Tag Archives: cad

iPhone SE 4 renders say goodbye to the Touch ID home button, hello to USB-C

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All good things must come to an end, or so they say. Of course, the definition of “good” will always depend on who you ask. Some might be pining for the “good old days” when the iPhone was curvy, small, and didn’t require your face to unlock it. For some, the 3rd-gen iPhone SE from 2022 was their recourse, but could finally be the last of its kind. No, Apple will apparently still launch an ultra-affordable iPhone, but it will no longer be that safe haven for lovers of old technologies and designs. According to this latest visual leak, the iPhone SE 4 expected to launch next year will be taking after the iPhone 14 design, now also considered a “last-gen” design, except for one curious feature that’s both surprising yet makes total sense as well.

Designer: Apple (via 91mobiles)

The iPhone SE, which stands for “Special Edition,” has always been an oddity in Apple’s lineup. Although it was regarded to be the cheapest and smallest iPhone from the company’s catalog, those points aren’t always true as each new model is introduced. To some extent, it feels more like the iPhone SE is an ode to technologies and designs that are being put to pasture, whether it’s the small design and headphone jack of the first iPhone SE or the physical home button of the iPhone SE 3.

Unofficial CAD renders, uninspiring as they might look, offer some clues to the design changes that Apple intends for the 2025 iPhone SE. For one, it finally bids farewell to the small-sized iPhone with what is allegedly a 6.1-inch screen. Second, it also removes the thick bezels of the past, embracing a screen that has been around since the iPhone X, which also means finally embracing the notch. More importantly, however, this kind of bezel-less display also has no room for Touch ID, so fingerprint authentication will finally be gone for good, at least on iPhones and iPads.

For all intents and purposes, the iPhone SE 4 looks like the iPhone 14 from 2022, which itself sported a design that was significantly unchanged since the iPhone X from 2017. The only major difference, at least from a design perspective, is that the camera on its back retains a single circular bump more reminiscent of the iPhone 8 and earlier eras. Given there might only be a single camera anyway, that’s a better choice than having a square bump with barely anything inside it.

The renders do suggest that the 4th-gen iPhone SE will also adopt a USB-C port, a technology that Apple introduced to iPhones only last year. This is quite a modern feature for an iPhone SE model, but considering the pressure on Apple to adopt a standard charging port, it doesn’t come as a surprise. That said, these are still all unofficial, so details might still change before the new iPhone SE launches, which is expected to happen next year.

The post iPhone SE 4 renders say goodbye to the Touch ID home button, hello to USB-C first appeared on Yanko Design.

12.9-inch iPad Air renders suggest a cheaper way to go Pro

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When Apple launched the iPad Pro, it tried to justify its existence with a slogan that questioned what computers really are these days. It pushed forward the thought of the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement, which made sense for an iPad with the largest display available of its kind. Although smaller models eventually launched, it was only the iPad Pro that could boast having the largest screen among Apple’s tablets, but that might no longer be the case soon. Leaked information suggests that Apple will be mixing things up a bit and might introduce a 12.9-inch iPad Air that could add more choice for consumers but also make its message a little bit more confusing as well.

Designer: Apple (via 91mobiles)

Putting the largest iPad under the “Pro” model makes perfect sense considering what it empowers users to accomplish. With that much screen real estate, multi-tasking with two apps side-by-side is not only easy but even comfortable, while having a large digital canvas frees creators to do their best work. The size also implies having bigger or better hardware capabilities, and indeed, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro always has the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer on any iPad.

Unofficial CAD schematics, however, herald the coming of a 12.9-inch iPad Air, a family of tablets better known for their accessible price tags and, more often than not, more modest specs. The renders don’t come with any launch date, which means it could happen this year or never at all. Leaks never carry 100% accuracy, but the mere idea that Apple will be launching what will be the largest iPad Air is quite curious and could spark even more interest in the iPad line.

For all intents and purposes, this 12.9-inch iPad Air is a stretched-out regular iPad Air, and all the design cues of the current model are evident. There are thick bezels, at least compared to the iPad Pro of the same size, and a single camera. That camera, however, is also the only place where the 12.9-inch design diverges, using a pill-shaped island to enclose both the camera and LED flash instead of a single circle for the lens itself.

This 12.9-inch iPad Air could be Apple’s attempt to offer an extra-large iPad without the bells and whistles that make the 12.9-inch iPad Pro quite expensive. It’s the same strategy it is using with the iPhone Plus models, which isn’t exactly raking in sales. It does give consumers more choices, but considering how the iPad Air is already a watered-down iPad Pro in terms of many features, including Apple Pencil support, it does weaken the appeal of the iPad Pro line by having what is practically a cheaper iPad Pro.

The post 12.9-inch iPad Air renders suggest a cheaper way to go Pro first appeared on Yanko Design.

Gravity sketch launches collaborative tool to let remote teams design together in virtual reality

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Gravity Sketch has easily been one of the breakthrough design tools of the last few years, allowing people to draw and model naturally, using their hands to create surfaces rather than commands and lines of code. The Virtual Reality CAD tool gives designers and creators the unique ability to design at scale, making life-size models and mockups of products that can be viewed and adjusted as you go, breaking the barriers of the computer screen and allowing people to actually (virtually) experience products at their real scale and even in their appropriate environment.

With the unprecedented shift towards remote working because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the team at Gravity Sketch has prioritized the deployment of their latest cloud collaboration feature. Available within the cloud-based product LandingPad, Gravity Sketch’s cloud collaboration feature (codenamed Co-Creation) allows designers, teams, studios, and clients to collectively visualize, ideate, and refine product ideas. Merely wearing the VR headset transports you into the virtual workspace, allowing wearers to use the remote controller to highlight parts of a design, make edits/suggestions, or leave feedback. The tool has been used in enterprises with large design teams (Ford, Nissan, Reebok), but given the current circumstances with most people working remotely, Gravity Sketch hopes the publicly available collaborative platform will help teams work better together from their remote workspaces. Through LandingPad, users can manage and review work seamlessly across all hardware platforms as well as via web browsers, which synchronizes files across teams with virtual reality headsets.

The video above demonstrates how Belgium-based Achilles Design has been using the Co-Creation collaborative feature to help designers collectively ideate and clients collectively visualize products, allowing for a seamless exchange of ideas and feedback. “Virtual reality in the business space has been a solo-experience for years. With Co-Creation, designers and clients can finally collaborate directly. The fact that I have been able to join clients in VR while working from home is unprecedented, both for them and for myself. Co-Creation is the most effective way of communicating spatial designs to all the stakeholders of a project”, says Lucas Van Dorpe, Industrial Designer at Achilles Design.

Gravity Sketch’s cloud-based collaboration platform is now available for free trials for 30 days.
Click Here to sign up for Beta Access!

Gravity Sketch’s cloud-based collaboration platform is now available for free trials for 30 days.
Click Here to sign up for Beta Access!

This packaging design knows the heart of every cheese (lover!)

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Okay, I am going to cut straight to the chase…or shall I say let’s cut to the cheese? I apologize in advance for puns, I hope they stink less than blue cheese! This old Amsterdam cheese cover brie-longs with your cheese because it understands the matters of the heart. No, it literally does – this cover is built in a way that it showcases the heart of your cheese and also protects it. The conceptual cheese cover is appropriately named ‘El Corazon’ which translates into ‘the heart’.

The center of the old Amsterdam cheese is usually served as tapas or aperitif (small savory dishes that complement beverages) and therefore deserves to be displayed like the showstopper of the snack bar that it is. The case also prolongs the cheese’s life in the refrigerator while turning into a functional showcase when needed. The goal of designing this cheese cover was to keep it simple yet effective while preserving the contents and also showing them off. The concept was tested with a prototype made using SolidWorks, CAD, and 3D printing, ensuring that your cheese always feels gouda about itself!

Designers: Mike Broekman, Erik Veenstra and Smaac Agency.

Valve releases mod-friendly CAD files for its Index VR headset

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You knew that Valve was going to support modding for its Index VR headset when it included a "frunk" just for accessories, but now the company is offering some of the tools you need to make those mods. It's releasing CAD files that can help you mode...