iPhone 15 Pro May Pack Slimmer Bezels And Titanium Frame

Aug 16, 2023

Apple, once again, seems ready to refine the looks of its flagship phones. According to Bloomberg, the company is employing a new process called low-injection pressure over-molding (LIPO) that will pave the way for slimmer bezels on the iPhone 15 Pro and its Max variant. This won't be the first time we're hearing about slimmer bezels on the upcoming Pro series. It's worth noting here that Apple has already employed LIPO innovation to achieve slimmer bezels on the Apple Watch Series 7.

Thanks to the upgraded display tech, bezels on the iPhone 15 Pro are said to measure a mere 1.5 mm, down from the 2.22 mm black borders on the current slate of iPhone 14 models. However, it seems this won't be the iPhone's final form. According to South Korea-based The Elec, Apple has already asked its supply chain partners to make test batches of a display that is entirely bezel-less, achieving an edge-to-edge screen on future iPhones.

Once Apple is done implementing slimmer bezels on the iPhone 15 Pro duo, the company reportedly plans to deploy the LIPO tech for large screen panels, as well. The Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources, claims that the iPads will also get slimmer bezels down the road. Apple last refreshed the design of its top-end "Pro" iPads in 2018, so it makes sense to shake things up in the aesthetics department after a cycle that continued for half a decade.

In addition to slimmer bezels, Apple is also said to be pushing the boundaries of material quality on its upcoming flagship smartphones. Instead of the stainless steel that Apple currently uses to make the side rails on the iPhone 14 Pro, the company is reportedly eyeing titanium for the iPhone 15 Pro, which offers multiple benefits over stainless steel: it is lighter but at the same time, it is stronger and more resistant to corrosive forces. Naturally, titanium also costs more, which means there's a good chance that Apple will charge a greater premium for the iPhone 15 Pro line when it arrives later this year.

There's already some precedent for that in Apple's smartwatch line-up. Apple charged a $100 premium for the Titanium trims of the Apple Watch Series 7 compared to the sticker price of variants with a stainless steel case, which in turn is more expensive compared to the aluminum versions. Other rumored changes for the iPhone 15 Pro include improved camera hardware, a next-gen chip based on the 3 nm process, and improved repairability. Apple is reportedly making the iPhone 15 Pro models more comfortable to hold by making the edges a tad rounder compared to the sharp edges on its current iPhone 14 portfolio.