Why Apple cares so much about a metal finishing

In a lawsuit Apple filed Friday against OpenAI accusing the AI giant of trade secret theft, attorneys for Apple pointed to one specific design detail as the tip of the iceberg of a larger pattern of theft: its metal-finishing techniques. You can feel it, can’t you? The smooth, premium finished metal on an Apple iPhone, laptop, or watch. In the lawsuit, attorneys for Apple essentially argue that the technique used to make that finish is the result of blood, sweat, and many years of Apple’s own…