Carbon steel can’t be injection molded into precision parts needing little or no further processing before use.
And, carbon steel has nowhere near the elasticity of these amorphous alloys. iPad, iPhone, and laptop cases made of this material will be practically indestructible, More to the point, they won’t scratch, dent, or lose their lustre.
Ever hear of MIM?
Yes, carbon steels can be molded. So can real super-alloys like Inconel. This is a cute alloy, but it has some significant downsides, which I’m guessing Apple will discover in due time, just as the golf club makers did.
The big upside is that it is cheap to make into complex shapes. The secondary upside will be scratch and dent resistance. After that, I quit being real enthused about these types of metals.
Since I’m often on lathes and mills making parts out of various metals, I guess I’m just harder to impress with this announcement. The only real upside for Apple here is that they might reduce their manufacturing cost on some of their aluminum enclosures, some of which they’re making by CNC machining of a billet of aluminum.