Since Apple announced the iPhone 7 to a resounding meh in San Francisco on September 7, the air has been filled with laments for the dearly departed headphone jack. Underneath these woeful cries can be heard whispers of a new rumor: next year, Apple may make an iPhone with a case made out of ceramic rather than metal.
Two things suggest the possibility. First, the company has started selling a watch with a shiny white ceramic case: the Apple Watch Edition, which costs $1,249. Second, the company has a handful of patents describing the design and manufacture of a “handheld computing device” with a ceramic case. Given ceramic’s potential to shatter, its limited color options, and the expense it adds to manufacturing, though, making such a phone would be risky.
Image: https://www.technologyreview.com
