A new report from Ming-Chi Kuo relays that there’s been a slight design change to Apple’s plans for its iPhone 17. Though not slated to arrive until 2025, it’s no secret that Apple begins work on upcoming iPhone models years in advance.
Regarding the change, Kuo writes that Apple’s iPhone 17 will not incorporate a resin-coated copper (RCC) material on the logic board. Kuo initially reported on Apple’s interest in RCC late last year. The benefit of using RCC is that it can meaningfully reduce the overall thickness of the motherboard. In turn, this would help free up space and allow Apple to utilize a bigger battery module.
As Apple began testing prototype devices with RCC, however, it became apparent that the material wasn’t durable enough to pass Apple’s rigorous benchmarks for product quality. During testing, the material was too fragile to survive drop tests.
“Due to the inability to meet Apple’s high-quality requirements, the new iPhone 17 in 2025 will not use RCC as the PCB motherboard material,” Kuo wrote on X earlier today.
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What we can expect from the iPhone 17
There’s no indication of whether Apple has abandoned its exploration into RCC or if we might see it in future models. Apple, of course, isn’t afraid to abandon design plans when product quality is at issue. Recall that a few years ago, Apple invested over a billion dollars in a plan to outfit next-gen iPhones with sapphire displays that would make them impervious to scratches. The company Apple partnered with and invested in to help make this happen, however, went bankrupt.
Despite this temporary setback, Apple introduced the Ceramic Shield with the iPhone 12, which is also impressively scratch-resistant and incredibly durable.
The takeaway from all of this is that Apple is always looking for ways to improve the iPhone user experience. With Apple always on the hunt to improve battery life, it stands to reason that a solution will arrive, with or without RCC.
So while the iPhone 17 may not feature RCC, some rumored features we can expect to see include a triple-lens 48mp camera on the Pro Max model, Wi-FI 7, an enhanced front-facing camera, a smaller Dynamic Island, and 12GB of RAM on the higher-end models.
There are also rumblings that Apple will release an incredibly slim iPhone 17 model in 2025. Rumor is that it may be called the iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Ultra.