The extremely thin iPad Pro M4 is probably a foretaste of Apple’s plans to build particularly thin hardware again. According to a report, the manufacturer has returned to its original design goal of developing devices that are as thin as possible: A significantly thinner iPhone is already planned for 2025, explained Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is usually well informed about Apple’s plans. At the same time, slimmer MacBook Pros and Apple Watches are also in the works. Ultimately, the company is aiming to build the thinnest and lightest devices in the industry, it is said.
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iPhone 17 also planned in particularly thin
In recent years, Apple has moved away from building increasingly thin hardware – probably not least due to the loss of stability in the iPhone 6 and the ultra-thin “butterfly” keyboard, which caused reliability problems in MacBooks for many years. Both the iPhone and the MacBook Pro tended to become thicker again. The latter also got back a number of useful interfaces that Apple had previously thrown out.
With the iPad Pro M4, Apple seems to have made relatively few compromises in order to build the thinnest iPad to date. If you believe the individual tests on YouTube, at least in terms of stability, no significant compromises are to be expected, and the battery life has also increased, as the Mac & i test showed. So far, observers expect that Apple is planning a thin new flagship model with the “iPhone 17 Slim” or “iPhone 17 Ultra” – which could also be particularly expensive.
Apple Watch 10 reportedly bigger and thinner
According to a report, the next Apple Watch will also be thinner: Apple has changed the shape of the Series 10 expected in the fall According to information from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo designed to be both thinner and larger. The side length of the two model series will grow from the current 41 millimeters and 45 millimeters to 45 millimeters and 49 millimeters. This would bring the Apple Watch 10 into the territory of the Apple Watch Ultra in terms of size – although the case will probably be less bulky.
A further jump in size for the Apple Watch has been expected for some time, and the Ultra will also be even bigger in the long term, it was said last year. According to Kuo, however, that is not happening for the time being: The specifications of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 will be similar to the previous models, and a black titanium case may be added as a variant. The rumor mill had originally expected this for the Ultra when it was built in 2023.
(lbe)