i type under correction, but it seems that apple has had "exclusivity agreement" with liquidmetal for some time. little has come to fruition. patented prospects are abundant. is this a case of a lock in agreement?
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Apple Interested in Liquidmetal Alloys for Home Buttons, Touch Sensors, and Tamper-Resistant Screws
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i type under correction, but it seems that apple has had "exclusivity agreement" with liquidmetal for some time. little has come to fruition. patented prospects are abundant. is this a case of a lock in agreement?
You're right--the tamper resistant screws can be defeated (how I don't know, just going by precedent). But the real question is how the tamper resistant screws enable apple to make even more money, which is what they care about. This fanatical control has got to stop and the question has to be asked, why support these types of practices at all as consumers? Answer: only if apple's products are just that much better to be worth all of this control and premium pricing. The answer for me is becoming "no, it's just worth all of this" anymore. When I look back, my iphones have been no more durable, or even less durable than my android phones. The manufacturing is all pretty much even now, except that I've paid twice as much for my phones and even had them serviced. $260 to replace a power button that has been the target of class action lawsuits already? Please. I could just buy a new phone at that price. Oh wait, that's what Apple store told me I had to do in order to fix a broken power button whose cause is the very definition of a manufacturer defect.
The push button and substrate patents looks particularly absurd to me. As far as I can tell there's no 'invention' there at all, they are just something that already exists, but made out of a different metal.
I don't see any sort of lock-in. Apple invested in LiquidMetal early in its development, giving the fledgling company funds in return for its exclusive use for consumer electronics.
Little has come to fruition because the technology is still being developed, as these patent applications show. The material also seems best suited to creating small metallic parts (like in all of these patent applications), so you wouldn't necessarily notice it. I doubt Apple is going to start injection-moulding their unibody cases out of this stuff any time soon.
As I understand it, the button is made out of a strain-gauge. I don't think that's how current push-buttons are implemented.
That would also make the button pressure-sensitive, if you wanted that.
Can't the touch ID be done without the home button as a separate button. Like make the 'home button' more of a place on the screen?
So Apple is spending time, research, and money on tamper-proof screws. We all know removal tools will hit ifixit and deal extreme about 3 days before Apple's product launch.
You'd think Apple would be better off putting all that effort into, say, a mac mini with a CPU newer than early 2012. Maybe a new screen for the mac pro that's either 4k, or at least not more expensive than same-sized 4k screens from other companies. Apps/games for the ATV? Mac with all desktop parts for the consumer market?
Nope...tamper resistant screws..That's where they need to focus. Timmy is just so smart to see that.
You'd think Apple would be better off putting all that effort into, say, a mac mini with a CPU newer than early 2012. Maybe a new screen for the mac pro that's either 4k, or at least not more expensive than same-sized 4k screens from other companies. Apps/games for the ATV? Mac with all desktop parts for the consumer market?
Nope...tamper resistant screws..That's where they need to focus. Timmy is just so smart to see that.
well, "SCREW" them if they really use these tamper resistant screws to keep me from fixing my own device!
this should be illegal!
If they use it, my hopes rest with some EU authority to enforce different screws here in the EU or penalize them so high that they reconsider.
As much as I like their products, I ******** hate their attitude when it comes to keeping their devices serviceable.
A big portion of what they seem to care about seems to be planned obsolescence! "SCREW that!"
this should be illegal!
If they use it, my hopes rest with some EU authority to enforce different screws here in the EU or penalize them so high that they reconsider.
As much as I like their products, I ******** hate their attitude when it comes to keeping their devices serviceable.
A big portion of what they seem to care about seems to be planned obsolescence! "SCREW that!"
thanks. i take notice. "liquidmetal" has been around for quite a few years now... "promising" promotional material..... let us see how this pans out.
Tamper resistant screws would be so Apple can tell if a product was monkeyed with if it needs warranty service.
Apple is happy to fix these devices, but if a user nefariously opens their phone and purposely shorts out some components to disable the device, then goes to the Genius Bar for a nice new warranty replacment, Apple will be able to tell it's been tampered with, that's it.
Apple is happy to fix these devices, but if a user nefariously opens their phone and purposely shorts out some components to disable the device, then goes to the Genius Bar for a nice new warranty replacment, Apple will be able to tell it's been tampered with, that's it.
Yes, because Apple don't have thousands of engineers at all. They can only work on thing thing at a time. I imagine that designing these screws is really the cause of why the Mac mini hasn't been updated and why they haven't updated their Thunderbolt Display
What do tamper resistant screws mean for Apple's on site screen replacements? They go back to swapping out the whole unit?
Tamper-resistant screws?
What that means for Apple product owners with these screws is that Apple will configure the device, what ever it is, and you'll have GREAT difficulty upgrading things like memory or a logic board after your warranty runs out. The bottom line: Apple wants you to buy a new product.
Just keepin' it real....
What that means for Apple product owners with these screws is that Apple will configure the device, what ever it is, and you'll have GREAT difficulty upgrading things like memory or a logic board after your warranty runs out. The bottom line: Apple wants you to buy a new product.
Just keepin' it real....
Well, Apple sends it back to china for refurbishing. Most likely the screws can only be removed once and that's it.
Would be kind of funny after years of Liquidmetal speculation, that they bought it only to make the home buttons a bit more robust
You do realize that they do not own LQMT? Speculation or not, the Sim ejector tool used for the iPhone 3G was made of the alloy.
Apple just made a significant investment in machinery to repair screens in-store, so no, they're not turning around and making the devices sealed and unserviceable.
The screws probably can't be removed without being destroyed or marked. The devices will be then be reassembled with new screws.
And to think, once upon a time Apple touted itself as being "Green".
When in reality they influenced the competition in the smartphone sector to eliminate battery doors and removeable easily replaced batteries.
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Home button failures are profitable for Apple.
Like you are doing with your Android keep voting with your wallet if APPLE indeed goes that route.
I prefer not to get excited about rumors or hypothetical possibilities.
At this point I haven't seen one screw, so let's wait and see.
I doubt that's what they were advocating, since they're not really mutually exclusive concepts.
I'm advocating for both the removal of the home button and keeping Touch ID (remembering Apple's patent that includes using Touch ID integrated into a screen).
I'm looking forward to them successfully implementing Touch ID under the screen. Then the home button can finally move to the screen as well... or change how the UI behaves so it's no longer needed.
Not that early.
2002 - Samsung began using Liquidmetal in their phones for items like bezels and hinges.
2004 - Vertu made their Ascent phone line out of LM.
2008 - Samsung made a similar luxury phone called the Ego, with an LM chassis.
2010 - Apple purchases exclusive consumer electronics use of all LM intellectual property created up to 2012.
2012 - Apple extends IP license terms to include up to February 2014.
I sometimes wonder if Apple invested in them just to keep the tech out of other company's hands, like they did with AuthenTec, whose fingerprint sensors had been used for many years by other phone makers.
You do realize that they work on more than one thing at a time. Apple files for tons of patents each year.