Amongst different adjustments, this 12 months’s iPhone 15 Professional fashions are rumored to characteristic a brand new chassis made out of titanium for the primary time. This might make for a lighter design, extra sturdiness, and extra. In actual fact, it could possibly be one of many greatest design adjustments to the iPhone in years, marking an finish to the stainless-steel period that began with the iPhone X in 2017.
The rumor
So far, a couple of completely different sources have reported that the iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max (or iPhone 15 Extremely) may characteristic a brand new titanium design.
The Twitter leaker ShrimpApplePro, who has an honest although not good monitor file of accuracy, reported in November that the iPhone 15 Professional design would include a titanium case with rounded edges. This was additionally corroborated by JP Morgan Chase analyst Jeff Pu, who echoed the Twitter leak in an investor report earlier this month.
Apple has been engaged on an iPhone with a titanium chassis for a number of years. A number of patent filings from the corporate have proven off its work in the area. However to get the clearest glimpse of what a titanium iPhone 15 Professional would possibly convey to the desk, we have to take a look at the Apple Watch.
Titanium iPhone 15 Extremely vs Apple Watch
The Apple Watch has been accessible in a titanium end for the reason that Apple Watch Collection 5 was launched in 2019. The Apple Watch Collection 5 was accessible with a titanium end in two colours – pure and house black. This marked the primary time that Apple had used titanium in a product since means again in 2001 with the PowerBook G4.
The Apple Watch Collection 6 was accessible in the identical pure and house black titanium finishes, as was the Apple Watch Collection 7 in 2021, which brings us to the present era of the Apple Watch. This time round, the titanium end is unique to the all-new Apple Watch Extremely.
There are two issues we will take away from how Apple has used titanium within the Apple Watch lineup: colours and weight.
Maybe most notable is the distinction in weight between stainless-steel and titanium. Through the years, Apple has offered Apple Watch fashions in each of these finishes. The iPhone lineup, nevertheless, has used stainless-steel for the reason that iPhone X in 2017.
Right here’s a take a look at the distinction in weight for the Apple Watch Collection 7 in three completely different finishes. The Apple Watch Collection 7 was the final era of the Apple Watch that was accessible in three completely different supplies with 41mm and 45mm sizes.
- 41mm:
- Aluminum: 32.0g
- Chrome steel: 42.3g
- Titanium: 37.0g
- 45mm:
- Aluminum: 38.8g
- Chrome steel: 51.5g
- Titanium: 45.1g
Then, there’s the Apple Watch Extremely, the one current-generation Apple Watch with a titanium end. It’s additionally the largest Apple Watch ever offered by Apple, with a 49mm case measurement. Right here’s a breakdown of the Apple Watch Collection 8 and Apple Watch Extremely:
- 41mm:
- Aluminum: 32.2g
- Chrome steel: 42.3g
- 45mm:
- Aluminum: 39.1g
- Chrome steel: 51.1g
- Apple Watch Extremely 49mm:
An Apple Watch Extremely product of stainless-steel? That’d be unusable. The Apple Watch Extremely is simply sensible due to the titanium’s weight.
9to5Mac’s Take
It’s no shock that titanium is lighter than stainless-steel, however I discover it significantly fascinating what the variations have been within the Apple Watch lineup over time. The Apple Watch affords us our solely take a look at how trendy Apple itself tackles utilizing titanium in a product.
Within the iPhone lineup, Apple has used stainless-steel edges for the reason that introduction of the iPhone X. Latest generations of the iPhone use aluminum within the non-Professional fashions and stainless-steel within the Professional and Professional Max fashions. This, in fact, means the iPhone 14 is lighter than the iPhone 14 Professional.
- iPhone 14: 172g
- iPhone 14 Plus: 203g
- iPhone 14 Professional: 206g
- iPhone 14 Professional Max: 240g
If the iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max use titanium, they gained’t be lighter than the aluminum iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. They’d, nevertheless, be noticeably lighter than the iPhone 14 Professional and iPhone 14 Professional Max, which characteristic stainless-steel bands across the aspect.
How a lot lighter? That’s up within the air at this level. Again-of-the-envelope math exhibits that the 45mm Apple Watch Collection 7 in titanium was round 12% lighter than its stainless-steel counterpart, which gained’t be instantly relevant to the iPhone lineup, nevertheless it’s good context.
Apple may use the load financial savings supplied by titanium to offset the addition of issues like new digital camera {hardware} or larger batteries. It opens up a world of potentialities.
Personally, the thought of an iPhone 15 Extremely that’s 10% lighter than the iPhone 14 Professional Max sounds nice to me. I’ve been bored with the stainless-steel edges since at the least the iPhone 13 Professional. The stainless-steel is heavy, to not point out it’s an entire fingerprint magnet as nicely.
An iPhone 15 Extremely with titanium edges could be a dream come true. The iPhone has used stainless-steel edges since 2017, and it’s time for a change. Whereas we’re at it, let’s use the house black titanium that we noticed within the Apple Watch Collection 7, too.
FTC: We use revenue incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. More.
