As smartphones become more advanced and more expensive, one change we’ve seen is the bezels becoming ever smaller, and with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max we might see them almost disappear completely.
This is according to Mark Gurman, a journalist and leaker with a great track record, writing in his latest Bloomberg Power On newsletter, in which he claims that these upcoming phones will have a bezel that's just 1.5mm thick. That’s down from roughly 2.2mm on current iPhones, so while we’re only talking about a reduction of around 0.7mm, that still knocks a third off of their total size.
This is apparently thanks to a new display technology, with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max’s screens reportedly being made using low-injection pressure over-molding, also known as LIPO.
It’s a process that Apple has already been using on the last couple of generations of the best Apple Watches, specifically the Apple Watch 7 and Apple Watch 8, in order to allow for a larger display within the same footprint, and according to Gurman this tech will eventually be used for iPads as well.
It’s worth noting that while shrinking the bezels could allow for a slightly larger screen in the same space (as it has done on the Apple Watch), we’re not expecting the screen sizes to change on the iPhone 15 line, so the iPhone 15 Pro will probably be 6.1 inches, just like its predecessor, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max will likely be 6.7 inches.
What this might instead mean then is that the phones could be marginally physically smaller, and they would likely also look slightly more high-end, as they'll have almost no perceptible bezel.
This would be just a stepping stone though, with Gurman claiming that Apple's dream is to deliver a truly all-screen iPhone, with no bezels at all, and no cutouts for the front-facing camera and Face ID (instead they'd be hidden under the screen). It's a dream that's likely shared by most other smartphone manufacturers too.
Beyond the bezels
Gurman didn’t stop with talk of bezels, but the other details in his newsletter were largely things we’ve heard before.
For the Pro models, these details include a titanium frame, more rounded edges, a customizable action button in place of a mute switch, major rear camera upgrades, and a powerful new chipset.
In the case of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, Gurman points to a Dynamic Island being added in place of a notch, “major camera improvements” (which based on other leaks will likely include a new 48MP main sensor), and the inclusion of the A16 Bionic chipset currently found in the iPhone 14 Pro models.
All four phones are said to have a USB-C port, and Gurman also touches on pricing, saying to look out for “at least minor price increases” for all four models outside the US, with at least the Pro models probably getting a price increase in the US too.
As ever, we’ll take all these claims with a pinch of salt, but this is all largely in line with what we’ve heard previously, and it comes from a reputable source. We’ll know for sure soon though, as the batch of contenders for a place in our best iPhone round-up are likely to land in September.
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