone 17 that'll be out next year, and the chances of a slimmer model may just have got, well, slimmer, with this move.

Of course, this is from the rumor mill - so stay skeptical - though the source is one of the better fonts of pre-release knowledge regarding Apple devices, namely analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo tells us that Apple won't use resin-coated copper (RCC) for the boards in the iPhone 17, as was previously the idea, as it doesn't meet the company's quality standards.

That doesn't rule out the use of RCC in a future iPhone post-2025, of course, but it certainly doesn't rule it in, either.

Using RCC for the logic board would allow Apple to make it thinner, and that could be a key space-saving tactic for the iPhone. With more space inside the chassis, Apple could fit in bigger internal components (a beefier battery for example), or alternatively, trim the size of the iPhone down to make it even more svelte and premium-looking.

Everything's thinner these days

Given that Apple is rumored to want to make all of its devices thinner - following the release of the so-called 'thinpossible' iPad earlier this year - the smart money is seemingly on Tim Cook's firm looking to use RCC to trim down the smartphone. If the tech ever comes into play at all, that is - because this latest development looks like a distinct setback.

Assuming the rumor is true in the first place - as the more skeptical might point out, we don't even know if the original assertion was on the money, and it being 'canceled' could merely be a convenient way of putting a past theory that has proved to have gone awry to bed.

Still, as mentioned Kuo is definitely one of the more trustworthy Apple sources (along with the likes of Gurman), so we'd advise giving the benefit of the doubt in this case. We may well yet see this concept pop up in the iPhone 18, or a model beyond.

Apple has plans to slim down all of its hardware as mentioned, and that extends from the iPad and iPhone to its laptops. According to recent chatter from Gurman, the MacBook Pro is going to be made trimmer by Apple, though that isn't likely to happen this year.

Rumors are quiet on the MacBook Pro 2024 front, and the only major change likely this time around is the obvious move, namely introducing the M4 processor.