Apple next iPhone may be a whole lot tougher than the iPhone 4 or 4S. An interesting new rumor has surfaced, claiming that Apple’s next iPhone will be made from a unique material known as LiquidMetal, and that Apple will abandon the current glass body.
Korean news site ETNews reports (via MacGasm):
According to industry sources, the next flagship phones of the companies are expected to adopt unprecedented materials for their main bodies, that is, ceramic for the Galaxy S3 and liquid metal for iPhone5, both being thin, light and highly resistant to external impacts. The new phase of the rivalry is because neither one of them can get a decisive edge over the other solely with its OS and AP specifications, features or design.
For those unfamiliar, LiquidMetal is a fascinating “amorphous” metal alloy that has several unique properties, such as the ability to heal itself from minor dings, extreme resistance to scratches, and high surface strength, to name a few.
Apple has a known stake in LiquidMetal, and did a manufacturing test run with the material by using it to create the SIM eject tools that Apple used to ship with every iPhone. Apple purchased rights to use the material in 2010, giving them “a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercial such intellectual property in the field of electronic products in exchange for a license fee.”
The new iPhone will reportedly be released at Apple’s World-Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), which is expected to take place sometime in June.
It’s worth taking all Apple rumors with a grain of salt, as nobody knows Apple plans for certain until Apple itself make an announcement, and ETNews doesn’t have an established track record for Apple rumors. Still, LiquidMetal is a marvelous material, and would be a fantastic choice for the casing of Apple’s next iPhone.
