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When Apple switched back to aluminum for the iPhone 17 Pro, it seemed like a weird regression.
After all, just a couple of years earlier, the company made a gigantic deal out of using titanium for its Pro phones. Those devices were “designed with aerospace-grade titanium that’s strong yet lightweight to deliver Apple’s lightest Pro models ever,” Apple said at the time.
Apple had solid reasons for using titanium rather than stainless steel or aluminum. Titanium is much stronger than aluminum and much lighter than stainless steel. It’s also extremely scratch-resistant. Aluminum, on the other hand, costs less but scratches much more easily.
While titanium is heavier than aluminum, its inherent strength means you can use much thinner pieces of it without sacrificing structural integrity. That’s why Apple used titanium for the gorgeous iPhone Air, its slimmest device ever.
Plus, titanium provides a premium feel that seems tailor-made for high-end devices.
So why the switch back to aluminum for iPhone 17 Pro? It was mostly about the thermals. Pro phones doing pro things generate lots of heat, and aluminum is far better at dissipating heat than titanium is. With the iPhone 17 Pro's CPU encased in metal at the top of the new design, utilizing titanium likely would have caused overheating and performance problems.
So we got an aluminum iPhone 17 Pro — and we got Scratchgate 2. Almost immediately, reports flooded in of iPhone 17 Pro demo models getting scratched and scuffed while on display at Apple stores.
Now, Apple reportedly wants to go back to titanium for future iPhones. And it’s working some metallurgical magic in an attempt to make that happen.
It probably won’t happen with this year’s models, but a titanium iPhone could once again see the light of day.
Also in today’s newsletter:
Want a web browser on your Apple Watch? There’s an app for that.
Apple’s about to shoot a Major League Soccer broadcast entirely on iPhone. Should be a kick!
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: Soundcore’s waterproof boombox kicks out the jams. It’s ready to pump up all your summer parties, from poolside to campsite. And it’s 32% off for a limited time. #affiliate
Skip the cord but keep the 4K60 video quality with this top-of-the-line wireless adapter. Read our hands-on review to see if it’s right for your entertainment setup.
And finally, today’s the day in Apple history when the riotous “Get a Mac” commercials finally wound down. (You can watch them all in our post.)
— Lewis Wallace, managing editor
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One more thing ...
As we evolved the Mac, it became very clear that this was also a way of reinventing Apple. We reinvented everything. We reinvented manufacturing. I visited probably 80 automated factories in Japan, and we built the world’s first automated computer factory in the world in California.
Today’s poll
What material do you want Apple to make future iPhones out of?
Results from yesterday’s poll: How excited are you about iOS 27?
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