The iPhone 16’s bezels may get even slimmer

According to a report from The Elec, we might expect the bezels around the iPhone 16 displays to be even slimmer than they are now. While this report focuses on display supply chain details, it’s possible this may only apply to the iPhone 16 Pro models, which have been previously rumored to have a display that is a couple of tenths of an inch larger (diagonally) without much change in the size of the phone’s body. The way to achieve that would be, you guessed it, skinnier bezels.

The report focuses on display supply chain updates: Samsung is expected to supply most of the displays for the iPhone 16 line (as they do with today’s iPhones), with a smaller percentage of the displays sourced from LG Display for the iPhone 16 Pro models and BOE for the regular iPhone 16 models. The report mentions changes in the suppliers of display drivers circuits to LG Display, and describes how all the display manufacturers are having difficulty improving yields for the quality displays Apple demands with the “Border Reduction Structure” that provides for slimmer bezels. This technology requires tighter circuit placement and bends some of the wiring downward.

Apple has been on a mission to slim down its bezels in recent years. The Apple Watch Series 7 pushed the screen from 40mm and 44mm to 41mm and 45mm by shrinking the bezels, and the iMac and MacBook models all received recent redesigns with slimmer bezels as well. The iPhone 15 Pro already has incredibly thin bezels around its display, so any further reduction is going to require some tricky manufacturing techniques.

Apple is expected to release the new iPhone 16 models at an event in September. Stay up to date with the latest rumors and news about the next iPhone in our iPhone 16 superguide.

Author: Jason Cross, Senior Editor