Following up on a rumor from November that Apple was working with suppliers to “fully redesign” many of the MacBook’s internal components to achieve a slimmer design, it appears that Apple might be making a move towards metal injection mold-made hinges.
Metal injection molding is a metalworking process that’s used to create very small metal pieces that are typically used by Apple for the internals of products like iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple is apparently looking to use the technology for its MacBook hinges to save space and achieve an “ultra-thin” design on its next generation of notebooks.
The new hinges would be supplied by Amphenol, which claims to produce the thinnest sliding hinges in the world via its web site. The company currently partners with Microsoft to produce parts for the hinges found on the Surface 4 tablet.
Although the rumor is a bit thin, it does corroborate earlier reports that Apple was working towards an even slimmer MacBook. This notebook would be likely scheduled for release after the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. At present, Apple’s refreshed MacBook is expected to include faster Skylake processors and Thunderbolt 3 with USB-C.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.