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zalchi

macrumors member
Oct 21, 2016
38
7
Hungary
iPhone 7 - the last aluminum/aluminium flagship
iPhone 14 Pro - the last stainless steel flagship [glass back]

Since iPhone 15 Pro, flagship iPhone models have used titanium [glass back]...

So long as the sides are matte, as to what material they use is not that important to me... I just want rounded edges for display greater than 6.0" and flat edged for display below 6.0"

Also bring back 1920 x 1080 [16:9] and 2340 x 1080 [19.5:9]
So iPhone 21 Ultra will be the last titanium flagship. What's next? Adamantium?
 
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maerz001

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2010
2,520
2,430
Apple needs to find a better material that has both wireless charging and durability like aluminum. I never broke any phone until I broke the glass back of iphone 14 PM (in a case) which would cost hundreds to fix.

I had iphone 5, 6, and 7 and never worried about the back. Think about this: The most expensive and most portable devices are made of glasses both front and back. Half of population are kids and people working on job sites and carrying these glasses are ridiculous.

By offering the wireless feature, apple creates a new problem: broken glasses. Is it worth it to have wireless charging?
While i am not a fan of glas, its the one which doesnt scratch that easily.
The alternatives would be some kind of plastic, epoxy w carbon or maybe wood.
But all scratch easily and wood is problematic with water.
 

iamthedudeman

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2007
1,423
273
If titanium doesn't offer any benefits, why was the SR71 made out of titanium instead of aluminum?
That was a plane. It was the weight to strength ratio.
In the current iphones the 7000 series Aluminum is very similar to Titanium.

In fact 7000 series Aluminum is Aerospace grade which was developed to be a cheaper alternative to Titanium and has very similar characteristics to titanium.

it does dissapate heat much better and is nearly as strong. The use of Titanium has no practical usage other than marketing purposes. They added a metal cage around the pros battery this year to dissipate heat since titanium is so poor at it.
Aluminum has no such issues. Would be and is the better choice for use in a phone.
 

iamthedudeman

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2007
1,423
273
Might have to be titanium to allow such a thin bezel. Wanted to add after looking titanium is 2x stronger while being 60% heavier. Pretty simple and choice is ever obvious.
That isnt true. Apple is using 7000 series Aluminum, not regular Aluminum. 7000 series Aluminum is aerospace grade, was developed as a cheaper alternative to Titanium having similar characteristics as Titanium.

It is certainly not 2x as strong. Not even 1x. It is on average between .5 to .6 stronger or 40 percent with much lower heat conductivity.

 
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BigBellyBelcher

macrumors member
Feb 26, 2024
52
105
That isnt true. Apple is using 7000 series Aluminum, not regular Aluminum. 7000 series Aluminum is aerospace grade, was developed as a cheaper alternative to Titanium having similar characteristics as Titanium.

It is certainly not 2x as strong. Not even 1x. It is on average between .5 to .6 stronger or 40 percent with much lower heat conductivity.

The tensile strength and sheer strength appear to be double that of the aluminum according to that link.
 
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iamthedudeman

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2007
1,423
273
The tensile strength and sheer strength appear to be double that of the aluminum according to that link.
That isnt true. Apple is using 7000 series Aluminum, not regular Aluminum. 7000 series Aluminum is aerospace grade, was developed as a cheaper alternative to Titanium having similar characteristics as Titanium.

It is certainly not 2x as strong. Not even 1x. It is on average between .5 to .6 stronger or 40 percent with much lower heat conductivity.

That is just two factors that make up the overall strength. You have to look at everything. Look at the bottom graph that calculates everything. Those are the calculated numbers.Its under common calculations.
Strength to weight for example.
 

BugeyeSTI

macrumors 604
Aug 19, 2017
7,140
9,020
Arizona/Illinois
That was a plane. It was the weight to strength ratio.
In the current iphones the 7000 series Aluminum is very similar to Titanium.

In fact 7000 series Aluminum is Aerospace grade which was developed to be a cheaper alternative to Titanium and has very similar characteristics to titanium.

it does dissapate heat much better and is nearly as strong. The use of Titanium has no practical usage other than marketing purposes. They added a metal cage around the pros battery this year to dissipate heat since titanium is so poor at it.
Aluminum has no such issues. Would be and is the better choice for use in a phone.

Titanium skin​

Because the aircraft was designed to fly faster than 2,000 mph, friction with the surrounding atmosphere would heat up the fuselage to a point that would melt a conventional airframe. The plane was therefore made of titanium, a metal that was able to withstand high temperatures while also being lighter than steel.
 

iamthedudeman

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2007
1,423
273

Titanium skin​

Because the aircraft was designed to fly faster than 2,000 mph, friction with the surrounding atmosphere would heat up the fuselage to a point that would melt a conventional airframe. The plane was therefore made of titanium, a metal that was able to withstand high temperatures while also being lighter than steel.
Yes i know that. I provided a link comparing titanium to 7000 series aluminu. Titanium was used for strength to weight and its ability to expand extreme heat and not changing shape. For example the SR 71 leaked during takeoff because the titanium plates would close the gaps when in flight.

The use in a phone is not comparabl.
 
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BugeyeSTI

macrumors 604
Aug 19, 2017
7,140
9,020
Arizona/Illinois
Yes i know that. I provided a link comparing titanium to 7000 series aluminu. Titanium was used for strength to weight and its ability to expand extreme heat and not changing shape. For example the SR 71 leaked during takeoff because the titanium plates would close the gaps when in flight.

The use in a phone is not comparabl.
For the flagship phone I prefer a premium material and hardware that makes it different than the standard model. I also preferred stainless steel to aluminum when the X was released. I had no problem when the flagship was aluminum, 6S was one of my favorite phones but for me personally, when they offered stainless or titanium for the Pro models I liked the change
 

ThailandToo

macrumors 6502a
Apr 18, 2022
605
1,230
Apple needs to find a better material that has both wireless charging and durability like aluminum. I never broke any phone until I broke the glass back of iphone 14 PM (in a case) which would cost hundreds to fix.

I had iphone 5, 6, and 7 and never worried about the back. Think about this: The most expensive and most portable devices are made of glasses both front and back. Half of population are kids and people working on job sites and carrying these glasses are ridiculous.

By offering the wireless feature, apple creates a new problem: broken glasses. Is it worth it to have wireless charging?
Probably depends on who you ask.
 

iamthedudeman

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2007
1,423
273
For the flagship phone I prefer a premium material and hardware that makes it different than the standard model. I also preferred stainless steel to aluminum when the X was released. I had no problem when the flagship was aluminum, 6S was one of my favorite phones but for me personally, when they offered stainless or titanium for the Pro models I liked the change
That is assuming 7000 series Aerospace grade Aluminum is not a premium material. it is. It is more expensive than Stainless Steel. A much more premium material.
Apple is very good at marketing, so most believe what they say. They make space craft and satellites out of it. It is stronger than mild steels.
Stainless Steel is cheap in comparison, is heavy and conducts heat poorly. Apple should have never used it in the first place.
Titanium is more expensive than both, but is heavier than 7000 series aluminum and is a poor conductor of heat.
Remember 7000 Series aluminum was developed as a replacement for Titanium in the Aerospace industry. It isnt cheap, far from it. And it has better heat conductivity and is almost as strong.

Apple screwed up by using SS. They couldnt backtrack and use 7000 series aluminum so they had to go with Titanium.
Jony Ive didn’t use SS for the reasons stated above, he highly protested it and was very vocal on Apples use of it When he left. He wanted thin and light and they did the opposite.
He knew what was best and he was right.

Samsung uses it for a reason. They never switched, and they were right not to do so. If SS or Titanium was so great for devices why doesn’t Apple use it in anything else? Cost? Heat? Weight?

i worked in marketing for Alcoa and i know this inside and out. I delt with this for two decades.

Going away from 7000 series aluminum was one of the biggest plunders Apple ever made. So you like your devices to be heavier and run hotter?
 
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eoblaed

macrumors 68040
Apr 21, 2010
3,084
3,201
By offering the wireless feature, apple creates a new problem: broken glasses. Is it worth it to have wireless charging?

Yes.

I would rather Apple continue to treat us like adults and give us the premium devices with the premium features leaving the details of caring for the devices up to us rather than redesigning the phones and removing features in order to satisfy the lowest common denominator when it comes to standard of care.
 
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BugeyeSTI

macrumors 604
Aug 19, 2017
7,140
9,020
Arizona/Illinois
That is assuming 7000 series Aerospace grade Aluminum is not a premium material. it is. It is more expensive than Stainless Steel. A much more premium material.
Apple is very good at marketing, so most believe what they say. They make space craft and satellites out of it. It is stronger than mild steels.
Stainless Steel is cheap in comparison, is heavy and conducts heat poorly. Apple should have never used it in the first place.
Titanium is more expensive than both, but is heavier than 7000 series aluminum and is a poor conductor of heat.
Remember 7000 Series aluminum was developed as a replacement for Titanium in the Aerospace industry. It isnt cheap, far from it. And it has better heat conductivity and is almost as strong.

Apple screwed up by using SS. They couldnt backtrack and use 7000 series aluminum so they had to go with Titanium.
Jony Ive didn’t use SS for the reasons stated above, he highly protested it and was very vocal on Apples use of it When he left. He wanted thin and light and they did the opposite.
He knew what was best and he was right.

Samsung uses it for a reason. They never switched, and they were right not to do so. If SS or Titanium was so great for devices why doesn’t Apple use it in anything else? Cost? Heat? Weight?

i worked in marketing for Alcoa and i know this inside and out. I delt with this for two decades.

Going away from 7000 series aluminum was one of the biggest plunders Apple ever made. So you like your devices to be heavier and run hotter?
Samsung's flagship the S24 Ultra is made from the same materials as the iPhone Pro's, titanium bonded to aluminum..

Whereas Apple made the change to save a few grams from its hefty Pro models, the Galaxy S24 Ultra adopted titanium purely for its improved durability. It only shaved about a gram off the weight of the previous Galaxy S23 Ultra, but the titanium frame has a slight texture, making it much more comfortable in hand than the previous model. Oh, and the textured finish is pleasingly fingerprint-averse, too.
 

Amplelink

macrumors 6502a
Oct 8, 2012
987
437
For the flagship phone I prefer a premium material and hardware that makes it different than the standard model. I also preferred stainless steel to aluminum when the X was released. I had no problem when the flagship was aluminum, 6S was one of my favorite phones but for me personally, when they offered stainless or titanium for the Pro models I liked the change
I liked the weight savings when they went to titanium.
 
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Zwhaler

macrumors 604
Jun 10, 2006
7,227
1,906
Revert back to aluminum on the Pro and Pro Max. It saves weight and has better thermal conductivity. Most likely cheaper as well. It's a win, win, win.
The stainless steel on my White 14 Pro was super nice to look at and much prettier than the titanium. But, I prefer the titanium overall.
 
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headlessmike

macrumors 65816
May 16, 2017
1,400
2,750
The polished aluminum on my White 14 Pro was super nice to look at and much prettier than the titanium. But, I prefer the titanium overall.
That was actually stainless steel and not aluminum. Steel polishes up very nicely compared to titanium and aluminum that form a dull but strong oxide layer at their surfaces.
 

subjonas

macrumors 603
Feb 10, 2014
6,094
6,596
I much prefer the functionally lighter weight and higher conductivity of aluminum vs the functionally stronger rigidity and aesthetically “better” look/feel of titanium. I think weight and thermals are much bigger problems in iPhones than rigidity, and aesthetics is extremely subjective, plus putting aesthetics above function is generally unwise.
 

iamthedudeman

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2007
1,423
273
Hear me out ... 3D printed Ceramics ...
Poor conductor of heat. Worse than SS or Titanium.
Samsung's flagship the S24 Ultra is made from the same materials as the iPhone Pro's, titanium bonded to aluminum..

Whereas Apple made the change to save a few grams from its hefty Pro models, the Galaxy S24 Ultra adopted titanium purely for its improved durability. It only shaved about a gram off the weight of the previous Galaxy S23 Ultra, but the titanium frame has a slight texture, making it much more comfortable in hand than the previous model. Oh, and the textured finish is pleasingly fingerprint-averse, too.
The iphone pros are straight grade 5 titanium. They switched to a titanium alloy instead of straight titanium because of the thermal conductivity.
The regular s24 is still 7000 series aluminum.

They did it for marketing purposes, not because they wanted to. They had to.

Still the wrong decision. 7000 series Aluminum is superior for a phone for the reasons stated. There is a reason they had to put a heat sink on the batteries on the smaller pro models. I am not sure if the max has one too.

They make satellite, spacecraft, fighter jets out of 7000 series aluminum. If it can handle that just fine it can handle an iphone.
 
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The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
17,178
25,264
Wales, United Kingdom
Had plenty of aluminium iPhones in the past and they’ve been great. My current phone is titanium and it might as well be aluminium as it’s in a case and the finish is similar anyway.
 

FranApple

macrumors 6502
Nov 6, 2020
252
326
Had plenty of aluminium iPhones in the past and they’ve been great. My current phone is titanium and it might as well be aluminium as it’s in a case and the finish is similar anyway.
That's why I don't think the titanium Apple Watches are worth it. To me, they look so similar to the aluminum versions.
 
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