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They have their own aluminum alloy made specifically for the phone. Custom plastics, dyes, colors, etc. They've got enough scale/buyer power to optimize to the
by nickpinkston 14y ago
They have their own aluminum alloy made specifically for the phone. Custom plastics, dyes, colors, etc. They've got enough scale/buyer power to optimize to the n-th.
Not to mention that the A-series processor is Apple only, they get early access to the best screens, etc.
- ricardobeat 14y agoNot to mention they use forging instead of casting for the aluminum bodies, and have their own white paint formula (most manufacturers don't even bother trying to make white devices). Plastic was still the norm for PCs until the "Ultrabook" wave came along.
- nwienert 14y agoNot sure the white paint is relevant, there are quite a few white androids (most notably the HTC One X, which in my opinion is the best looking phone on the market).
- sirn 14y agoWhite paint is probably irrelevant, but the important part is white paint formula. I own One X but it is not as clean-looking white as iPhone or iPad (it looks somewhere around #FFFFF6, if iPhone's white is considered #FFF). It's still a very good looking phone, though.
- schiffern 14y ago>Not to mention they use forging instead of casting for the aluminum bodies Apple currently CNC mills all their aluminum bodies.
- nickpinkston 14y agoThey cold forge, laser cut, CNC mill, bead blast, and then anodize them actually - there's many processes that go into making such a product.
- pitchups 14y agoAnd what a shame that the majority of users cover it with a cheap, plastic/rubber case! :\
- nickpinkston 14y agoHaha - this actually goes for most products, but Apple is crazy at this type of thing - buying CNC machines by the 1000s at a time... To be honest - I think a lot of it isn't the right direction for product design - it's designed to be HARD to implement, so I feel like a flanking maneuver is required in industrial design to start new aesthetics that will drive different ways of manufacturing.
- nickpinkston 14y agoHaha - this actually goes for most products, but Apple is crazy at this type of thing - buying CNC machines by the 1000s at a time... To be honest - I think a lot of it isn't the right direction for product design - it's designed to be HARD to match, so I feel like a flanking maneuver is required in industrial design to start new aesthetics that will drive different ways of manufacturing that are most accessible than Apple's current methods.
- ricardobeat 14y agoOops, I was thinking of milling, not forging.
- bitcartel 14y agoEarly access to best screens? Maybe not. http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/17/3515158/htc-shows-off-stunning-5-inch-1080p-j-butterfly-phone-in-japan http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/17/3515158/htc-shows-off-stu...
- nickpinkston 14y agoYea, well you have to think about what they're optimizing on - I'm sure that you can equal them on some things - but holistically you can't do it for a competitive price. Apple improves where it gives the most bang - and right now they're not really in a "specs war". They don't play the commodity game - they market on new features, not better - even the better screen was a "First time ever Retina level" where they introduced PPI as a new metric