New Delhi, Nov. 18 -- Apple Inc., the world's second-most valuable company, increased its global R&D spending to focus on developing proprietary materials for the design and customer experience of its money-spinner iPhone, the company's top iPhone design executive Richard Dinh told Mint in an exclusive interview.

Apple's engineering of this year's iPhone 17 in many way goes back to the basics in a way that founder Steve Jobs used to - a culture that continues to work for the company even now.

Specifically, engineering proprietary materials to build iPhones took precedence at Apple over reducing supply chain costs, Dinh, , vice-president and head of iPhone design, told Mint. At the same time, the company also ramped up its goal of increa...