Apple has filed a couple of patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office related to the new battery designs it is working on. The designs aren’t exactly conventional, Apple’s patents describe “Curved battery cells for portable electronic devices” and “non-rectangular batteries for portable electronic devices.” These patents detail the various methods which can be used to design curved batteries that can be fit in to devices which have non-rectangular or curved designs.
The complex methods for developing such batteries that Apple lists in these patents aim to reduce wastage of internal stage. The idea is to fit such batteries in a device housing so tightly that there’s almost no space that being wasted. This advancement in battery manufacturing opens up a new door for the device manufacturing team. If Apple decides that batteries for future products will be made through these methods, we might see iOS devices tout major design changes while being very slim. Do keep in mind that companies like Apple patent dozens of technologies each year and it doesn’t necessarily mean that these technologies or techniques will ever see the light of day. Both patent filings can be read in detail here, and here.