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While it's not known why Apple's Iowa data center took so long to build, it's possible that it went operational now because Apple Intelligencebenefits from servers in such centers. 

Sounds like the usual? Getting the local government and community to approve of a major facility or project takes a lot of time. If it takes too long, a company can abandon the project. Apple did this in Denmark, right? And of course, plans change.

I only hope Apple is using renewable energy. Iowa has a lot of wind, so it should be easy in the power-purchase agreement sense, but they need to step up and go all solar+storage and generate their own power. Hopefully, they are innovative with it, like using thermal storage, including storage the heat from the chips.

I can see Apple continue to try to get microLED into production for the Apple Watch, but seems like it won't be enough for an AR/VR. You'd need 1500, 3000 to 6000 ppi for these applications.

Excited for this rumored thinner iPhone. If the iPad Pro can be 5 mm thick, then the iPhone can be 5 mm. Next year will be a good year to retire my iPhone 12, and a 6.6" display at 0.2" thin? Sounds pretty nice to hold, pocket, and look at. Hopefully, the Süti PhoneBack MagSafe covers will still be around and they make one for this model.

Due to its thinner design, the iPhone Slim may only feature a single camera to accommodate internal space constraints.

Hmm, would be interesting if Apple has to use a single layer or single stack logic board for this device. iPhones have been using 2 stack logic boards for a long while now, where they consist of two PCBs stacked on top of each other. All 4 sides have chips and connectors on them. 

A cool thing they can do is go the Apple Watch SiP route, and even evolve it some more. Take the single layer PCB logic board, encase it in ceramic and bond it to the substrate on the back of the display? Use the electro-chemical bonding they are using for the battery for the iPhone 16 models. So, if the logic board and the battery is electro-chemically bonded, this will increase the phone's stiffness.

Apple also have to have thought about the front cameras stick out too, on all of their devices from phones to laptops. Just have the front cam stick out. Having better front camera performance is one of those features that could stand improvement across the whole product line as the usage of video communication is only increasing.

netrox said:

Are there other processors with DRAM embedded inside chips? I don't recall any. That definitely interests me, because if that's the case, I imagine the Mac Studio Ultra with M4 or M5 having RAM embedded will be knocking our socks off with massive memory bandwidth and performance (reduced latency as well).

The DRAM isn’t embedded “inside chips”. It’s a package on package (POP), where the DRAM package is layered on top of the chip package. The DRAM interface is the standard LPDDR5 (presumably) interface, pins and all. No bandwidth advantage per pin or per DRAM package. 

apple4thewin said:

Does this mean it is also easier to disassemble or harder than the 15 Pro models?

It looks to be about the same level of work imo. You need to have experience doing it, or you are willing to toss the device away in case of a mistake.