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Apple Still Developing Liquid Metal for Future iPhone Pro Frames
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transpo1
macrumors 68000
Yes, they have. Those SIM ejector tools were one of the best Apple products of all time-- they're practically unbreakable.
Makes total sense that aluminum was a temporary heat solution for a couple generations while they find another titanium or other metal that works better. A Pro device should have a premium material.
If Apple were really concerned about being green, they'd stop making people throw away their iPhone cases every year by changing the dimensions of the phone. 🥲Ti-V-Al has a thermal conductivity of 7.2, pure titanium is at 16.3. There is a titanium-nickel-molybdenum alloy at 22.7. There is hope.
See the second table down on this page.
Titanium Alloys - Physical Properties
Physical properties of titanium and titanium alloys such as density strength, thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, magnetic properties, elastic modulus, poissons ratio, tensile strength, hardness, creep, fatigue and fracture toughness are all covered.www.azom.com
That does not change the fact that titanium is one of the least Green metals out there, but Green seems to be a casualty of the rush to AI.
It will be!
We'll let the engineers on the forum weigh in but I suspect that because the frame was the primary conductive / heat dissipating area, having even partial titanium (especially on the outside of the frame, where it was bonded to the aluminum portion) makes a big difference.
Return Zero
macrumors 68000
I'd love for them to try a copper based alloy for an iPhone ultra or something. I'm sure they've tested some. Can be stronger than aluminum AND more thermally conductive. Not quite as strong as titanium but honestly that material is overkill when you're sandwiching it between glass anyway.
Apple seems to have learned a lot about iPhone frame construction and materials usage in going from the 15 Pro to the 16 Pro, Air (Ti), and 17 Pro (Al). Anecdotally, the 15 Pro ran quite warm and was prone to temp-related shutdowns. For me the upcoming Arizona summer will be a good test for the Air. Liquid metal will probably remain an elusive goal simply due to its cost. That leaves aluminum, which is time-tested and durable if flawed (weight). I'm afraid there's no secret sauce to this.
Maybe we need an Aluminum and Titanium alloy. Probably dissipate heat almost as good and be stronger
aluminium 7000 series has a small amount of titanium in it. Titanium Grade 5 has aluminium in it already.
The aluminum-based 17 Pro is decidedly heavier than its predecessors, part of which is due to a bigger battery. Titanium continues to have better strength and worse heat conduction than aluminum.
I m not sure people could tell the difference in a blind fold test?
iPhone 17 Pro Max with eSim only: 5,088mAh at 233 grams
iPhone 17 Pro Max with sim card: 4,823mAh at 231 grams
iPhone 16 Pro Max: 4,685mAh at 227 grams
iPhone 15 Pro Max: 4,422mAh at 221 grams
Aluminium 7000 series and Titanium Grade 5 have similar strength to weight. Really not much to pick between the 2. More important about how you use the material. An aluminium part will essentially weigh the same as a titanium part for the same strength.
If you look at the Apple watch series 11, the titanium version weighs about 13-14% more than the aluminium one. Some of this is due to Sapphire glass too though.
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Most of the iPhone 17's thermal gains came from having the first ever vapor chamber in an iPhone. Some through the aluminum back camera plateau.
I just don't believe the side rails being 0.2mm of fused titanium would have at all been a problem that sacrificed any more than a few percent of thermal performance, but again the 17 Pro already gained so much. The titanium rails are so much more durable even the Air is a beast of durability compared to the Pro. Looking at the cost of materials over time is more the real answer.
Really wish titanium sides were coming back on the 18 Pro.
Also lol liquid metal, a decades long meme to the long term Apple fans, I remember drooling over concepts of a liquid metal macbook that looked impossibly sleek at the time but with the passage of time, even this concept looks chunky lol
I just don't believe the side rails being 0.2mm of fused titanium would have at all been a problem that sacrificed any more than a few percent of thermal performance, but again the 17 Pro already gained so much. The titanium rails are so much more durable even the Air is a beast of durability compared to the Pro. Looking at the cost of materials over time is more the real answer.
Really wish titanium sides were coming back on the 18 Pro.
Also lol liquid metal, a decades long meme to the long term Apple fans, I remember drooling over concepts of a liquid metal macbook that looked impossibly sleek at the time but with the passage of time, even this concept looks chunky lol
macduke
macrumors G5
Two things: Glass is an insulator and the new device uses more metal total meaning it can dissipate more heat and aluminum is a better conductor so it moves heat away from the chips more efficiently with the vapor chamber.
I was referring to the 15/16/17 Pro line only, as I don't shop the Pro Max size. For the Pros the corresponding weights are:
15 Pro: 187 g
16 Pro: 199 g
17 Pro: 206 g
For good measure I'll toss in the Air since that's what I currently rock:
Air: 165 g
Every time I visited an Apple Store on launch day I compared the weight in-hand and perceived density using the 15 Pro as the baseline. Fractions of an ounce may not seem like much, but they add up especially when you include a case. My Air with a TPU bumper is 1 g lighter than a naked 16 Pro, even lighter than one with a case. When I'm at home the Air goes naked. For others it may not matter much. I live in a place warm enough for me to frequently wear shorts, so it matters a great deal. I like the idea of a 200 g (7.05 oz.) limit on an iPhone including a case since there is an inherent weight-for-protection tradeoff.
Isn't ALL metal, when crafted for use in a consumer item, liquified?
More Apple marketing hype at work...
More Apple marketing hype at work...
That’s not why the company LiquidMetal Technologies calls it liquidmetal (an earlier post defines why). And the company isn’t owned by Apple, so they’re doing their own marketing separate from Apple.
Paul1964
macrumors 6502
One of the proerties of Liquid Metal is that the component is made up of a single "crystal" where other metals have a crystallne structure. When snapping a piece of metal, such as iron, it breaks along crystal boundaries - Liquid Metal does not have these boundaries - which can make it very strong.
The main ingredients to the alloy are titanium and zirconium but can include copper, nickel and beryllium depending on the required properties.
SactoGuy18
macrumors 603
Paul1964
macrumors 6502
