There are lots of rumors swirling around Apples iPhone announcement this coming Tuesday. I want to note a few observations, and connect some dots.
1) The iPhone 6 Plus was embroiled in a “bendgate” scandal whereby people were able to bend the phone.
2) The first iPhone Pro sported a stainless steel chassis, as opposed to the aluminum chassis the primary iPhone line had used since the iPhone 4. Apple really highlighted this as a “Pro” feature, highlighting it as “surgical grade”.
3) In 2021, reports started surfacing that Apple was exploring incorporating titanium into iPhone, and that Apple was working on a folding iPhone.
4) Two years ago, the iPhone 15 pro shifted to a titanium chassis. Again, Apple promoted this as a premium feature to differentiate this from the primary iPhone line. The stainless steel was *heavy* and the change to titanium was advertised as improving the weight of the phone.
5) The rumored iPhone 17 Pro is rumored to be the the first iPhone Pro manufactured w/ an aluminum chassis, albeit with a glass cut-out in the back to support wireless charging.
6) This year Apple is set to release a thin iPhone, rumored to be called the iPhone 17 Air. I haven’t seen much discussion regarding what that phone will be built with, although a cursory read through macrumors suggests it will be made with a titanium chassis.
7) Next year, Apple is rumored to release a folding iPhone.
It seems to me that somewhere along the way, Apple determined that the folding iPhone needed a material that could balance the need to be light, as well as strong enough to avoid the embarrassment of the iPhone 6’s bendgate. They landed on titanium. Over the last several generation of iPhone Pro, they effectively have de-risked the production of the folding iPhone by having their vendors work with the material, and now are further advancing their manufacturing by slimming the device. I think laying this all out really highlights the years-long roadmap Apple executed, which has lead us to the imminent debut of the iPhone Air, but really points to the climax of this roadmap: a folding iPhone.
At Ken 