No, we are not going to have a tin MacBook or anything like that. Apple has recently patented a document in which it addresses the construction of its laptops with a type of material similar to that of beverage cans such as soft drinks or beers, which could be a further step in its environmental policy. Would this affect the performance of computers? When would they be launched? We analyze these hypotheses below.
This says Apple’s patent
As revealed from Patently Apple, last week the United States Patent and Trademark Office approved two applications from Apple in which it was described the manufacture of future MacBooks with recycled aluminum materials. One of them titled “Heat Treatable Aluminum Alloy Made From Used Beverage Scrap” and the second “Cosmetic Aluminum Alloys Made From Recycled Scrap”.
The truth is that the use of recycled materials as scrap metal is not new in the industry and even Apple itself has been offering computers made of one hundred percent recycled aluminum for years, although in this case it is striking that it describes how it would take advantage items like beverage cans. The reason for resorting to it resides in a greater ease of treatment of these materials with respect to others, something that is discussed in the documents when commenting on the way to coat a surface layer and a substrate formed from UBC scrap.
The compendium of the documents even details the way in which the mentioned layers would be included, as well as other more technical aspects totally removed from the manufacturing methods that are currently carried out. You can see the first patent in full by clicking here and the second here .
Can a MacBook be functional with those materials?
It is difficult to predict how a MacBook made with this type of scrap would work and even more so when at the moment what is known are patents and no evidence has been revealed to prove its operation. There are doubts about aspects such as temperature management or the resistance of the material to normal day-to-day use. We understand that if Apple finally carries out this development it is because it has passed the quality tests, since anything else would worsen a product that has been standing out for years for its construction materials.
All this could in the end respond to Apple’s commitment to carry out manufacturing techniques that generate the least possible impact on the environment and in this case also taking advantage of waste that in any other way could end up dumped in rivers, seas or ultra-polluting landfills. . At an economic level we understand that it could certainly be cheaper for the company, although it must be taken into account that they would not only be made up of these materials, but that it could be a mix with which to get a computer with a modern look that cannot even be see at a glance how much recycled material is in it.
We will have to continue waiting in any case for the good progress of this project to be confirmed. It is not known at what exact point it is, so it is not easy to determine when we would begin to see computers composed like this. All this taking into account that it finally goes ahead, since in the end a patent does not always mean that what is described will end up being a reality, since at these levels each advance depends on a multitude of factors.
