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New iPhone 18 Pro design increases thickness to house 5000 mAh battery and new chip

Caixa iphone apple
Bangkok, Thailand - October 18, 2023: Close Caixa iphone apple - Foto: dontree_m/istock

Apple has started developing a new physical structure for its next generation of high-end smartphones. The company’s Engenheiros is working on a redesigned chassis for the premium device, which will feature larger dimensions compared to models from previous years. The design change aims to accommodate higher capacity internal components, reversing the industry’s historical trend of increasingly thinner and lighter mobile equipment.

The main motivation for increasing the thickness of the device is the integration of a power cell with a capacity of 5000 mAh. The component requires a greater internal volume than was available in past generations, forcing the restructuring of the entire internal space of the device. Além of the expanded power source, the additional space will house a new generation processor, built using a reduced lithography architecture, which requires considerably more robust thermal dissipation systems.

Documents from Asian suppliers indicate that assembly lines are already receiving preliminary instructions on the new chassis measurements. The structural modification directly affects the manufacturing of aluminum and titanium molds, materials used in the housing of the most expensive version of the smartphone. The physical adjustment represents a change in the manufacturer’s design philosophy, prioritizing raw performance and energy autonomy over the minimum thickness of the communication equipment.

Changes in the physical structure of the device

The current design of the smartphone indicates that the total thickness of the chassis will reach approximately 8.8 millimeters. The measurement represents a significant increase when compared to the 8.25 millimeters recorded in previous versions of the premium line. The millimetric change, although it seems small in absolute numbers, requires a complete redesign in the layout of the logic boards and internal connectivity modules. The increase in volume allows engineers to rearrange components without compromising the structural integrity of the equipment’s rear glass and front screen.

The decision to thicken the device comes after reports of physical limitations in the insertion of new technologies in highly confined spaces. The more robust structure facilitates the implementation of additional layers of graphene and copper plates, essential for controlling the temperature of the circuits. The reinforced casing also offers greater resistance to mechanical torsions, a critical factor for devices that use titanium alloys on their side edges. The manufacturer calibrates the final weight of the equipment to ensure that the increase in thickness does not harm ergonomics during daily use in consumers’ hands.

Technical specifications of the unprecedented processor

The processing core of the new smartphone will be manufactured using 2 nanometer technology. Advanced lithography allows the insertion of an exponentially greater number of transistors in the same physical space on the chip. The thin architecture increases the energy efficiency of mathematical and graphical operations performed by the operating system.

The production of the semiconductor is in charge of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. The foundry facilities at Taiwan prepare extreme ultraviolet lithography machinery to etch the microscopic circuits onto the silicon wafers. The manufacturing process requires a clean room environment with strict particle and ambient temperature control.

The performance of the new silicon component requires a constant, stabilized power flow. The device’s motherboard was redesigned to withstand voltage spikes without generating processing bottlenecks. Communication between the main chip and random access memory occurs through shortened data buses, speeding up the opening of applications and the processing of complex tasks.

Updates to the rear camera system

The device’s photographic module will receive image capture sensors with enlarged dimensions. The larger light-gathering area requires lenses with greater focal depth, which directly contributes to the need for a thicker chassis. The optical assembly physically projects out of the housing, and the increase in the overall thickness of the device helps to even out the protrusion of the lenses.

The optical engineering of the equipment includes the adoption of a variable aperture system for the main lens. The physical mechanism changes the diameter of the camera’s diaphragm, allowing precise control of light input and depth of field in photographs. Implementing moving parts within the camera module consumes valuable internal assembly space.

The optical image stabilizers have also undergone mechanical revisions on the test lines. The magnetic motors that move the sensor to compensate for tremors in the user’s hands have gained additional movement axes. Improved stabilization requires larger physical displacement margins within the camera’s sealed housing.

Recording videos in very high-resolution formats generates a massive volume of data per second. The continuous processing of images by the chip dedicated to the camera increases the temperature in the upper region of the device. The extra space in the chassis allows air circulation and the dissipation of heat generated by the photographic sensors during prolonged recording.

Adaptations in the Asian supply chain

The factories responsible for the final assembly of the smartphone at Ásia began calibrating their industrial robots to deal with the new dimensions of the equipment. The change in chassis thickness forces partner companies to replace the mechanical grippers and fixing cradles used in automated production conveyors. Fornecedores of secondary components, such as flex cables and battery connectors, have adjusted the lengths of their parts to reach the new solder points on the resized main board. Transport logistics will also undergo adaptations, as the packaging boxes for the final product will need new internal cardboard molds to accommodate the thicker device. The quality testing schedule on pilot production lines verifies the water and dust sealing of the new structural format, ensuring that manufacturing tolerances remain within the rigorous standards required by the technology brand.

Market strategy for the premium line

The physical differentiation between the brand’s entry-level models and professional versions becomes more evident with the adoption of the new chassis. The manufacturer positions the thicker device as a work tool aimed at users who demand continuous processing and long battery life. The segmentation of the portfolio justifies the structural change for the high-income consumer public.

The product engineering department prioritized technical functionality over minimal thickness aesthetics. The decision responds to requests from consumers in the corporate segment and content creators, who frequently use external batteries to meet the energy demands of their workflows. Offering self-sufficient energy equipment changes the dynamics of device use throughout the day.

Internal Cooling Requirements

Heat dissipation in the new smartphone uses a redesigned vapor chamber, which covers a larger area of ​​the central logic board. The fluid inside the chamber evaporates as it absorbs heat from the processor and condenses on the cooler edges of the titanium chassis. The increase in the thickness of the device provides the necessary volume for the evaporation and condensation cycle to occur efficiently, avoiding the automatic reduction in processing speed due to overheating of the silicon cores.

Changes in power autonomy

The 5000 mAh power cell represents a quantitative leap in the smartphone line’s charge storage capacity. The battery’s internal chemistry uses new lithium-ion compounds with greater energy density, optimizing the physical space occupied by the component. Electrical consumption management is carried out by a dedicated integrated circuit, which monitors temperature and voltage in real time.

The integration of the new battery brings practical changes to the device’s charging routine, requiring adaptations to energy transfer protocols. Laboratory tests point to the following operational aspects:

– Suporte for higher amperage electrical currents during wired fast charging.

– Distribuição improved thermal in the magnetic induction coils located at the rear of the device.

– Algoritmos software that limits recharging speed in high temperature environments to preserve the cell’s useful life.

– Ciclos prolonged discharge that sustains the operation of the 2 nanometer processor in continuous high-performance tasks.

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