Apple Designer on Why Curved Glass and Extruded Aluminum iPhone Designs Were Rejected

[MacRumors]

With court documents in the ongoing legal dispute between Apple and Samsung having yielded a remarkable number of design concepts and prototypes from the development of the iPhone and iPad, Network World has taken a look at testimony that explains why Apple rejected some of the ideas. The testimony comes from Doug Satzger, who spent 12 years in industrial design at Apple before moving on to Palm in early 2009 and then joining Intel earlier this year.

Most notably, Satzger reveals that Apple very much wanted to use a curved glass design for the iPhone, but cost considerations and technical hurdles forced Apple to change directions.

The technology in shaping the glass, the cost relative to shaping the glass at the time, and some of the design features of this specific shape were not liked. [...]

The technology at the time had a lot to do with it. The qualities of the glass at the time had a lot to do with it. These are models -- I'm trying to remember a time frame -- that were before gorilla glass and before a lot of the other factors.

"0355" iPhone prototype with curved glass on front and back

Satzger also addressed Apple's ideas for an extruded aluminum design similar to that of the iPod mini, noting that the design was rejected for both comfort and technical reasons.

My recollection of it was that to get the extruded aluminum design that was applied to the iPod to work for the iPhone, there were too many added features to allow it to be comfortable and to work properly. [...]

If you put an iPod up to your ear, the sharp edges, because of the processes, aren't comfortable, and you can't get antennas to work properly in a fully enclosed metal jacket. So each one of those things needed to apply other features that started.

iPhone with silver iPod mini-like extruded aluminum design (Source: The Verge)

Article Link: Apple Designer on Why Curved Glass and Extruded Aluminum iPhone Designs Were Rejected

[jasonxneo]

It was rejected cause it looked ugly hahahaha!!

[Mad Mac Maniac]

seems like it would crack easily... Don't really see any added benefit

[SprodeBoy]

"oh and we realized it looked like crap." missed that pars
I think people overlook how sexy the curret iPhone looks. And the next iPhone, getting rid of the speaker grooves, even better

[FSMBP]

I love stories like this (along with the other prototype leaks/stories). It gives such great insight into Apple & how they operate/think.

[twietee]

Glad they thought twice about printing "MENU" on the home button.

The first one looks pretty slick imho, reminds me on a cooler Vertu version. I'd buy that.

[neiltc13]

Nokia managed to do curved glass on N9 and Lumia 800 and they both turned out awesome.

[adrian.oconnor]

Originally Posted by jasonxneo

It was rejected cause it looked ugly hahahaha!!

Not really. It looks ugly by the standards of what came after, but if Apple had released something like that in 2007 nobody would have been surprised, and it would have seemed like a logical design. It would probably have been good enough, after a few more iterations. Obviously, what makes Apple stand out is that they don't ever settle for good enough...

[lilabila]

Is it only me who thinks the curved glass looks phantastic?

[pgiguere1]

They still did it with the nano:

[twietee]

Originally Posted by lilabila

Is it only me who thinks the curved glass looks phantastic?

Nope.

The stuff in the lower end looks unfinished, but overall really cool!

[monkor]

What this says to me: They wanted to try something different than the standard rectangular phones. They were forced, like everyone else, to design a rectangular phone with rounded edges because it obviously makes the most sense. Hence why patenting a certain shape is ridiculous for any company; it's the obvious route to go. You can make the rectangle look slightly different, but that's about it.

[adrian.oconnor]

Originally Posted by neiltc13

Nokia managed to do curved glass on N9 and Lumia 800 and they both turned out awesome.

For varying degrees of awesome

I nearly bought the Lumia 800, but two months after they released it they pre-announced the 900, so I stuck with iPhone. I'm pleased with my choice, because not upgrading the Lumia to WP8 is a real dick move. Imagine if Apple cut off iPhones from the latest iOS after just one year. Unimaginable.

[Jynto]

The technology in shaping the glass, the cost relative to shaping the glass at the time, and some of the design features of this specific shape were not liked. [...]

The technology at the time had a lot to do with it. The qualities of the glass at the time had a lot to do with it. These are models -- I'm trying to remember a time frame -- that were before gorilla glass and before a lot of the other factors.

It seems the reasons for ditching the curved glass are mostly technical. Does this mean we could be seeing curved glass iPhones in the future?

[adrian.oconnor]

Originally Posted by monkor

What this says to me: They wanted to try something different than the standard rectangular phones. They were forced, like everyone else, to design a rectangular phone with rounded edges because it obviously makes the most sense. Hence why patenting a certain shape is ridiculous for any company; it's the obvious route to go. You can make the rectangle look slightly different, but that's about it.

They didn't patent the rectangle. They patented a design that looks very much like an iPhone.

[Jynto]

Originally Posted by pgiguere1

They still did it with the nano:

Image

That wasn't a touchscreen though.

[nerdpov]

Originally Posted by Jynto

That wasn't a touchscreen though.

And it was a smaller surface.

[Mad-B-One]

Curved front: Cool (well, actually, I don't know if there are blending issues since it will reflect a wider angle)
Curved back: Oh, please, no! Thinking about having my phone on the desk and checking a notification and the phone starts to wobble like a cheap crucked plate.

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Originally Posted by Mad-B-One

Curved front: Cool (well, actually, I don't know if there are blending issues since it will reflect a wider angle)
Curved back: Oh, please, no! Thinking about having my phone on the desk and checking a notification and the phone starts to wobble like a cheap crucked plate.

I didn't really have much problem with my iPhone 3G... which was curved more heavily than that pic

[Icaras]

Originally Posted by pgiguere1

They still did it with the nano:

Image

Do you place the Nano over your ear? No.

Does the Nano utilize 3G and wi-fi capabilities? No.

The reasons were stated in the quote quite clearly.

[BigJohno]

Originally Posted by pgiguere1

They still did it with the nano:

Image

and I dont think it was glass... Plastic?

[chainprayer]

Avoiding antenna issues? Dodged a bullet on that one!

[lilabila]

Originally Posted by twietee

Nope.

The stuff in the lower end looks unfinished, but overall really cool!

Yes, there's some real potential here! Imagine it finished!
Since the curves aren't that extreme it wouldn't have problems on the desk I think.

[8281]

It's neat seeing all these designs, but I think these lawsuits are getting out of hand. Seems like the legal bills alone will cost more than the loss incurred by any claimed patent infringement, and I think one of the judges even called one of Apple's arguments "silly." I totally understand protecting intellectual property, but jeez...

[Technarchy]

All kinds of interesting design insight since this trial started.