After Xiaomi, OPPO and other manufacturers successively adopted ceramic materials to make the back cover of their mobile phones,Related patentsIt also shows that Apple may introduce a ceramic body design for future new iPhones.
In the past, Apple actually added a high-hardness ceramic body design to the Apple Watch series 5, Apple Watch series 3 and Apple Watch series 2, but later stopped using it. The factors may be due to the relatively high production yield and cost, so it was later replaced with titanium.
However, a design patent recently obtained by Apple shows that Apple may plan to use zirconium oxide ceramic materials in electronic equipment products. In addition to being used in watch products, it is more likely to be used in mobile phone products such as iPhones.
Zirconia has high hardness, high strength and high toughness, as well as physical properties such as wear resistance and corrosion resistance. It can now be used in conjunction with ceramic materials to make fireproof materials, insulators, or artificial drill bits. Due to its composite material design, it is about 30% lighter than ordinary ceramic materials. Xiaomi launched it last year.Xiaomi Mi MIX 4It is made of this material.
It is not yet certain whether Apple will use this patent in actual product design. Perhaps in the future, new Apple Watches, iPhones and other products may be equipped with more durable ceramic bodies while maintaining light weight.
