Leading up to the unveiling of a new lower-cost plastic ‘iPhone 5C’ expected at Apple’s September 10 event next month, Apple is looking to hire an “experienced plastics material engineer” to work on iPhones and iPads. The engineer would join Apple’s iPhone/iPad Materials team and must have “extensive experience in plastic material properties, part design and fabrication.” While we know the current iPhone and iPads do use some internal plastic parts, the job listing also makes mentions of aesthetic requirements as well as experience in “plastic materials and design for manufacturing in terms of geometry and cosmetic quality.” That could be a hint the position will involve more than just the design of internal plastic parts.
There have been a ton of unconfirmed leaks claiming to show the plastic lower cost iPhone’s colourful back casings, but we posted the first photos of the next gen full-sized iPad back in January showing the device will borrow its design aesthetic from the iPad mini. It would be a stretch to imagine Apple might be working on a lower-cost, plastic iPad, but it is something it prototyped early on. Apple is expected to unveil the new lower-cost plastic iPhone alongside the new iPhone 5S at its event next month. There have been some conflicting reports this morning regarding the iPads, but we’re still expecting new iPads to be announced a later event.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
“It would be a stretch to imagine Apple might be working on a lower-cost, plastic iPad, but it is something it prototyped early on. ”
Wouldn’t that fact, plus, the job, plus the iPhone 5C make it NOT a stretch to imagine? Seems that way to me.
If & When Apple knocks it out of the park with the slightly lower cost (and plastic) 5C…doesn’t it stand to reason that the iPad mini could benefit from the same treatment? If it were as dramatic as bringing the 16 GB model down to $249 in 2014, I would say so.
There will absolutely without a doubt be a plastic iPad. It would not only be desirable for the consumer but for Apple’s bottom line. A plastic iPad is two years overdue.
Wow slow news day? Zero conclusions can be drawn from this job opening. Apple doesn’t sell plastic Macs any more so why do people assume they need to sell a plastic iPad?
Btw, Apple has 18 job openings that refer to CNC machining experience; 3 of them specifically mentioning aluminum.
It’s nice to see them continuing to open stores globally. It makes me wonder if they’ve ever closed a location (other than to reopen it nearby)?
I’m still hoping for one on Maui (my home). There are 3 within a couple miles of each other in Honolulu on Oahu, but none here. I’m also hoping for one in Thailand soon (where I visit often). It’s not Shanghai, Hong Kong, or Singapore, but it’s become fairly affluent and cosmopolitan in the last 10 years.
Could be anything. Perhaps Apple is going to make their own game controllers. I would really like to buy an official Apple branded game controller I could use on both my iMac and iPad.