What is Grade 5 Titanium and Why is it so Important to Apple

Apple presented its new iPhone 15 family just a few days ago, where the Pro and Pro Max series were primarily characterized by the fact that they were the most robust models in terms of their technical specifications. But the most striking thing was the renewal of the structure, where the phone body is now made of grade 5 titanium.

This finally confirmed a rumor that had been circulating for some time, that the guys from Cupertino would finally be using a material again that they had long ago abandoned in other product lines with more voluminous products.

Therefore, Apple is no stranger to using Grade 5 titanium in its products, but strangely enough, in the iPhone 15 Pro unveiling keynote, everything was presented as an absolutely revolutionary novelty.

The truth is that this is an important change and represents a serious opportunity to guarantee the physical integrity of our smartphone in the long term.

Here we explain what this metallic treatment consists of.

What is the Grade 5 titanium that forms the skeleton of the iPhone 15 Pro?

During the event, Apple materials science engineer Isabel Yang described some key details about the relevance of Grade 5 titanium:

“It is an alloy whose tensile strength is even higher than that of pure titanium. Typically it is reserved for applications where the balance between strength, formability and weight is particularly important. In fact, this is the same alloy used in the Mars Rover.”

In summary, this alloy has one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios found in any metal. Grade 5 titanium is strong and lightweight, ensuring the iPhone 15 Pro can withstand harsh impacts when the point of contact is its frame.

Grade 5 titanium is widely used in medical technology, shipping, aerospace and chemistry. Now also with the new Apple smartphone family.

For reference, here we share the general technical specifications of the iPhone 15 Pro in its simplest version:

• Dimensions: 14.66cm x 7.06cm x 0.83cm
• Weight: 187g
• Screen: 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR with 2,532 x 1,170 pixels with promotion at 120 Hz
• Processor: Apple A17 Bionic.
• Storage: 128GB /256GB /512GB /1TB
• Rear camera: 48MP main lens with f/1.78, plus 12MP ultra-wide lens and 12MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, f/2.8.
• Front camera: 12 MP at f/2.2.
• Operating system: iOS 17.
• Connectivity: 5G (under 6GHz) LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ax (6th generation), Bluetooth 5.3 and NFC.
• Certification: IP68.
• Other: Stereo sound, FaceID, action button.