Consumers and industry analysts alike anticipated Apple's press event Tuesday morning with bated breath. The iPad Mini was the highlight of the day for many, as it had been a source of constant rumors and speculation for months. But, there were several other new product iterations announced as well.
One of the more impressive revamps came in the form of a new iMac desktop computer. Practically as thin as a tablet, this elicited an audible reaction from the crowd attending the event. Among the new features of the updated iMac is what Apple calls a "Fusion Drive."
Each computer in the series will have a solid state drive (SSD) starting at 128GB and a standard mechanical hard disk in either a 1TB or 3TB configuration. Both drives will show up as one volume on the computer, however the SSD will hold the operating system and preloaded software, while the traditional hard drive will be home to documents and other large media files. This allows for greater operational efficiency, reduced boot times and a substantial amount of local storage space.
Now, while impressive, the idea here is not new. As a PC World article from earlier this week explains, other companies like Seagate and Samsung introduced various hybrid drives as much as two years ago. But, the technology is improving, thanks to a combination of techniques used in the thermal management of electronics and joining methods for metal.
These innovative manufacturing processes enable companies like Apple, Google and Samsung to build thinner, lightweight products that pack a bigger punch in a smaller physical space than their predecessors. For example, cutting-edge ways of bonding aluminum have become a priority over the last several years as aluminum becomes more popular in the design of various electronic devices.
Whenever a new electronic device hits store shelves and wows consumers, it's manufacturing ingenuity that made it possible.