It seems that Apple is planning to launch a new finish for its iPads: titanium. A priori the idea is good since titanium is lighter and stronger than the aluminum usually used by the company for the casing of its iPads.
But we see two drawbacks. One, the price. If a small Apple Watch increases the price by about $351 in titanium finish compared to the same model in aluminum, we do not even want to think what it would cost an iPad with the housing of that material. And second, we think that the finish of the back is not usually important, since most of us put a protective case on our new iPad as soon as we take it out of the box.
Apple is working against the clock to unveil a new iPad before the end of this year. This new model will have a PVD-processed aluminum alloy chassis. The ninth-generation model will not have many significant design changes, but sources say that sales of around 60 million units are expected later this year.
The current aluminum alloy may be replaced in a future revision of the iPad. The company is said to be looking to introduce a titanium-based metal chassis in future generations of current iPads.
No doubt a titanium casing can offer many benefits, such as making thinner and lighter designs possible while maintaining the structural integrity of the device. But the problem lies in the high cost of production with such a material.
That would drive up the price of the iPad, and would not be good for the device. It is not unreasonable, then, for the company to launch some model with the titanium finish “option” to see how the market would accept it. It could be a fiasco in sales, as has happened with the titanium Apple Watch. We will see.
