Apple all glass iPhone? Ping!
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Posted on 07/09/2014 11:47:56 AM PDT by shove_it
Apple has patented a method for building devices with all-glass outer casings (via AppleInsider), by fusing pieces together for a completely seamless final look. The all-glass device casings could be used to hold the internals of an iOS device or to house a TV or monitor, too.
The all-glass structures are designed for maximum durability but also weight savings, with designs that fuse pieces together to avoid having to use a single heavy block of material, and internal structures like fused-on ribs and reinforcement points, also made of glass, placed at key points where structural integrity could be weaker.
Unlike the iPhone 4, which featured front and back glass panels, the patent would allow Apple to build completely glass-encased gadgets, which would allow for a completely different aesthetic versus other gadget-maker’s designs. An all-glass Retina Cinema Display would certainly stand out from the crowd in terms of monitors, and an all-glass iPhone would definitely draw even more headlines than usual.
Of course, glass is still subject to impact damage and other potential pitfalls. And as with many of its other patents, Apple may simply have experimented with the tech but then moved on to something else (like sapphire glass construction, for instance), but the patent does cite Apple SVP Jony Ive as one of its main inventors. Flat glass slabs are a staple of sci-fi TV and movies, after all, so maybe Apple wants to help usher that future into production.
(Excerpt) Read more at techcrunch.com ...
I’m happy for you ... Apple clearly makes the kind of product you want. Isn’t capitalism grand?
Apple makes you break out the toolkit.
Samsung doesn't.
That's just a fact. It reflects different design mentalities and different sets of customers.
Some people get completely deranged when it comes to 'defending' Apple products. Try not to be one of them. I made some comments about differences in design mentality between Apple and other competitors in the personal electronics business. Those comments are true. They're not insults, they're just statements of fact. Deal with it.
Good day, sir.
I remember that store in the 80s that had all that see thru stuff. Fun too look at, never bought anything. They went under, apparently I wasn’t the only one that thought see thru stuff was only cool for 5 minutes.
Seems like I remember Apple selling a lot of computers that were see through. The original iMac in all those transparent fruity colors. Apple is a “think different” company for sure. That has its advantages and disadvantages. I mean who spends $$$ on designing the inside of a product so it will be esthetically pleasing even when most people will never see? Yet, they do. I think Apple likes to, ideally, build products that they like. They probably only sell them to the rest of us just so they can keep on building stuff that “they” like.
Your post #26 preceded my post #29, and was, in fact, the beginning of this worthless conversation.
If you don’t need to turn a phone truly off by removing the battery, that’s fine. Some people do.
The rest of your post is just blather and drivel ... I’ll try to remember not to reply to any more of your missives.
Has Apple EVER had any interest in 'product maintenance'?
Not really since Jobs came back. The main interests for Apple (with respect to design) are to create artwork and to raise the difficulty for repair.
Their older towers came close enough to a regular PC. A few screws here and there, and most of the stuff that had to be done, could be done. Today, it's all about artwork that requires an NDA to properly service.
NOBODY, not even an Apple Certified Guru, will be able to crack it.
They'll find a way, knowing that it's not uncommon to see a cracked screen iPhone. Or if you leave the device untouched long enough, the glass will crack by itself.
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Not exactly. . . it was a product without a purpose. Steve Jobs just saw the purpose and incorporated it in the first iPhone. Other phone makers ignored it in favor of plastic. . . it was, in their opinion, too expensive for use on a handset and unnecessary for competition.
If your "interesting" point is that Apple products aren't listed, that's not dispositive.
"Though this list is sourced from Corning's website, there is a statement on that site indicating that this list is not necessarily comprehensive, as some companies have contractual arrangements with Corning that prohibit listing of said companies' products."
Corning has never listed Apple on the list due to contractural limitations, but the CEO of Corning has appeared on stage with Steve Jobs when they've discussed the use of Gorilla Glass on Apple's iPhones and iPads. . . and it's been used since the first model iPhone.
Those others on the list only started adopting Gorilla Glass after Apple introduced it in the iPhone. In fact, the other makers criticized Apple's choice of glass as being "too fragile" for handset use. . . until the low percentage of breakage convinced them of its viability. That criticism was still rife up to the release of the Apple iPhone 4s with Gorilla Glass 2 on both front and back in 2010. The adoption of Android and the need for scratch resistant screens resulted in Corning's Gorilla Glass solution, and its competitors being adopted. Samsung made a big deal in its advertising on release of the Galaxy S3 that it now had Gorilla Glass on its Flagship, top-of-the-line phone.
Corning is not happy about Apple's switch to Sapphire.
No, they were screwed together. If you tried to separate the halves without knowing about the screws, you'd break the case. There are four torx screws that required a nine inch torx screwdriver to reach to remove. Then the "Mac cracker," which was merely a clamp like device with the spring removed, assisted in spreading open the case without damaging the plastic. You really didn't need the cracker as wiggling the back off worked with a little time and effort.
Compare that to MacPros which require no screwdrivers at all to open, remove and hot swap out Hard drives, add RAM, cards, or even change processors. . . and no ribbon cables, wires, or internal cables or plugs anywhere! Adding RAM to most iMacs is a single Philips screw access. The engineering on Apple products is phenomenal, and is one of the prime reasons they last so long.
I find it interesting that you linked to the thoroughly debunked claims about the "cracked" cases of the Mac Cube. Were you aware that not a single returned Mac Cube case was ever found to be actually cracked. What was claimed to be cracks were casting marks in the 1/4" polycarbonate cases. This Polycarbonate is the same thing that's sold under a different brand name as "Lexan" and is super tough material. These cases were TOUGH, the next thing to bullet proof. You might see this material being used in banks for that very purpose.
I still own one of these venerable PowerPC Macs and it still works. It even runs OSX Panther. Totally silent. Oh, and NorthMountain, you can open it and get at all the internals without a screwdriver. Push a button, a handle silently lifts itself from the computer—similar to Hal in 2001, A Space Odyssey, really cool—and you pull the "core". Great engineering.
Correct. I have original Macs as well as newer ones. Take a regular magnetic extension socket for a screwdriver, costs a buck or two, remove the sleeve and together with the driver you have a nine inch screwdriver, no special expensive tool needed. Other Macs, like the IIci series had a single screw holding the lid on. Remove that screw, and every other component snaps apart - hard drive, motherboard, etc., all of it without any fuss - unlike crappy PC towers with multitudes of screws and sharp metal. Many other Apple devices similarly are easy for a user to take apart - Apple II series and up. A simple lever pull on a Mac tower. The Mac Cube with a press of a handle. The list goes on.
NorthMountain has an agenda against Apple products that have no bearing in truth.
I have a couple Mac Cubes. The casting marks are faint lines running down the corner seams in the back of the Cube. Can barely see them. They are not cracks. However, because I keep a collection of sharp looking machines I polished out the lines in the seams. Both machines still run and access the Internet some 15 years old. I have PowerPC Macs too, no problem opening them up - easily.
Nope 2 torx screws was all you needed to remove, the case halves did fit together very tightly, I usually just slapped both sides of the computer like fluffing a pillow, but the did make a little tool to crack them.
The screws were located under the handle in the top, so a long torx screw driver made it easier to remove them.
Apple knew that 99% of computers they sell are never modified, other than memory upgrades. The first G5 iMacs could be opened easily and every part replaced, but they quickly dropped that design and went to the current hard to modify design.
I have several 10 year old Macs that still run fine, I did pop for an 09 Mac Pro to get massive storage capacity and added a Drobo to back it up I have 5 4 terabyte drives in the Pro with an SSD on a Pci Card and still have a DVD drive in the top bay.
Is my over 65 memory failing me? I seem to recall four torx screws. . . But it has been many years since I cracked one of those open. I recall the two up by the handle, but I'm pretty sure there were two more deeper in down by the base. Am I mis-rememberating?
Both died in the same power surge at a school caused by a high tension line falling on a low voltage line in an auto accident. Made them good volunteers for our experiments! ;^)
My statement on the Cubes was made in jest, knowing how iPhones easily end up with cracked screens. The link for Google was to provide others with a link talking about the issue.
As for my own experiences with Apple, I speak mostly from fixing and using them. While I don’t have a Cube, I’ve had a couple of the iMacs (G5, G4) as well as their towers(8500, 9600, G3, G4) - not much overall in the world of Apple products, but enough to understand their preference for artwork.
(I know, this might be a late post, but I’d rather explain things out)
Okay, we're all friends here! My daughter accidentally ran over her iPhone with her car. The case was bent all out of whack but the glass held up, go figure. She used it for a year before getting a newer model.
I also have iMacs and towers, including a 9600. I don't call the 9600 a piece of art, that's one machine I don't like! For art, look at the TAM (Twentieth Anniversary model), still in use as a stereo and TV system in my living room. I wish people would give up on nitpicking brands, and just embrace all makes. I used to play with and marvel over 1930s radio and phonograph players for their art and functionality before they got bland decades later. I was buying them in the 1960s for a dollar apiece as forgotten relics. We've been in a golden age with computers, soon to be forgotten in a decade or two (shifting into home cnc with laser, 3D printing, robotics).
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