Before you read on, take a quick look at this Quora post, answering the question What will the iPhone 8 be made of?
That post sells the idea that the iPhone 8 will be made primarily from ZrO2 – Zirconian Ceramics, made famous by the Space Shuttle as a thermal barrier and an option on the newest Apple Watch.
The linked post, from Atomic Delights, is a strong rebuttal to that Quora post and a bit of a love letter to aluminum.
Beautifully written, a terrific read.
Roemmele (“Alchemist & Metaphysician”) has clearly done a bunch of homework here, but his use of words like “tragic” to describe say the loss of sapphire as a practical screen material may be indicative of slightly more materials-nerd enthusiasm than supply-chain practicality.
First, Quora is an embarrassment. Period. Aluminum seems to work pretty well.
The MacBook Air Unibody is probably the most underrated Apple release ever. Steve absolutely knew how important and exciting this thing was, but no one in the audience seemed to care at all.
It’s a fascinating video to watch. Steve is so excited, and 100 journos pass the thing around and couldn’t care less.
I also totally want Apple to make kitchen knives now too…
Hmmm… carbon fibre manufacturing… Formula 1 cars… McLaren…