Apple Job Listing Hints At Further Use Of Plastic In iOS Devices
by Brent Dirks
August 28, 2013
An interesting new Apple job opening is hinting that the company might be using more plastic materials in future iOS devices. First spotted by 9to5Mac, the Senior Materials Engineer – Plastics opening was posted to Apple’s site yesterday.
The job, which would be part of the iPhone/iPad materials team, requires “extensive experience in plastic material properties, part design and fabrication.”
While Apple uses some plastic parts inside iOS devices, one part of the job description does stand out:
Lead the development of new plastic materials and processes to meet the structural and aesthetic requirements of a wide range of part designs.Another part of the description mentions the knowledge of “geometry and cosmetic quality” of plastics. Internal parts don’t exactly need to meet aesthetic and cosmetic requirements, so that definitely makes the job opening unique. Apple will apparently unveil the iPhone 5C at an event on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The lower-cost handset will be the first iPhone since the 3GS to feature any plastic material on its exterior. And as we reported last week, the 5C’s exterior shined very nicely in a durability test. In a video, a Taiwanese site put the casing in a plastic bag filled with coins, keys, and screws to test its scratch resistance. After shaking the bag for a moment, the exterior was fine. And, as pictured, even an attempt to scratch the shell directly with a key came up empty. The handset will come in a number of colors, expected to be blue, green, yellow, white, and possibly more.
