The real thing

In June I put Spine on a development rig. The software was getting there, but with no anti-glare treatment on the glass it still looked like a screen sitting on a desk. I said then the industrial design would look way nicer. This week I got to see it.

The first full units were assembled and tested, and for the first time every part of Spine was in one place.

The body is made from a single piece of aluminium, brushed and finished in gunmetal. On a render you can make a finish look like anything. In real life it can come back too dark, too shiny, or brushed unevenly, and you only find out when the parts land. It came back spot on. The brushing is even, the colour is the grey we chose, and the edges are crisp.

The glass is the other half. The final panel is matte and etched, so album covers read closer to print than a screen. Next to the gunmetal, the whole thing feels like part of the room.

It's the first time Spine has looked the way I've had it in my head since the start. The photos from the shoot are up now, so you can finally see it properly.