Apple seems obsessed with making devices thinner and thinner. I’m more than thankful that my current laptop, a MacBook Air, is just 1.13cm thick. But do we really need an iPhone that’s less 6mm thick – as the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be when it is announced later this year?
One of my first laptops was the Toshiba T1910CS. Act the time, it was a wonderful machine but at almost four times the thickness and 2.5 times the weight of my MacBook Air, it was a hefty beast. And that was typical of laptops at the time. Most shipped with desktop-class processors and these were not only larger than today’s chips but needed space for cooling. Almost every component inside that case was significantly larger and generated more heat than modern computers.
Apple was able to make its laptops thinner through a variety of innovations. The unibody manufacturing process, where the laptop chassis is milled from a single slab of aluminium, is one innovation. But there’s also the use of titanium in devices as well the miniaturisation and increased transistor density we see in modern processors and systems on a chip. And battery technology has also moved ahead in leaps and bounds.
But there are limits. Apple suffered some bad press with the release of the iPhone 6. “Bendgate” as it was termed (what’s with the American obsession with adding the suffix ‘gate’ to anything remotely controversial?) came. And the same term was levelled at the iPad Pro. In these cases, devices bent when ether placed in a tight pocket when subjected to what users believed was a reasonable position.
While reducing weight is a good thing – no-one wants to relive the ‘good old days’ when you could put your back out slinging a laptop around – making devices thinner can adversely impact usability. When I hold my iPhone, I don’t want it to feel like it’s going to slip out of my hand. A little bit of thickness is a good thing.
That’s brings us to the iPhone 17 Air. While not announced, this device is strongly rumoured to be debuting late this year. And supply chain analysts and leakers have come to a similar conclusion. Apple has chosen to reduce battery size hoping that the smarts in the soon to be released iOS 26 will be able to compensate and deliver all-day battery life.
Now – grab a ruler. Look at the difference between 5.5mm (the rumoured thickness of the iPhone 17 Air) and 6.5mm. Do you think that single millimetre will make any positive difference to usability of the device? Would you sacrifice a millimetre of thickness for longer battery life?
The obsession with making devices thinner is driven more by the desire to beat the opposition on any possible measure rather than deliver a better user experience.
While I’m glad my MacBook Air isn’t over an inch thick and weighs more than my family’s weekly milk consumption, I don’t spend my day wishing it was a millimetre or two thinner. Rather than trying to make the thinnest iPhone possible, I’d prefer Apple to make the best iPhone possible.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.