Rumors starting swirling today that have Apple planning to move to titanium for future iPhones — specifically, iPhone 14. The rumors don't say which iPhone 14 models, but you have to assume it'll be the Pro models. That means Apple wants to switch from stainless steel to titanium. But why?
That's a very good question. Apart from titanium just being super cool, and Apple already using it on Apple Card and Apple Watch Series 6, what does it offer? Well, it's more expensive — but that's not really a benefit, is it?
The main reason I can imagine the switch taking place is simply the weight savings Apple could benefit from by doing so. My limited knowledge of titanium is that it's super strong, but also super light. It benefits from offering similar strength and rigidity to stainless steel but without the heft associated with Apple's current iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Another potential reason for the move could be for Apple to make thinner chassis thanks to the rigidity I just mentioned. More internal space means more room for batteries, chips, and the fairy dust that makes Apple's A-series chips so damned fast. Could Apple simply be trying to keep its iPhones from bending while still allowing for as much internal space as possible? Maybe — we'll probably need to wait for an iPhone 14 teardown to be sure.
My hunch is still that it's about the strength-to-weight ratio that something like titanium offers. There are downsides, sure. Cost is probably one of those and I'm crossing my fingers that we don't see a price hike because of that. I'm also quietly hoping that we'll see titanium return to the rest of Apple's products as well — imagine a titanium MacBook Pro and tell me people wouldn't quite literally throw money at Apple for that thing!
We have, of course, already seen titanium phones ship. The ill-fated RED Hydrogen One came in a titanium chassis and it looked stunning. Fingers, toes, and everything else crossed that Apple has some big plans for next year. But allow me to temper expectations somewhat — remember, titanium or not, the front and back of iPhone 14 will very likely still be glass. It'll still shatter when a piece of sidewalk so much as looks at it sideways.
Whether or not Apple decides to go with titanium next year, we can be pretty sure iPhone 14 will be the best iPhone ever!
