Tag: Apple

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iPhone Fold might look like this quirky new foldable you probably can’t buy

The first foldable iPhone is coming next year, barring some sort of really unfortunate event. After years of covering countless iPhone rumors, I’m comfortable saying that. We’ve reached a point in the rumor phase that precedes the launch of a big iPhone release where we see an increasing number of leaks from sources all saying the same thing.

Apple is preparing to launch the first foldable iPhone next year. The company has reportedly settled on the Fold-type design we’ve already seen from Samsung, Honor, Google, Oppo (OnePlus), and others. Rumors also say that Apple will deliver an almost crease-less foldable display, a design detail that’s been a priority for the iPhone maker.

Reports have also mentioned the purported screen sizes for the foldable iPhone, saying the handset will feature a 7.75-inch foldable screen and a 5.49-inch external screen. You don’t need schematics or dummy units to realize those measurements make no sense at first glance. They make no sense if you think Apple’s iPhone Fold will look like the Galaxy Z Fold.

That’s what I thought, and I employed ChatGPT to give me the dimensions of an iPhone foldable featuring those two screen sizes. The conclusion was obvious: Apple would work with a different aspect ratio. The iPhone Fold would not be as tall as the Galaxy Z Fold. When open, it would look more like a tablet than a Fold-type device.

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Reports that followed also said the iPhone Fold will have a different aspect ratio.

Fast-forward to mid-March, and we have a brand new foldable phone launch on our hands. It’s a phone you’ll probably not be able to buy, and you might not even want to get it if it were launched in the States. It’s the Huawei Pura X in the image above. But what’s amazing about this foldable is that it gives us a visual idea of what the foldable iPhone will look like.

The Pura X, launched in China on Thursday, is priced at 7,499 yuan ($1,037). It’s a flagship device running Huawei’s proprietary HarmonyOS 5.

Huawei Pura X: Cover screen and back panel.Huawei Pura X: Cover screen and back panel. Image source: Huawei

Huawei developed this operating system after Trump banned the Chinese company from working with US tech companies during his first term. This forced Huawei to abandon Google’s Android and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips, significantly impacting its ability to compete.

The difference between the early versions of Harmony and HarmonyOS 5 is that the latter is Huawei’s brand-new OS that has no trace of Android. That might be a huge dealbreaker for anyone looking to buy the Pura X, even if the foldable was available in the US and other Western markets.

What’s really exciting about the Pura X is the design, which I immediately associated with the foldable iPhone rumors.

Huawei Pura X: Foldable screen looks like a small tablet.Huawei Pura X: Foldable screen looks like a small tablet. Image source: Huawei

Folded, the Pura X features a 3.5-inch cover screen with a triple-camera sensor placed at the top. This screen design suggests we’re looking at a Galaxy Z Flip-style clamshell, but that’s not really so.

Unfold the Pura X, and you get a massive 6.3-inch screen with an unusual 16:10 aspect ratio. The phone has small, symmetrical bezels and a hole-punch camera at the top. You can hold it in portrait mode like a regular candybar (or Flip clamshell) phone.

But that aspect ratio turns the Pura X into a much better tablet than the Galaxy Z Fold 6. The tablet experience makes me think of the iPad mini 6 or 7.

The two iPad mini variants feature the same design. I’ve long fantasized that a foldable iPhone would unfold to look like an iPad mini. The Pura X, combined with the foldable iPhone screen leaks from a few weeks ago, further reinforces my thinking.

The Pura X tablet experience.The Pura X tablet experience. Image source: Huawei

That said, the Pura X is smaller than the iPhone Fold-type phone, considering those rumors. The Pura X is 91.7mm tall when folded. That height becomes the width of the handset when you unfold it.

My ChatGPT calculations told me the foldable iPhone will have a height of 120.4mm to accommodate the 5.49-inch cover and 7.75-inch foldable displays. Both those screens are larger than the Pura X handset.

I’ll also point out that the Pura X design potentially solves one of my big issues with the foldable iPhone. The main camera module’s cover display placement could help Apple make Face ID possible. Some rumors say that Apple will bring back Touch ID for the handset, as Face ID components might not fit in an ultra-thin foldable iPhone.

The Pura X doesn’t seem to have 3D facial recognition support. It does feature a fingerprint sensor on the side button.

Separately, the thickness is another quirk about Huawei’s strange foldable. The phone measures 7.15mm when unfolded or 15.1mm when folded. That’s much thicker than even Samsung’s foldables. The foldable iPhone should be much thinner than that, according to reports.

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AirPods Pro 3 may be the world’s best earbuds with these 8 rumored features

Apple is expected to release AirPods Pro 3 in late 2025. Three years after the first iteration of AirPods Pro 2 with Lightning port was released, Cupertino is expected to significantly improve its best earbuds. Despite the fact that last year’s AirPods Max update was so disappointing, we expect Apple’s next-gen AirPods Pro to be a much bigger update thanks to several new features and upgrades.

This article covers eight rumored features that should make AirPods Pro 3 an instant hit and potentially the best earbuds on the planet.

Much better ANC: Apple already offers incredible ANC. With its advanced algorithms, the company also offers best-in-class Transparency and Adaptive modes. For the third generation of AirPods Pro, Apple is expected to greatly improve the ANC, and it could build up on the technology available for AirPods 4, which offers ANC even without ear tips.

Improved hearing aid capabilities: AirPods Pro 2 are the first earbuds to offer hearing aid capabilities. It’s only natural to assume that Apple will continue to enhance this feature with upcoming versions of its pro earbuds. In addition, there’s another reason why hearing aid capabilities will be better with this next generation.

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H3 chip: Apple does a great job with its audio chips. All the way from the W1 chip and its magical features, the company has walked a long path to bring the H2 processor. To this day, Apple keeps adding more features to AirPods Pro 2. It’s only natural to assume that Cupertino will continue to improve the audio quality and the connectivity between AirPods and iPhone while delivering new features, such as better ANC, improved hearing aid capabilities, and so on.

Heart rate measurement: According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, one of AirPods Pro 3 top features could be heart rate measurement. At the time, the journalist said Apple Watch measurements were more accurate than the prototype AirPods, but not much. This could be perfect for those who don’t like wearing smartwatches all the time. With the Powerbeats Pro 2, we know this feature works without an Apple Watch on, and it’s only active while the user is exercising.

Body temperature: Finally, Apple has also been working on a body temperature sensor for future AirPods. The company may add a camera to help measure the body’s temperature, which could be more accurate than the sensor available with the Apple Watch.

Other tidbits for the upcoming AirPods Pro 3 might include improved battery life, a thinner case (if we consider AirPods 4), more robust water and dust resistance, and so on.

Wrap up

These are the features you should look forward to the most in the upcoming AirPods Pro 3. BGR will let you know once we learn more about this device.

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Samsung to launch Galaxy Buds with bone conduction this summer

Last summer, Samsung launched new Galaxy Buds models with a brand new design (above), which turned out to be the least controversial aspect. The new earphones look a lot like Apple’s AirPods, featuring a stem for the first time. Samsung stayed away from adopting AirPods-like designs for years before deciding this was going to be the new look of the earphones.

I didn’t think copying Apple was such a big deal. I was more worried about the quality issues the first batch of Galaxy Buds models displayed. 

According to a report from Korea, Samsung will release new earphones this summer. The company is about to launch open-ear buds in a form factor it has never made before, beaming sound through the bone. This is in addition to updating the regular Galaxy Buds line with a new Galaxy Buds FE 2 model.

I ran my third marathon recently, wearing second-gen AirPods, the same wireless earphones I wore before.

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But just before the race, I had a chance to test and buy the new Shokz OpenFit 2 open-ear earphones. The sound quality blew me away, but I didn’t buy them on the spot, thinking I’d find them later.

It turns out I can’t find them that easily. These are the latest earphones from Shokz launched at CES 2025. While they don’t rock the company’s bone-conduction tech, it’s still a new sound technology for this type of product. Essentially, your ears are open as sound is beamed through the air.

But I stopped at the Shokz booth before the race in the first place because I associate the company with bone-conduction earphones. I’ve considered buying a pair of Shokz more than once, but I kept finding excuses not to.

What I’m getting at is that I’m a runner who doesn’t want Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). I want to be aware of my surroundings, and bone-conduction earphones or open-ear models might be the way to go. Also, I’m looking forward to chatting to AI via voice more in the future, and I’ll need comfortable earphoens for that. Traditional AirPods might not cut it. 

All that is to say is that I’m not surprised to hear that Samsung is considering a new design for its Galaxy Buds line of earphones. Seoul Economic Daily says Samsung plans to unveil the product in July, likely during the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 launch event.

Codenamed “Able,” the product aims to cater to the needs of people who are into cycling or running, as bone-conduction sound tech allows them to hear their surroundings.

Also, this Galaxy Buds design might appeal to people who find regular AirPods-like earphone designs uncomfortable, and those who worry about hearing loss issues that might follow prolonged exposure to traditional earphones.

Samsung isn’t the only company exploring such designs; Sony and Huawei have also made similar devices. And, again, Shokz is well-known for its bone-conduction earphones.

It’s unclear how much the new Galaxy earbuds will cost or what they will look like. But Samsung reportedly plans to manufacture some 1.7 million units this year, which will account for 15% of the total number of Galaxy earphone shipments this year.

As for the actual design of the Able product, it hasn’t leaked. But since Galaxy products tend to leak before their official launch, expect to see this new Buds design in unofficial photos before the Unpacked event in July.

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iOS 19 will bring live translation to your AirPods

Apple will supposedly give iOS 19 a big design overhaul this year, making the iPhone operating system look more like the visionOS than previous iOS releases.

A major design makeover might just be what Apple needs in light of its recent Apple Intelligence fiasco. The smart Siri assistant Apple promised last summer isn’t coming for at least a year. The best way to make iOS exciting is to give it a new coat of paint. At least that’s something ost iPhone users will care more about than AI features.

But Apple is also readying new features to go along with the redesign, and one interesting AirPods functionality has leaked. Apple plans to bring live translation support to AirPods via the iOS 19 upgrade, and the good news about it is that the feature should work with your existing AirPods.

Also, since I mentioned Apple Intelligence before, live translation is easily something Apple could sell under the iPhone’s AI umbrella of features. It wouldn’t be the only one.

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Live Translate is one of the first Galaxy AI features that Samsung announced in late 2023. We learned that flagship phones would translate call conversations in real time, on-device, before we saw all the other tricks in the Galaxy AI suite of apps and features.

Samsung updated Live Translate before last summer’s Unpacked event to work on Galaxy phones with foldable displays. Regardless of phone form factor, you do not necessarily need earphones for Live Translate to work.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple included live translation in Apple Intelligence because translating live speech as it happens is actually a process that involves AI. Algorithms understand speech, convert it into text, and then translate and turn it back into voice.

We’ll have to wait for Apple to explain how live translation works in iOS 19, but Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has an example:

The capability will work like this: If an English speaker is hearing someone talk in Spanish, the iPhone will translate the speech and relay it to the user’s AirPods in English. The English speaker’s words, meanwhile, will be translated into Spanish and played back by the iPhone.

That’s a clever use of hardware for both parties in the conversation to be able to chat by voice in real time.

Given that the iPhone will do the actual translation, the feature should work with any existing AirPods model. It should also work with other wireless earphones, assuming Apple wants to expand support to AirPods rivals. But I think Apple would rather keep the feature as an AirPods-only functionality that helps the company further differentiate its earphones from competitors.

The report also notes that Apple is working on new AirPods hardware, including AirPods Pro 3 and a model with built-in cameras for Apple Intelligence.

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RCS on iPhone will finally get end-to-end encryption

Apple brought RCS support to the iPhone’s Messages app with the iOS 18 update last September, effectively putting an end to the bubble wars. The green bubbles did not disappear from the iPhone all of a sudden, but iPhone and Android users could message each other using a much richer standard than SMS. The green bubble remained in place so that users could tell them apart from iMessage messages (the blue bubbles).

As I said more than once, I wasn’t necessarily a fan of getting RCS support on my iPhone and that it wouldn’t change my texting habits. Half a year later, this still holds true. I don’t really use RCS to talk to any of my friends and family who are Android users. WhatsApp is the chat app that bridges the two operating systems. WhatsApp is also the favorite chat app for some iPhone users in my group.

I want to use chat apps that offer end-to-end encryption, and both iMessage and WhatsApp satisfy that need. Strong encryption is key for strong security and privacy, and RCS didn’t support that on the iPhone. 

Why do we need strong encryption? Because hackers are always working to intercept your data. Just remember last fall’s China hack of major US telecoms, when law enforcement officials advised everyone to rely on encrypted chat and voice apps while they dealt with the threat. RCS on iPhone did not qualify as a secure chat app at the time.

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Fast-forward to Friday, and Apple announced that end-to-end encryption is coming to RCS on the iPhone. That’s terrific news. We knew encryption was in the works, and I’m not surprised to see it happen.

The GSMA published a blog post to announce the new features coming to RCS. The iPhone is getting end-to-end encryption RCS messages via the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol:

Most notably, the new specifications define how to apply MLS within the context of RCS. These procedures ensure that messages and other content such as files remain confidential and secure as they travel between clients. That means that RCS will be the first large-scale messaging service to support interoperable E2EE between client implementations from different providers. Together with other unique security features, such as SIM-based authentication, E2EE will provide RCS users with the highest level of privacy and security for stronger protection from scams, fraud, and other security and privacy threats.

The GSMA also announced a new RCS Universal Profile 3.0 that brings other new features. Users will be able to talk to businesses over RCS “through a richer deep link format and includes additional smaller enhancements such as improved codecs for audio messaging and easier management of subscriptions with business messaging senders.”

That said, strong encryption isn’t available right away on iPhones. Apple still has to implement the new profile, and that will happen in the future via software updates. Apple confirmed it all to 9to5Mac:

End-to-end encryption is a powerful privacy and security technology that iMessage has supported since the beginning, and now we are pleased to have helped lead a cross industry effort to bring end-to-end encryption to the RCS Universal Profile published by the GSMA. We will add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS in future software updates.

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iPhone 16e reportedly has a Bluetooth audio problem that can’t be fixed

New iPhone hardware might launch with functionality issues that need to be ironed out via subsequent software updates, assuming software can provide fixes. The same goes for Android products. Hearing that the iPhone 16e has a Bluetooth issue where the audio cuts out briefly while music is playing should not be that surprising. However, the iPhone 16e isn’t exactly a new iPhone, is it? It has the same design as every other iPhone with a notch that has been released since the iPhone 12.

Apple also recycled many of the internal components to make this device. Even the iPhone 16’s A18 chip and the 8GB of RAM inside the iPhone 16e aren’t new-new. Therefore, other internal components, including the Bluetooth chip, shouldn’t be brand new.

The only completely new iPhone 16e components might be the new battery, which gives the handset the best battery life in 6.1-inch iPhones, and the C1 modem.

With all that in mind, one shouldn’t expect Bluetooth audio connectivity issues with the iPhone 16e. But it turns out that several iPhone 16e owners have encountered Bluetooth disconnects, and Apple doesn’t know how to fix them for the time being. It doesn’t seem like a hardware issue, so exchanging your iPhone 16e for a new one might not fix it.

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Some iPhone 16e owners suspect the device has issues handling multiple Bluetooth connections, like an Apple Watch and AirPods. That’s actually a nightmare scenario for this longtime iPhone user. I run a lot, and I wear the Apple Watch to track my workouts while AirPods handle the entertainment.

As is often the case with issues concerning new devices, affected users took to social media and forums to complain. A discussion on Apple forums is particularly interesting, as an iPhone 16e owner details their issues with the Bluetooth audio and their experience with Apple support.

After talking to UK/Europe support, the user was escalated to Apple’s US support, and they had him perform a diagnostic test on the iPhone 16e to figure out why the Bluetooth audio stops:

Then they had me install a profile on my iPhone which logged the Bluetooth and Wifi signals / exchanges in a diagnostic report, which ran for about 20 minutes, whilst I reproduced the issue and noted down the time (to the second) of whenever the audio stutters. This was done with data over Wifi, and data over 5G. Then they phoned me up again, the logs were packaged up, and sent through. All they could do was tell me the data and timestamps etc. were going to be looked at by engineering and they would contact me back if they wanted me to run more test…

The same person said the update to iOS 18.3.2, which dropped earlier this week, did not fix the problem.

A different person found that using an Oura ring might impact the Bluetooth audio on the iPhone 16e. Closing the app completely seems to fix the problem:

Yes, I have the same problem, too. I found a couple of reddit threads with people experiencing the same issue. In my case it appears that the stuttering is related to having another Bluetooth connection (an Oura smart ring). If I close the Oura app, so it’s not running in the background, the audio appears to work OK, but it’s early days and I’m still investigating. Do you have multiple Bluetooth connections other than the headphones? I hope it’s not a hardware issue with the phone.

Over on Reddit, a Fitbit user said that closing the Fitbit app didn’t work, but they removed the wearable from the iPhone 16e, and the Bluetooth audio was fixed.

Obviously, these aren’t acceptable fixes. Again, Apple is selling us devices that are connected via Bluetooth to the iPhone, whether it’s Apple Watch models, AirPods, or Beats earphones. Apple wants iPhone users to buy both the Apple Watch and AirPods, so both should stay connected to the iPhone at the same time.

Even if you use non-Apple wearables and wireless earphones, you should be able to mix and match products without experiencing Bluetooth audio issues.

It’s unclear how widespread the iPhone 16e Bluetooth audio problem is, but Apple is certainly aware of it. Hopefully, a permanent fix will be available soon.

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iPhone 17 Ultra may replace Apple’s Pro Max with 3 exclusive features

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumors like this, but Apple is said to want the iPhone 17 lineup to be unlike any other smartphone lineup Apple has unveiled in one key way. On Naver, well-known leaker yeux1122 shared a few tidbits about the end of the iPhone Pro Max, as Apple supposedly wants to rebrand its most expensive phone as the iPhone 17 Ultra.

Rumors of an iPhone Ultra rebrand aren’t new. We’ve heard Apple could be readying this device for a long time. While creating a top tier above the iPhone Pro Max didn’t make sense, rebranding this device as an iPhone Ultra could be the obvious solution.

Yeux1122 believes Apple wants to give the iPhone 17 series a new look, which is why it might offer a regular model, an Air version, a regular Pro, and an Ultra device. According to the leaker, the iPhone 17 Ultra is expected to have three previously-rumored exclusive features to help set it apart:

Smaller Dynamic Island: Rumors about this change are contradictory. However, based on information from Weibo, Taiwanese, and US investment reports, Apple could add a much narrower Dynamic Island to this device. They say, “Component supply orders suggest that there aren’t enough parts to extend this feature to the Pro model.”

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Vapor chamber cooling: After three different reports about vapor chamber cooling, the leaker believes it will be exclusive to the Ultra model. This unique cooling system would make the iPhone 17 Ultra more power-efficient and perfect for playing demanding games without overheating the phone. They say this feature has been confirmed through supply chain sources.

Larger battery: Lastly, a recent rumor suggested Apple could make the iPhone 17 Pro Max thicker to add a larger battery. The leaker believes the larger battery will be available for the iPhone 17 Ultra.

yeux1122 also says that the company is at a “turning point where it aims to refresh the iPhone lineup” alongside a major iOS 19 revamp. They also believe Apple might be willing to change some of the names of the iPhone 17 series and highlight the new iPhone 16e to reiterate the new Air and Ultra names.

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Apple’s top Siri exec calls AI crisis ‘ugly’ and ’embarrassing’

A week after Apple admitted that its revamped Siri with onscreen awareness and context understanding would be delayed with a release in the “coming year,” Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reports that Apple’s senior director at Siri’s division, Robby Walker, had an all-hands meeting with his team, and said that delaying these key features has been “ugly” and “embarrassing.”

More interestingly, the report reveals that the company had nothing more than a video mock-up of these features, as it had “a barely working prototype” during the WWDC 2024 keynote. With that, the top Apple executive said in the meeting that it’s “unclear when the enhancement will actually launch.”

Gurman reports: “During the all-hands gathering, Walker suggested that employees on his team may be feeling angry, disappointed, burned out, and embarrassed after the features were postponed. The company had been racing to get the technology ready for this spring, but now the features aren’t expected until next year at the earliest, people familiar with the matter have said.”

What makes this crisis worse is that Apple heavily promoted features that were nowhere near launching, including an iPhone 16 ad highlighting the onscreen awareness of Siri, which has now been made private on YouTube.

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Even though Gurman says Apple’s executives took “intense personal accountability” for this PR crisis, Apple doesn’t plan to “immediately fire any top executives,” although this could change at any time.

Still, the journalist reveals the situation isn’t as bad as it could be. The onscreen awareness of Siri would work two-thirds to 80% of the time. Still, the executives understood the percentage needed to be higher to actually be helpful to customers, so Apple decided to delay these features.

During the meeting, Walker showed staff a few ways the new Siri already works, such as locating his driver’s license number, finding specific photos of a child, and even manipulating apps precisely via voice control.

Still, this isn’t the only feature Apple is developing to overcome this AI crisis. The company wants to make Siri more conversational by 2027, even though it will require new infrastructure.

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Gemini AI is replacing Google Assistant on most mobile devices in 2025

Nearly a decade after Google Assistant arrived, the software is being sunset as Gemini AI takes its place. On Friday, Google announced that before the end of 2025, Gemini will replace Google Assistant on most mobile devices. According to 9to5Google, the only exceptions will be devices running Android 9 or earlier with less than 2GB of RAM.

Google claims that millions of people have already made the switch and use Gemini instead of Google Assistant. Now, Google’s bringing everyone else up to speed, whether they like it or not. The company explained that most users will automatically be upgraded to Gemini in the coming months, and by the end of 2025, “Google Assistant will no longer be accessible on most mobile devices or available for new downloads on mobile app stores.”

It won’t just be your phone, either. Gemini is coming to tablets, cars, watches, and headphones. There is also a Gemini-powered experience in the works for home devices like speakers, smart displays, and TVs. Basically, if it connects to the internet, it’s getting Gemini.

As the widespread switch from Google Assistant to Gemini begins, Google says it is “continuing to focus on improving the quality of the day-to-day Gemini experience, especially for those who have come to rely on Google Assistant.”

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Google linked to a blog post comparing the two for those curious about how they differ and the features they share. Gemini can now do almost everything Google Assistant can, from providing weather forecasts and creating calendar events to searching for flights and sending messages. The biggest difference is that Gemini is powered by AI.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Apple, which delayed its AI-powered Siri reboot in a failure that the company is referring to as “ugly and embarrassing” internally. While other phone makers are moving full speed ahead with AI, Apple is stuck in neutral.

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Ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air may launch alongside Apple’s thickest-ever Pro Max model

While rumors suggest Apple might introduce its thinnest iPhone to date, the new iPhone 17 Air, later this year, the company might also be readying for the same launch its thickest Pro Max model ever made.

According to Chinese leaker Ice Universe (via MacRumors), Apple plans to increase the thickness of the iPhone from 8.25mm to 8.725mm in the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro Max. The leaker believes this depth increase “surely means a larger battery,” as the rest of the iPhone will remain unchanged.

Ice Universe corroborates previous rumors that Apple will stick with the 6.9-inch display on that model. That said, iPhone Pro Max users have always asked for more battery, even though it’s the most power-efficient iPhone Apple sells. With that in mind, a little more space might be responsible for a lot more battery life.

Besides rumors about the iPhone 17 Air’s battery life, this is the first time we hear about Apple’s plans to improve the battery capacity of the iPhone 17 Pro Max. In addition to that, there’s an ongoing rumor that the entire iPhone 17 lineup will feature the same battery glue tech that Apple used for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.

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Other reports reveal that Apple has an ambitious plan to redesign most of the iPhone 17 lineup with a new camera bars design. After years of the same “cooktop” look, the company plans to radically change the back of the phone while also returning to the aluminum and glass finish in the Pro lineup.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is expected to feature the A19 Pro chip, a triple 48MP camera lens, an upgraded front-facing selfie, and now this battery capacity increase.

So far, the reports don’t believe Apple will use the C1 chip on the newer iPhone 17 Pro, but a successor modem might be present in the 2026 lineup.

Below, you can read a full guide on the iPhone 17 expected devices.

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