The next iPhones will have a different look when they are released this September, it seems. From different displays on some models, to a new strategy for its new-generation processors, more advanced camera lenses, and a new thermal design to prevent overheating, lots will be changing. And now, a leak reveals that the bezels are going to be even thinner, to become the world’s narrowest.
Updated June 6. This post was first published on June 3, 2024.
Leaker Ice Universe is on fire right now (if that’s not an alarming contradiction in terms for someone with such a frosty name) and has now added further details of what is expected.
The new information begins with a claim that relates specifically to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, as opposed to the earlier posts which only referenced the iPhone 16 Pro. For the larger phone, Ice Universe the bezel on the iPhone 16 Pro Max will be just 1.153mm wide and, like every iPhone display with Face ID since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017, will be exactly the same on all four sides—unlike many smartphones which have a noticeably wider bezel on the bottom edge, for instance.
This is dreamily thin and it’s worth noting that there is a limit to how thin a border can become. After all, there’s what I call the Cornish pasties effect.
Mining was once a thriving industry in the English county of Cornwall and at that time pasties were baked by tin miners, or their families. Pasties were made with a thick crimped edge along one side so the miners could use the crimp as a handle to hold on to while eating, thus not contaminating the meat in the pasty with their filthy hands.
I’m not suggesting your hands are dirty, but in a slightly similar way, there’s definitely value in having an area which isn’t an active touchscreen to allow you to hold the phone without accidentally activating it. We’ve all inadvertently made calls or launched apps by touching on the display when we hadn’t meant to, and no border at all could cause user interface problems. Though, of course, Apple will have thought of this and tested for it extensively.
Ice Universe describes the measurements as the closest yet to a borderless sci-fi dream factor.
And the leaker has now published images which claim to show how much thinner the bezels will look. In a new post on X, they have said, “iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max:The narrower and narrower bezel is very much to my taste. But the dynamic island should be reduced.”
And the images show what’s meant to be an iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro side by side. Even if you don’t imagine a tiny reduction in bezel size can make a big difference, it is noticeable how much narrower the 16 Pro mock-up looks.
Of course, it’s still true that if you put the iPhone in a case, as so many people do, then if there’s a front lip on the case, that subtle change in bezel may be covered anyway. But maybe that’s not the point: making an iPhone look even better than last year’s model is a lofty ambition that’s worth undertaking.
You can bet that if the images really do mean the next iPhone has the thinnest bezels of any smartphone ever, that this will feature in Apple’s marketing of the handset. Ice Universe, in another post on X, has also published four different images, showing various bezels. It’s hard to claim the thinner ones don’t look better.
As for narrowing bezels on an iPhone, is that even possible, you might ask? The current models already have very thin blank areas around the display itself.
But, in a post on X, Ice Universe, a leaker with a strong track record, has revealed that they have heard thinner bezels are on their way. The post reads, “My friend confirmed that iPhone 16 Pro will reduce bezel, surpassing Galaxy S24 to become the world’s narrowest bezel mobile phone, which seems to be very close to the dream form.”
As mentioned by Ice Universe, Samsung currently holds the record for the thinnest bezels, but not for long, it looks like.
This all chimes with a previous report of Apple using Border Reduction Structure technology to achieve the thinner border, something which was last rumored because it was said that Apple found this technology was creating problems in terms of yield. That’s because, as 9to5Mac reports, BRS affects the build: “Wiring and circuitry near the edge of the panel has to be bent downwards to achieve this. This has reportedly caused some manufacturing challenges during the production ramp.”
It’s hard to see how borders can get much thinner but Apple will be happy to claim the “world’s narrowest” crown from Samsung.
Still, every little helps. If the new Pro models are as predicted going to have larger displays than before (6.3 inches and 6.7 inches for the Pro and Pro Max respectively), then thinner bezels may make them fit the hand more easily.
Not everybody is concerned about these things and one person immediately told Ice Universe, “I’ll never understand this need. Never.” To which the leaker replied, “You don’t care about bezel, but if I give you a design of Galaxy A54, you will definitely dislike it for the first time.”
So, there we are.
