The controversial design of Apple’s new Mac Pro computers, which resemble giant cheese graters, could be coming to the iPhone and similar products. This is according to new patents discovered by Patently Apple that demonstrate how the company is seeking to extend the 3D, holed structural design to its upcoming handsets. While the cheese grater texture might be a downgrade in terms of aesthetics, the approach should allow for improved airflow so devices can run cooler.
Apple notes in their granted patent that an iPhone’s internal and external structural components can be formed from and include regions of a three-dimensional structure that can include one or more cavities extending into the body from a first surface of a body and one or more cavities extending into the body from a second surface of the body. One or more cavities extending into the body from the second surface of the body can intersect with or interfere with one or more cavities extending into the body from the first surface of the body to form a three-dimensional pattern of apertures or passageways in the body, maximizing surface area while maintaining structural integrity.
Sources: Patently Apple, USPTO