Philip Houska With the arrival of the ceramic (or more precisely, zirconium-ceramic) Apple Watch, which replaced the not very successful gold, speculation also began about the possible appearance of the iPhone 8 in the same jacket. However, this is most likely not going to happen, and there are several reasons for this. Probably the most fundamental lies in the technology that Apple uses for the production of iPhones and other products.
On this topic aimed on your blog Atomic Delights product designer Greg Koenig, who was encouraged to do so by a professional discussion on Quora forum, which we are already talking about in connection with the Watch and potential ceramic iPhones they wrote. Koenig explains why the Jony Ive-led industrial design team won't just turn away from aluminum, which is superbly machined in a number of ways in Apple's workshops, and replace it with zirconium ceramic, the material that comes with the body of the second-generation Watch Edition.
The main reason is the production technique. Apple can now produce roughly one million iPhones per day with a manufacturing tolerance of 10 micrometers (one-hundredth of a millimeter). To achieve such results, it is necessary to have a perfectly synchronized orchestra of technology and manpower. It is estimated that around 20 CNC machines are needed to produce the daily amount, which can handle the demanding operations from initial machining to milling and final smoothing, with one aluminum body taking 3 to 4 minutes.
It is also interesting that Apple owns the largest number of CNC machines in the world - also due to the aforementioned production process, it has approximately 40 of them.
If Cook's company wanted to start producing iPhones from a different material (in this case, from ceramics), it would have to radically transform the entire strategy of such production, which has been constantly improved since the launch of the MacBook Air, which was the first to come with a chassis made of a single piece of aluminum . Koenig mentions three ways Apple could achieve such a change.
The first is, for example, the selection of a material that can be easily replaced with the original one without noticeable time and other production delays. Similarly, Apple did the same with aluminum, when it prepared a more durable version of the "6 Series" for the Watch and iPhone 7000S, the production of which is not that much more demanding.
Another option is to find a material that doesn't require as many machines. In the context of Apple, and given its well-known partnership, liquid metal from which the iPhone's chassis would be injection-molded is being considered. Of the current 20 CNC machines, Apple would quite possibly need only a fraction in the order of hundreds of pieces for liquid metal. On the other hand, such a material change represents a huge technical and technological challenge, which is within Apple's strength and resources, but the question is whether it is really that easy to do.
The third way is to replace the original CNC machines with new ones that can handle the new material. Considering the required number of machines, however, it is far from that simple, and manufacturers who supply Apple with such technology would apparently need at least three years for production, since on average they can produce a maximum of some 15 units per year. It is unrealistic to make it until September of next year, when the new iPhone is supposed to see the light of day. Let alone adjust them correctly afterwards. If Apple were to take these steps anyway, it would have been known a long time ago.
In addition, the question arises as to why Apple would actually want to change something that works so well for it. It is the absolute top in aluminum processing. Products like the Mac, iPhone, iPad and Watch are based on a single piece of this material that goes through precise manufacturing steps to its iconic perfection. Such perfection, on which, among other things, the company builds its name. Getting rid of aluminum in its best-selling device, the iPhone, wouldn't make much sense for Apple right now.
Either way, the Cupertino company has an interesting material in its hands - we're going back to ceramics - that can justify itself. It's safe to say that Jony Ive wouldn't have experimented with and subsequently marketed zirconia ceramics if he wasn't convinced it would work. Perhaps the world will see some more exclusive ceramic edition of the iPhone 8 in a similar style to the Jet Black version of the current flagships, or there will be models that will be supplemented with ceramics, but the overall material change for all new iPhones cannot be expected until next year. Is it even to be expected?
I found it interesting that, with the exception of the development center in Cupertino, Apple does not own any CNC or other production equipment, lines and systems intended for its own production of mobile phones.
That is why iPhones are assembled in factories and on the production lines of China's Foxconn.
In contrast, Samsung owns a number of factories in mainland China that are directly owned by the Korean giant.
Both approaches have something in common, so Apple does not have to worry about its own lines, amortization, operation or their renewal, etc. this is one of the reasons for the iPhone's higher profitability per unit sold. There is not much money to be made in the production of hardware these days, therefore it is often more advantageous to rent production systems/outsource production.
LG, Sony, Huawei, BBK, LeEco also produce in their own factories, unlike Apple.
In addition, Huawei and Samsung are the only companies that are capable of the entire production and development of mobile phones in-house, they can supply and manufacture all components including the SoC (but not for the entire production volume).
Apple only buys components of various brands, 98% of all components used in the production of the iPhone originate from Chinese factories, even if the memory is from a Korean brand and the camera sensors are Japanese, so production is ensured only on the territory of China.
The only Apple product that is manufactured in its own factories in the USA is the Mac Pro (trash).
As far as I know, iOS development is mostly done in India today, maybe that's why stability and code review is not at the same level as under Jobs.
Google does it similarly, it has software centers located all over the world.
if he had better looked at things regarding apple, he would have known that apple bought these cnc machines for foxcon etc. so that they don't have to make such an investment and so on. but yes, apple doesn't have its own factory, but many of the machines in them that are used to make apple toys belong to apple because it prefinanced them
Really interesting, I'd bet Apple doesn't own the machines/production assets, but leases them through a leasing company.
Apple knows how to manage very efficiently, and I doubt that it would be worthwhile for them to buy the device.
well, I don't know, I think he bought them, but I should find out, I read something about it, but was it a long time ago? but I know that they own them, as they wrote in the article, but I don't argue
It will probably be as you say. For example, our company produces parts for VW on machines that are owned by VW and we only rent them (and we are quite a big enough corporation to be able to afford to buy them as well). Sometimes it gets annoying, because every intervention in the machines takes even a month through the bureaucracy before the Germans approve it :-/
I don't know if it is its own or if it is all based on a something-for-something contract, but it is certain that Apple chooses and finances most of the machines for its production, even if they are manufactured by Samsung or anyone else. They also adjust the production process to their liking and usually design everything themselves. For them, Samsung is just a factory with a roof with their hands. Then the comments that the iPhone is actually a Samsung are funny. Their batteries don't knock, why?
In the iPhone, there is only RAM memory from Samsung and in some 6S SoC.
I doubt that Apple would deal with the manufacturing process of RAM, next time they will order them and have them installed at Foxconn, nothing more.
The SoC is designed by Apple itself based on an ARM license.
Not only the SoC, but also involved in improving the LCD and other components. He also gave Samsung money for new lines. I don't know about RAM, but even here I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't partially influence production in his own way.
Your claim about software is pure science fiction.
What exactly do you mean that iOS today has more than twice as bad stability as Samsung's TouchWiz? https://goo.gl/jzAnC0
Or that beech Cook outsourced iOS development to India?
In my opinion, it is a terrible problem when iOS only works on a few models, and at the same time it faces so many problems and bugs, typically bootloop after updating iPads, with iOS10 the control of headphones on lightning EarPods did not work, it often crashes on new iPhone 7 data recovery from iTunes when moving from the 6S… there is so much more.
Software development at Apple takes place in the States.
The rest of your assumptions don't even make sense to comment on.
Even under Jobs, both iOS and OS X were developed in the states, the latest versions of iOS 9 and 10 are fully outsourced in India and partly in China, Cook goes hard for profit. The deteriorating stability of iOS is necessarily related to this, the fact that today iOS is twice as weak in terms of stability than TouchWiz from Samsung, which is the worst superstructure ever for Android, this is the work of Cook and Indian developers who take care of Apple software for a tenth of the wages compared to the dissolved to teams of programmers in California. Microsoft and Google follow a similar path, although they manage to maintain a higher standard and better code review. In particular, Google has overtaken India's iOS9 and 10 in software in almost everything.
Look at the bugs in the latest version of iOS10... millions of iPads around the world end up in bootloop after the update, this has happened several times.
Apple doesn't care enough about it, now it has become clear that the iPhone 7 sold in the USA have a faster LTE modem from Qualcomm compared to the European ones, and they send cheaper and worse Intel to Europe.
Lightning reduction to 3.5mm jack with 4.5db dynamic attenuation, this is also a mockery.
If you tried to back up your claim, you would find that you are writing nonsense.
Just look at where Apple is looking for programmers for iOS.
https://jobs.apple.com/in/search?#businessline&fMix=current&apply=0&t=0&sb=req_open_dt&so=1&b=IOS&pN=0
You can ponder the rest of your dojmology and myths at your leisure.
Eric, you are spreading demagoguery and myths here. Apple laid off a significant part of the developers in the USA a few years ago, it was written about on all professional websites and on Reddit, it still has small teams in California, this does not change the fact that most of the current iOS code is written in India.
There's no point in me sourcing everything for some stupid person who can't even use a search engine.
What I write is true and there is no problem to verify everything yourself with a little effort.
iPads in bootloop, non-functional restore from iTunes to iOS10, non-functional control of lightning EarPods, 4.5db dynamic attenuation of lightning reduction, touchdisease, slow Intel modems, everything is easily documented.
The iPhone is a Chinese mobile phone, manufactured in China's Foxconn factories with 98% of components sourced from mainland China, all designed in Cupertino and manufactured by Chinese engineers and Foxconn workers. iPhone components originating from Japanese (JDI) and Korean companies (Samsung, LG, Omnivision) are also produced in mainland China, exceptionally from Taiwan.
Your outlandish notions about layoffs and iOS development in India are nonsense, as you could have understood from their job page. You claim something and you don't back it up.
Argument using a search engine is wrong. You will find only what you are looking for with the search engine. You have to look for and verify the facts from several sources.
You keep repeating something about bootloops, etc. Interesting that Daring Fireball or another similar blog that deals with Apple in great detail does not write about it. It probably won't be as big a problem as you imagine.
Yes, the iPhone is a phone made in China. Like most other electronics. It is due to the ecosystem there, where it is possible to solve the entire production in one place.
You have to be incredibly stupid to think that manufacturing in China is related to the ecosystem, it's purely financial reasons, just like outsourcing iOS development to India.
The job Apple page only proves that they are filling positions outside of development centers in India, it doesn't change the fact that most of the code today is written by programmers from India.
iPad bootloop is full of discussion forums and websites like 9to5Mac, just don't be too stupid and search: https://goo.gl/N7B9Bt
Not only iPads in bootloop, but also non-functioning restore from iTunes to iOS10, non-functioning control of lightning EarPods, 4.5db dynamic attenuation of lightning reduction, touchdisease, slow Intel modems, the world's Apple magazines are full of all this, just search and don't be an incompetent fool.
If you want to be stupid in all circumstances, at least don't embarrass yourself in discussions. Your stupidity, if you can't understand that the stability of iOS9 according to expert research on real users is twice as bad as Samsung's TouchWiz, the link is above. Bare facts can hardly be contradicted.
Ceramic is nice and looks more luxurious than aluminum, but personally I would be afraid that a part of it will chip off when it falls. In this regard, aluminum seems to me to be a more meaningful material because it is softer and more flexible. However, the 7000 series is strong enough and at the same time light enough, which is also one of Apple's priorities.
The iPhone 7 Plus is a very sturdy and solid phone, this is one of the few advantages compared to the more advanced S7 Edge, which is less resistant to falls due to the double-sided glass construction, it used to be the same with the iPhone 4 and 4S, once the glass is on the back, always it's a concession to practicality and a tax on design.
Due to the all-metal unibody design, the iPhone 7 Plus does not have wireless Qi charging.
Each has its pluses.
Yes, design tax. I also think the iPhone 4(S) are still the prettiest. Glass backs have something going for them. And I wouldn't say it's impractical, I turned my retired 4S into a work phone. It falls on the concrete several times a month - yes, the frame is battered, the glass is chipped here and there, but it hasn't cracked on either side yet. For that, I dropped my IP 6 from half a meter into the grass and a spider :D and it literally spilled out around the handset.
a half meter into the grass? but come on =P
My 6, on the other hand, fell from about half a meter onto the asphalt, made about 5 turns, and the only thing it came out with was a battered clay. It's like a pig, but I was quite happy for her.
I still don't know what people are talking about with the durability of the phone (of course, older Nokias endure the nuclear war), but when I have a phone for tens of thousands, I probably pay attention to it, no.
I dropped it from the subway at home on the pavement and nothing.. not even a scratch.. directly on the LCD.. but come to us people that it broke when they had it lying on the table, when it fell from twenty centimeters onto the carpet and the like =D .. in 90% "it burst by itself" =D
Apple can make the frame of the new iPhone from 7000 series aluminum, or something better. And the back cover can be made of ceramics, just like the iPhone 4 and 4S had glass at the back. If they make a stronger and less fragile ceramic than glass, it can work. The frame can be strong enough not to move and at the same time flexible enough to absorb falls and the ceramic does not break.
And at the same time I will be able to put antennas anywhere and add wireless charging at the same time.
At first it may be for more expensive iPhones and a year or two later it may be for everyone.
It is crucial how such a sandwich would affect the thickness of the device - while maintaining the internal volume for the electronics. Apple is simply obsessed with thinness. After all, the 4S was thicker compared to current models.
So my iPhone 6s fell on the pavement and I braked it a little with my foot. A bit of aluminum was taken, which totally pissed me off, because it had a silicone cover on it. So I bought a stronger cover and a 3D (instead of 2D) protective glass. And I will do exactly the same with the next iPhone. So I don't really care what material it is made of, a solid cover and protective glass will still fit through it.