Updated July 12 with details on the iPhone 17 camera upgrades.
As Apple prepares to catch up with the latest Android smartphones, Tim Cook and his team may look to the fashion world to redefine what a flagship iPhone can offer.
THE last details on Apple’s plans for the Smartphone running iOS The focus is not on traditional camera features or the latest generative AI software, but on the look and feel of the phone. Apple is preparing a slim iPhone to appeal to the fashionistas of the tech world.
Updated: Friday, July 12:The slim design may not be the only game changer for the iPhone 17 family, with a new telephoto camera heading to the higher-end iPhone 17 models. Details come from Ming-Chi Kuo, renowned Apple analystThey report that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will get a new telephoto lens. This one will once again use tetraprism technology, folding the night into the lens to create a longer focal length for greater magnification and improved clarity.
That lens will feature a larger sensor, bringing it to 48 megapixels. Kuo also reports that Apple will equip all three lenses with 48-megapixel sensors. If that’s the case, this year’s iPhone 16 looks more like a traditional mid-cycle “S” upgrade that tweaks the specs to allow Apple’s AI software to run across the entire iPhone 16 platform.
It’s the iPhone 17 family that, right now, seems to be the significant upgrade consumers have been waiting for from Apple.
While it will be some time before the iPhone Pro Slim is revealed by Apple, the design work, preparation, and building concepts from scratch will all take place now ahead of a potential September 2025 launch.
For decades, Apple has been constantly pursuing thinner and smaller designs.the launch of the first MacBook Air is probably the most breathtaking, with Steve Jobs revealing the MacBook Air from an envelope, but this year has seen a resurgence of interest in that aesthetic with the latest iPad Pro equipped with the M4 processor By choosing one of Apple’s most sophisticated chipsets, Apple has shaved 1.3mm off the tablet’s thickness, bringing it down to a tiny 5.1mm.
This iPad Pro also brought a subtle new design language to the product to go along with the slim approach, including an increase in surface area, a change in the selfie camera placement, and dual-stack tandem layer technology for a brighter, more efficient OLED display.
Of course, Apple is going to bring this technology to the iPhone. There are already signs in the supply chain that the stacked OLED display will debut in September, which could lead to the same design changes that will offer more screen real estate than the previous model. Waiting until the thinner technology is available in mass for a 2025 appearance is a natural choice and a feasible timeline.
Apple also likes to define the race used to measure the iPhone’s prowess, and that’s been a problem in recent years. Smartphone camera technology has seen rival Android smartphones push the iPhone further down the top listsOnly the iPhone Pro Max models get the latest hardware. As you get closer to the standard iPhone, camera ratings drop as well. If you want the best image quality, Apple wants you to pay more… but the competition does it better and, in many cases, for less.
Apple is also behind on generative AI. While machine learning AI is present in iOS and Apple’s Axx mobile chipsets, the sudden prominence and capabilities offered by generative AI are making their way to countless Android phones after Google launched the Pixel 8 family in October 2023, which surprised Tim Cook and his team. Apple showed off its awkwardly modest Apple Intelligence suite at this year’s WWDC in June, while confirming that its big move into AI wouldn’t happen until early 2025.
A thinner iPhone would allow Apple to build on one of the iPhone’s core products: the mystique of the brand and the power of fashion. Those who want to be seen as having the latest and greatest will be drawn to a thinner iPhone.
This idea of fashion and design as a key factor can be seen in other manufacturers, such as Honor’s work with Porsche Design for the Magic6 Pro RSR special edition, but no manufacturer will have the mix of demand and desirability that Apple has.
There’s no doubt that Apple will keep the specs of the iPhone Slim as high as possible, just like it did with the new iPhone Pro. If you add up the new design, the high specs, and the appeal of this phone, you’re probably looking at the new flagship iPhone. the current iPhone Pro With prices starting at $999 and the iPhone Pro Max at $1,199, I would expect a Slim iPhone to be even more expensive.
Fashion isn’t cheap.
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