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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,194
30,135



iphone3gs.jpg
Apple today posted a new job listing for a Manufacturing Design Engineer with a focus on Advanced Plastic Tooling and Process. According to the job description, Apple is looking to expand and improve its current plastics division.
Identify, develop and launch new tooling and process capabilities in support of new Apple product developments. Areas of focus will be "non-traditional" Apple plastic processing such as thermoforming, foam molding, blow molding, etc., and their application to new Apple products. The successful candidate will have demonstrated history of bringing new process and tooling technologies through a full development cycle and launch into high volume production.
Though Apple has focused heavily on aluminum for the iPad, the iPhone, and the MacBook line for the past few years, the Cupertino-based company has continued to prominently use plastics in such products as the Apple TV, the AirPort Extreme, keyboards, and other accessories.

Recent rumors have suggested that Apple is working on a low cost iPhone that will be constructed primarily of plastic. The iPhone is said to be a hybrid of the iPhone 5 and the iPod touch, with a plastic enclosure.

A new hire specializing in plastics is unlikely to be involved in the design of the low cost iPhone, given that it is rumored to be released later this year, but the open position does support reports that Apple is focusing on novel uses of plastics for upcoming products.

Article Link: Apple Job Listing for Plastics Design Engineer Hints at Innovative Designs for Future Products
 

Dwalls90

macrumors 603
Feb 5, 2009
5,426
4,391
China + Plastic = iPhone Mini?

Or, since TELEVISIONS tend to have lots of plastic in them ;)
 

rmwebs

macrumors 68040
Apr 6, 2007
3,140
0
<insert smarmy comment about how Apple would never use Plastic as it's cheap>

:rolleyes:


I still think that whilst the iPhone 5 is a sexy phone, it'd be nicer with the glossy plastic back of the 3/3s. Nothing wrong with plastic.
 

Krazy Bill

macrumors 68030
Dec 21, 2011
2,985
3
I dunno folks... I look at my 4S and marvel at the precision machine engineering that went into the thing.

Plastic meh. Give me rubber... something that bounces on concrete. :(
 

Battlefield Fan

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2008
1,063
0
I think that's what made the iPhone 4 design so great. It was a big step up in terms of metals and glass over the plastic used in the 3G and 3GS. I realize some wireless products need certain plastics to propagate signals but why step backwards if this is true?
 

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Aug 29, 2006
10,966
1,463
Washington DC
Or the guy that works on the Magic Mouse just quit and they're replacing him.

I'm sorry, but I hate the "a job posting means a new direction for Apple products" stories.
 

dojoman

macrumors 68000
Apr 8, 2010
1,934
1,089
Plastic from 3G/3GS is much better quality than Galaxy S3 back plactic. Just sayin'.
I cringed every time I pulled off the GS3 back cover. It sounded cheap and felt cheap.
 

blackhand1001

macrumors 68030
Jan 6, 2009
2,599
33
Or the guy that works on the Magic Mouse just quit and they're replacing him.

I'm sorry, but I hate the "a job posting means a new direction for Apple products" stories.

hopefully they fired that guy. Whoever designed that mouse deserves to be fired. If you want a proper slim mouse the arc touch mouse was a way better design and wasn't a carpal tunnel magnet. The arc touch is very comfortable to hold. Much more so than it looks.

Microsoft-Arc-Touch-mouse-1.jpg
 

gkarris

macrumors G3
Dec 31, 2004
8,301
1,061
"No escape from Reality...”
These phones make for cheap unlocked phones directly from Apple, as it is illegal for users to unlock smartphones in the US. $299 to start?

People here are looking forward to AT&T unlocking their iPhones when their contract is up - little do they know the carrier is no longer obligated to do so...
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
Innovative plastic designs?
Well I guess you had to put something there now that "magical" is used up.
 

Mr. Retrofire

macrumors 603
Mar 2, 2010
5,064
518
www.emiliana.cl/en
China + Plastic = iPhone Mini?

Or, since TELEVISIONS tend to have lots of plastic in them ;)
Some plastics like Teflon, Polyamide 6.6 or Polycarbonate are very robust. In some cases more robust than aluminum.

Future WLAN standards need up to 8 antennas (802.11ac, up to ≈ 7 GBit/s), or use very high frequencies (802.11ad, 60 GHz). That means Apple needs more antennas in iDevices and a material which does not block the 5 GHz or 60 GHz frequencies.
 
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