A new report suggests that Apple is making deals in the carbon fiber business, possibly ahead of next year’s iPad launch.
Japanese site Macotakara can be a hit or miss source. They were one of the first sites to leak images of what would prove to be the iPhone 5’s new display, but they habe also said that the new iPod nanos would have WiFi and that Apple’s making a Galaxy Note like phablet. So their rumors need to be taken with a grain of salt.
Now Macotakara is reporting that an anonymous source is telling them that Apple is buying huge amounts of carbon fiber. This makes sense, as Apple has shown a lot of interest in carbon fiber in the past, patenting an iPad design made out of the stuff and making key hires with the expertise necessary to mass produce carbon fiber gadgets.
By using carbon fiber for future devices, Apple could create products that weigh significantly less than the aluminum and stainless steel devices they produce today, but be just as sturdy. So it’s obvious Apple’s got a lot to gain by making this switch. The question is when it will happen? In time for next year’s iPad debut, or is carbon fiber still far off in the future?
Source: Macotakara
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
5 responses to “Apple Is Buying Up Carbon Fiber For Future Mystery Product [Rumor]”
what’s with the weight? Love the thinness but is the weight such a problem on current products? No matter how expensive carbon fiber is, it feels very cheap compared to any kind of metal. Especially stainless steel.
Seems like a good base for overlaying liquid metal.
It’s spelt “fibre”, surely?
Lighter weight = less impact force from falls.
Carbon fibre or fiber?
I did some searches, turns out both spellings are correct.
But carbon ‘fiber’ is used more.