Last year when rumors started swirling around Apple’s plans for an ultra-thin new iPhone, one limitation on thinness was expected to be the USB-C charging port. But it turns out, Apple had a clever solution to make iPhone Air’s USB-C port unusually thin: 3D-printed titanium.
iPhone Air uses 3D-printed titanium USB-C port that’s thinner and stronger
Last year, Apple shipped its thinnest product of all time with the M4 iPad Pro. As a daily user of the new ultra-thin iPad, I quickly noticed that its thinness seemed to push the limits of what was possible with a USB-C port.
I wrote last August that the M4 iPad Pro was “so thin, in fact, that the USB-C charging port barely fits. Apple’s own USB-C chargers are actually a tiny bit thicker than the device they plug into.”
My speculation was that the USB-C port would be a limitation for how thin Apple’s rumored iPhone Air could be.
Though the iPhone Air turned out thicker than the iPad Pro, it seems Apple required a solution for a thinner USB-C port anyways. And it found a clever innovation.
Per Apple’s iPhone Air press release:
A new titanium USB-C port is 3D-printed to be thinner and stronger, fitting into the slim design while using 33 percent less material than a conventional forging process.
Using 3D printing and titanium enabled Apple to make the iPhone Air’s USB-C port thinner than the standard build. And stronger too, which could be related to bending concerns.
There’s no mention of such a technique being used for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, or iPhone 17 Pro Max. Those devices presumably come with the standard USB-C ports found in previous iPhone models.
Apple’s thinner USB-C port on iPhone Air shouldn’t present any problems with plugging in charging cables or other peripherals. Rather, it’s the internal component that Apple found a way to slim down.
But it’s a pretty fascinating example of the lengths Apple has gone to in its quest to make the thinnest iPhone ever.
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