Titanium vs. Stainless Steel
Since the iPhone X, Apple has adopted a new design for the more expensive iPhone models that includes glass on the front and back with a stainless steel frame. This frame is extremely glossy and rugged, just like the stainless steel used for the Apple Watch case and also for the back of the old iPods. However, stainless steel comes with some downsides.
While the material is undeniably elegant, it’s also a fingerprint magnet. You only need to hold your iPhone for a few seconds to ruin the shiny finish. It certainly looks beautiful in marketing images and in person when the phone is clean, but it quickly turns into a nightmare. Not to mention that stainless steel can scratch much easier than other materials.
For the non-Pro models of the iPhone, Apple uses an aluminum frame instead of stainless steel – also just like in the Apple Watch. The matte aluminum is more resistant to minor abrasions, but is not as hard and premium as stainless steel. So what other material options would Apple have for its next iPhone?
Well, the answer is titanium. In the past, Apple has already built laptops in titanium with the PowerBook G4. More recently, the company has brought titanium back into its products with Apple Watch Edition and then Apple Watch Ultra. Titanium is as strong as stainless steel, but lighter, and it has a polished finish that makes it look more premium than aluminum.
This would allow Apple to keep the Pro (or Ultra) models of the iPhone with more premium materials while also addressing the fingerprint issue on the frame of the device. At the same time, an iPhone with a titanium frame would line up with the Apple Watch Ultra made of the same material.
