Current technological obstacles are forcing Apple to once again delay reducing the thickness of the new iPhone 17.
After the good news that Apple could make the iPhone 17 ultra-thin, a new report by one of the analysts is accurate On Apple products, it thinks that the new design may be delayed for a little longer.
Ming-Chi Kuo’s new report suggests that Apple will once again delay plans to use new plastic co-coated (RCC) components in the iPhone. This change, which will save internal space for the iPhone, was originally rumored to appear on the iPhone 16, then delayed to the iPhone 17, and now it’s delayed again.
In his initial report last October, Kuo explained that RCC could reduce the thickness of the motherboard (i.e., it could save dry internal space) and make the drilling process easier because it does not contain fiberglass.
However, the use of RCC in iPhones has been a challenge for Apple and its suppliers due to concerns about durability and fragilityof it. This is believed to be the reason for this latest delay.
Due to the inability to meet Apple’s high-quality requirements, the new iPhone 17 in 2025 will not use RCC as the PCB board material, ” Kuo wrote in a brief update on social media today.
If Apple does end up switching the iPhone’s main board to plastic-coated copper, it’s not a change that anyone will recognize on its own. Instead, it will free up more internal space for the iPhone design. Apple can then choose to make the iPhone thinner or find another way to use that extra free space.
Kuo’s report today does not detail whether we could see this change with the iPhone 18 in 2026 or whether we are looking at a longer-term delays.