In the mobile phone market, thin and light design has become a trend, but the speed of technological progress is difficult to meet the design needs, especially the innovation of batteries has encountered bottlenecks. Apple has been working on the pursuit of thinning and lightening phones since the launch of the iPhone 6, and the latest rumors suggest that the upcoming iPhone 17 Air may not be thinner than the iPhone 6 in terms of thickness. The key to this problem lies in the technical bottleneck of the battery substrate. While Apple has tried to develop thinner and lighter batteries, existing battery substrate technology limits further shrinkage of thickness.
According to the latest reports, the upcoming iPhone 17 Air has encountered technical difficulties in the development of the battery substrate, which may cause it to not achieve the expected ultra-thin design. Originally, Apple planned to adopt new materials and technologies to improve battery performance to achieve a thinner body design and larger battery capacity. However, due to the failure of the project, Apple had to abandon the initial set thickness and battery capacity targets, resulting in the iPhone 17 Air not being about 6mm thick, and the battery capacity will not be significantly improved.
This challenge means that the iPhone 17 Air's battery is expected to be about 6mm thick, which is not a significant improvement over the 6.9mm thickness of the iPhone 6 released in 2014. The iPhone 6 used to be Apple's thinnest iPhone, and the iPhone 17 Air may not be able to break this thin and light record. In Apple's lineup, the 13-inch iPad Pro and the seventh-generation iPod nano hold the record for Apple's thinnest device at 5.1 mm and 5.4 mm thick, respectively.
Figure: Apple has encountered bottlenecks in battery manufacturing (source network)
The development of battery technology is the key to improving the battery life of smartphones. Due to Apple's challenges in ultra-thin and high-density battery technology, the iPhone 17 Air may not be able to achieve the expected battery capacity increase, which will directly affect the device's battery life. Battery life can be an issue in high-load use cases, such as gaming, watching videos, or doing intensive multitasking.
As to why Apple is experiencing obstacles in battery manufacturing, some industry insiders mainly summarized the following points:
Technical challenges: Apple has encountered technical challenges in developing thinner, higher-capacity batteries. Originally, it was planned to adopt new materials and technologies to improve battery performance to achieve a thinner body design and larger battery capacity, but due to the failure of the project, Apple had to abandon the initial set thickness and battery capacity targets.
Cost issues: When it comes to making thinner battery substrates, the cost issue has become a major obstacle that Apple can't ignore. The relatively high cost of using a thinner substrate to make an adaptive battery has led Apple to compromise on technology and rely more on current technology to make it happen.
Supply chain issues: Apple has also faced challenges in supplying batteries for electric vehicles, with Chinese companies such as CATL and BYD refusing to set up factories in the U.S. to supply batteries exclusively for Apple's cars, reflecting Apple's supply chain management challenges.
Technology compromises: Apple may have to abandon plans to adopt thinner substrates and return to current technology due to technical challenges and cost issues. This means that the battery of the iPhone 17 Air will not be as thin as Apple originally envisioned for the new design of the device.
