This may be a totally dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway. Does liquidmetal have the problem that it is dull in appearance? If so, is Apple perhaps working on trying to make it look more vibrant before considering it as material for external casing of its devices?
This may be a totally dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway. Does liquidmetal have the problem that it is dull in appearance? If so, is Apple perhaps working on trying to make it look more vibrant before considering it as material for external casing of its devices?
It can be given a polished, bright, or brushed finish.
I have a scratch free unblemished iPhone 4S in my hand right now. And I don't use a case nor really protect it.
Seems good enough materials right now.
Congrats to you. For the millions of us who drop, scratch, and scuff our phones on a daily basis, stronger materials only makes sense. Hope your 4s remains impervious.
Especially since recent software update, touch id reads perfect and very fast.. my 5s got flaky before that - many misreads, few times had to retrain, positives could be slow too.. whatever was fixed worked very well - now my ipad must have too
Sapphire might not show up on the iPhone 6 but you cannot use Liquidmetal as a cautionary tale for a number of reasons:
1. Liquidmetal is not ready for mass production. The creator of Liquidmetal himself stated as much. It will take a couple of years for that to happen. Sapphire IS ready for mass production. The Arizona plant is cranking them out as we speak.
2. Apple entered a 20 millions contract with Liquidmetal. But the contract with GTAT is 578 millions. It shows how serious Apple is at ramping the production up by the end of 2014. You don't throw out that amount of money for just enough sapphire crystal to cover a watch's face.
3. The CEO of GTAT said this is their transformative year and predicts a 100% increase in revenue in 2014...most of that coming at the end of the year during their quarterly earning conference call. You don't make that kind of announcement if something big isn't happening. And he reiterated in the last telecon that they are on track.
4. The amount of equipments in the plant can produce way more than what is needed to cover watch faces.
By the way Liquidmetal has already granted Apple the right to use this metal in ALL commercial electronic products in perpetuity. The renewal of the contract is to allow Apple to use any new patent related to this metal alloy that might come out from their research together from now until the end of the new contract. LQMT will not earn a penny from any product that Apple produces using this metal. They do that in exchange for Apple's help at researching how to mass produce this product. So that they can offer it to other clients in fields other than commercial electronic products.
Apple never intended to use liquid metal in shipping products. They would easily pay $20 million for exclusivity and just to have the ability to prototype using the material. We know that the spend millions on prototyping hundreds of variations for a single shipping product. That makes liquid metal a valuable internal use product to them. Maybe someday they ship liquid metal when they figure out how mass produce at reasonable costs.
How do you know they never intended to use it on shipped product? What would they use it for? Unshipped product? All we know is they are still researching the technology since patents are still coming out and they renewed the contract with LQMT. Of course they are exploring the material for a possible product that they intend to ship. They are trying to make money after all.
If they put TouchID in the macbook they wouldn't put it in the trackpad. The trackpad is so big...there is no reason to have a huge touchID sensor beneath it. And it would interfere with the trackpad functionality itself. The home button in the 5S doesn't have any tracking function. It would make more sense to have a dedicated button for it. It doesn't explain why they would need such massive amount of sapphire. Remember they were able to acquire all the sapphire for the 5S buttons easily. It's really junk change in comparison to the Arizona's plant.
Apple never intended to use liquid metal in shipping products. They would easily pay $20 million for exclusivity and just to have the ability to prototype using the material. We know that the spend millions on prototyping hundreds of variations for a single shipping product. That makes liquid metal a valuable internal use product to them. Maybe someday they ship liquid metal when they figure out how mass produce at reasonable costs.
lol. I love how people portray opinion as fact. In the future, when you have no evidence to support an idea, try leading off with, "I believe" or "My guess is that". This way, readers can actually read your posts without feeling the urge to challenge their validity.
All in all, a respectable prediction, but nothing more.
Perhaps I've missed it, but as far as I know the following posts about Apple, Liquidmetal and sapphire have never been discussed on AppleInsider. You won't find more exciting reading; I highly recommend these links:
The links were posted by someone replying to an article on Seeking Alpha back in March. They lead to a blog by a young independent investor living in Berlin. He appears to be a sophisticated, knowledgable and thorough researcher who has pieced together a great deal of information from published patents and other sources. Maybe it's all bunk, but it's extraordinary stuff, and the patents are real.
The author points out numerous specific advantages of amorphous metals as outlined in Apple's own patents. The benefits go well beyond durability and weight. In the third post, the author points out that Liquidmetal announced in late 2013 that it had partnered with Engel, the company that makes the injection molding equipment used for the iPhone 5c. Apparently the same equipment can be retrofitted to use Liquidmetal. Coincidence?
You put all of this together with Ive's comments about new materials, and it's very hard for me to believe that we're not going to be see a product that uses both sapphire and amorphous metal. While obviously well-suited for a watch, the apparent form of the iPhone 6 lends itself perfectly to these materials.
Congrats to you. For the millions of us who drop, scratch, and scuff our phones on a daily basis, stronger materials only makes sense. Hope your 4s remains impervious.
Unless the people scratching their iDevices are subject to a different manufacturing process than me I doubt that. In fact there is no real discussion on the Internet on this widespread scratching. Spending billions so people who put their phones on their pockets with their keys don't get scratches is a waste. If these materials ensured different form factors it might make more sense.
lol. I love how people portray opinion as fact. In the future, when you have no evidence to support an idea, try leading off with, "I believe" or "My guess is that". This way, readers can actually read your posts without feeling the urge to challenge their validity.
All in all, a respectable prediction, but nothing more.
You know what's nice too? Posters who give their own opinion, with reasoning,rather than whiny put downs.
Unless the people scratching their iDevices are subject to a different manufacturing process than me I doubt that. In fact there is no real discussion on the Internet on this widespread scratching. Spending billions so people who put their phones on their pockets with their keys don't get scratches is a waste. If these materials ensured different form factors it might make more sense.
Another fine opinion. Albeit, one arrived at with little to no supporting evidence, but I can tell you believe it, so it'll have to work.
Embed the phobe antennae into the glass for better obstruction free reception?
An antennae/coil of sufficient size may be needed for wireless charging transmitters to effectively reach you phone/watch as you walk around the house.
I am suspicious that perhaps truly wireless charging (as presented by multiple other companies the last few years) may be the next "big thing". Perhaps sapphire has a desirable property in this arena that we aren't aware of such as better reception.
Maybe sensors can be embedded straight into the sapphire and used against your arm side (not necessarily only a watch face).
To be building out such huge sapphire capacity, i really wonder if there is something more to it than simply scratch resistance.
Its possible they may be reinforcing the sapphire with another layer to improve resistance to cracking as well.
I dont see a "iwatch" being a big thing without being waterproof which almost makes wireless charging a necessity.
A watch for notifications and whatnot seems pointless to me and very distracting.
identity authentication/location authentication/ health monitoring seem to be the most important reasons to wear what will amount to some sort of bracelet. Replacing light switches, keys, credit cards, etc is the future.
You would want to make the "cellphone case" obsolete as a bonus along the way.
Another consideration: saphire keys with fingerprint sensor embedded in the spacebar or something. You could then also have keys that change surface characters for international use. The keyboard NEEDS re-inventing just like the apple touchpad was reinvented.
Embed the phobe antennae into the glass for better obstruction free reception?
Since the sapphire is grown I'm not sure this is possible or at least not feasible.
I am suspicious that perhaps truly wireless charging (as presented by multiple other companies the last few years) may be the next "big thing". Perhaps sapphire has a desirable property in this arena that we aren't aware of such as better reception.
I'm not sure it does and I don't think we'd see wireless charging stands where the display would be down. However, your comment did make me wonder if those thick metal bands on the back of the rumored 8th gen iPhone are for wireless charging.
I find this article a bit biased on the side of "don't get your hopes up".
that isn't bias, it's a conclusion. AI doesn't have a horse in the race and cannot be biased.
frankly, unless one is a metallurgist, I don't know why anyone cares which metal is or is not used. other than to brag about it due to the name, which would be stupid. I just want good products that continue to offer value.
What an inane comment. We care because we're interested. Your conclusion that the only reason anyone would care about it is to 'brag about it due to the name' is worthy of a child.
This Apple fan has bought since last oct as many shares of GTAT (sold for as little as $3 dollars a share at the beginning 2013) as I could afford, GTAT appears to be company on the way up in a big way, LQMT is selling for nothing at this point $.27 per share (IPO price $16.5 per share, all time high price of $22.5 per share).
The three Cal Tech scientist's who invented Liquidmetal never should have gone public at that time, the real R&D to bring something to market had not been done at that time, however they appear to be close to the end of the pure research and development stage, it will happen the question is when.
For GTAT and LQMT particularity because they went public to soon which is why the public can buy in at a cheap price, isn't it worth the price of 2000 shares, when it pops it will probably be to late? People on this site know long before the general public (similar to the first iPod), and most of Wall Street (remember they have already given up on LQMT since the IPO) are oblivious and will continue to be right up until Apple announces a new product in the fall featuring the new material?
Comments
Seems good enough materials right now.
This may be a totally dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway. Does liquidmetal have the problem that it is dull in appearance? If so, is Apple perhaps working on trying to make it look more vibrant before considering it as material for external casing of its devices?
It can be given a polished, bright, or brushed finish.
Congrats to you. For the millions of us who drop, scratch, and scuff our phones on a daily basis, stronger materials only makes sense. Hope your 4s remains impervious.
whatever was fixed worked very well - now my ipad must have too
Apple never intended to use liquid metal in shipping products. They would easily pay $20 million for exclusivity and just to have the ability to prototype using the material. We know that the spend millions on prototyping hundreds of variations for a single shipping product. That makes liquid metal a valuable internal use product to them. Maybe someday they ship liquid metal when they figure out how mass produce at reasonable costs.
If they put TouchID in the macbook they wouldn't put it in the trackpad. The trackpad is so big...there is no reason to have a huge touchID sensor beneath it. And it would interfere with the trackpad functionality itself. The home button in the 5S doesn't have any tracking function. It would make more sense to have a dedicated button for it. It doesn't explain why they would need such massive amount of sapphire. Remember they were able to acquire all the sapphire for the 5S buttons easily. It's really junk change in comparison to the Arizona's plant.
lol. I love how people portray opinion as fact. In the future, when you have no evidence to support an idea, try leading off with, "I believe" or "My guess is that". This way, readers can actually read your posts without feeling the urge to challenge their validity.
All in all, a respectable prediction, but nothing more.
Perhaps I've missed it, but as far as I know the following posts about Apple, Liquidmetal and sapphire have never been discussed on AppleInsider. You won't find more exciting reading; I highly recommend these links:
http://bit.ly/1e5GRpF
http://bit.ly/1gHQU68
http://bit.ly/1hjNP9B
The links were posted by someone replying to an article on Seeking Alpha back in March. They lead to a blog by a young independent investor living in Berlin. He appears to be a sophisticated, knowledgable and thorough researcher who has pieced together a great deal of information from published patents and other sources. Maybe it's all bunk, but it's extraordinary stuff, and the patents are real.
The author points out numerous specific advantages of amorphous metals as outlined in Apple's own patents. The benefits go well beyond durability and weight. In the third post, the author points out that Liquidmetal announced in late 2013 that it had partnered with Engel, the company that makes the injection molding equipment used for the iPhone 5c. Apparently the same equipment can be retrofitted to use Liquidmetal. Coincidence?
You put all of this together with Ive's comments about new materials, and it's very hard for me to believe that we're not going to be see a product that uses both sapphire and amorphous metal. While obviously well-suited for a watch, the apparent form of the iPhone 6 lends itself perfectly to these materials.
Unless the people scratching their iDevices are subject to a different manufacturing process than me I doubt that. In fact there is no real discussion on the Internet on this widespread scratching. Spending billions so people who put their phones on their pockets with their keys don't get scratches is a waste. If these materials ensured different form factors it might make more sense.
I have a scratch free unblemished iPhone 4S in my hand right now. And I don't use a case nor really protect it.
Seems good enough materials right now.
I have to agree. The materials on the iPhone 4/4S were top notch.
You know what's nice too? Posters who give their own opinion, with reasoning,rather than whiny put downs.
Someone should notice that the supplier (Rubicon) of "the sapphire home button on the iPhone 5S" (TouchID) and sapphire lens cover made merely 41.5m last year. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/rubicon-technology-inc-reports-fourth-210200465.html
They made 14.3m in the recent quarter (the first quarter of 2014). http://finance.yahoo.com/news/rubicon-technology-inc-reports-first-200200816.html
Yet, GT expects 600-800m in revenue for the rest of 2014 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gt-advanced-technologies-inc-announces-204412779.html ("Sapphire segment expected to contribute approx. 80% of the year's revenue" p20 http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AMDA-1AHIQM/2784938274x0x703077/2e650b7f-e4e5-47f2-92e4-ab11f698c251/GTAT Q3CY13 Earnings Presentation_FINAL.pdf)
Unless Apple is selling a whole lot more of iDevices (or GT is lying), I don't think Apple's Arizona plant is simply churning out buttons.
(And a side note why didn't Apple just buy Rubicon, it's currently valued at only 231.22M, http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=RBCN)
Another fine opinion. Albeit, one arrived at with little to no supporting evidence, but I can tell you believe it, so it'll have to work.
lol. Whiny... what an ideal word to describe this conversation
Embed the phobe antennae into the glass for better obstruction free reception?
An antennae/coil of sufficient size may be needed for wireless charging transmitters to effectively reach you phone/watch as you walk around the house.
I am suspicious that perhaps truly wireless charging (as presented by multiple other companies the last few years) may be the next "big thing". Perhaps sapphire has a desirable property in this arena that we aren't aware of such as better reception.
Maybe sensors can be embedded straight into the sapphire and used against your arm side (not necessarily only a watch face).
To be building out such huge sapphire capacity, i really wonder if there is something more to it than simply scratch resistance.
Its possible they may be reinforcing the sapphire with another layer to improve resistance to cracking as well.
I dont see a "iwatch" being a big thing without being waterproof which almost makes wireless charging a necessity.
A watch for notifications and whatnot seems pointless to me and very distracting.
identity authentication/location authentication/ health monitoring seem to be the most important reasons to wear what will amount to some sort of bracelet. Replacing light switches, keys, credit cards, etc is the future.
You would want to make the "cellphone case" obsolete as a bonus along the way.
Another consideration: saphire keys with fingerprint sensor embedded in the spacebar or something. You could then also have keys that change surface characters for international use. The keyboard NEEDS re-inventing just like the apple touchpad was reinvented.
Since the sapphire is grown I'm not sure this is possible or at least not feasible.
I'm not sure it does and I don't think we'd see wireless charging stands where the display would be down. However, your comment did make me wonder if those thick metal bands on the back of the rumored 8th gen iPhone are for wireless charging.
I find this article a bit biased on the side of "don't get your hopes up".
that isn't bias, it's a conclusion. AI doesn't have a horse in the race and cannot be biased.
frankly, unless one is a metallurgist, I don't know why anyone cares which metal is or is not used. other than to brag about it due to the name, which would be stupid. I just want good products that continue to offer value.
What an inane comment. We care because we're interested. Your conclusion that the only reason anyone would care about it is to 'brag about it due to the name' is worthy of a child.
This Apple fan has bought since last oct as many shares of GTAT (sold for as little as $3 dollars a share at the beginning 2013) as I could afford, GTAT appears to be company on the way up in a big way, LQMT is selling for nothing at this point $.27 per share (IPO price $16.5 per share, all time high price of $22.5 per share).
The three Cal Tech scientist's who invented Liquidmetal never should have gone public at that time, the real R&D to bring something to market had not been done at that time, however they appear to be close to the end of the pure research and development stage, it will happen the question is when.
For GTAT and LQMT particularity because they went public to soon which is why the public can buy in at a cheap price, isn't it worth the price of 2000 shares, when it pops it will probably be to late? People on this site know long before the general public (similar to the first iPod), and most of Wall Street (remember they have already given up on LQMT since the IPO) are oblivious and will continue to be right up until Apple announces a new product in the fall featuring the new material?