Kuo: Apple Delays Change Aimed at Saving Space Inside Future iPhones

Apple no longer plans to use resin-coated copper for logic boards in iPhone 17 models next year, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today.

iphone 15 a16 bionic
Kuo said resin-coated copper failed to meet Apple's "high-quality requirements," leading to the company scrapping its plans to adopt the material for iPhone 17 models. It is unclear if Apple will revisit resin-coated copper for iPhone 18 models or later, but it appears that the material is at least a few years away from being used in iPhones.

Resin-coated copper is a thin layer of copper foil coated with a resin, such as an epoxy. The material would allow for a thinner logic board, which in turn would provide more internal space for other components and sensors in future iPhones.

It was also rumored that at least one new Apple Watch would use resin-coated copper this year, but it is unclear if that plan has been delayed too.

Related Roundup: iPhone 17
Buyer's Guide: iPhone 17 (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...

Top Rated Comments

zilchfox Avatar
18 months ago

Apple seems to not be able to do anything on time lol..
Easy to say that behind a screen and keyboard.

Setbacks are also not a new thing in general, at Apple or any company. Sometimes it requires going back to the drawing board. I for one appreciate delays, because it means they’re doing everything they can to make it right, rather than release a subpar product.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mongobongo Avatar
18 months ago

Apple seems to not be able to do anything on time lol..
So we are blaming Apple for delaying unannounced features now?

If these *rumours* are true, they have determined that this technology doesn’t meet their quality requirements and stopped it well over a year before it was supposed to come out, I’d say that’s on time by a wide margin.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Will Co Avatar
18 months ago
And this is why Apple, nor any other sensible company, doesn't discuss the details of their R&D. There are always many iterations, wrong turns and failures before a successful idea emerges from the mass of thinking, testing and sometimes just plain old good luck that is part of the process of innovation. Some leaker suggests they might know something about a product or design feature that might or might not exist. It's interesting stuff. I love these little snippets. But let's not get too heated about how Apple is crap etc etc.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
18 months ago
so a "leaker" corrects their "leaks" and people here comment on how Apple can't release anything anymore ...
gotta love the internet ;)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
surfzen21 Avatar
18 months ago
This is disastrous for Apple and probably why the stock dropped, at time of writing, 2.7% today. /s/ o_O
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThisIsMike Avatar
18 months ago
I recently coated myself in a resin-coated copper and I found the results to be exemplary.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)