According to a new report from ETNews that cites “industry” sources, Apple may utilize liquid metal technology to produce a slimmer and lighter next-generation iPhone. In August of 2010, Apple acquired the rights to “amorphous metal alloys” from Liquidmetal Technologies. Shortly after Apple’s acquisition of the patent for the “amorphous metal alloys”, the company was reportedly found hiring engineers to work with the metals.
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.
As for a release date, the Korean news site also suggests that the next-generation iPhone, they’re calling it the “iPhone 5″, will debut at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference (more commonly known as WWDC) this June. Prior to the iPhone 4S’ release, new iPhone models were unveiled during WWDC and released shortly thereafter.
While there have been a handful of reports backing up the ETNew’s claims of a summer release, most analysts and informants strongly believe that the next iPhone will arrive this fall instead of returning to the pre-iPhone 4S schedule.
Unfortunately, ETNews has a history of inaccurate predictions when it comes to Apple rumors. In light of that fact, it’s probably best to remain at least partially skeptical of their reports of an “iPhone 5″ with liquidmetal technology scheduled for a June unveiling.
Whatever the case might be for Apple’s upcoming iPhone, stay tuned for full coverage on the next-generation device.
