And a little-known alloy
that Apple has quietly been using for the past two years could be just
the ticket to make consumers swoon.
Korea IT News reported
Wednesday that the iPhone 5 is likely to be housed in Liquidmetal, the
commercial name for an alloy of titanium, zirconium, nickel, copper and
other metals. It would make the outer surface of the phone "smooth like liquid," according to the report.
"The next iPhone needs to
truly stand out from the crowd," Canalys analyst Chris Jones told Wired
via email.
"A change in materials is a likely way to differentiate its
form factor."
Liquidmetal was
discovered at the California Institute of Technology in 1992. It's a
class of patented amorphous metal alloys (basically metallic glass) with
unique properties
including high strength, high wear resistance against scratching and
denting, and a good strength-to-weight ratio. Apple was granted rights
to use it in August of 2010.
"Liquidmetal allows
precision parts to be fabricated similar to plastic injection molding,
but with similar properties to metal," IHS senior principal analyst
Kevin Keller said.
In today's metal-based
gadgets, you either need to bend a piece of sheet metal, or die-cast
with an inferior alloy like aluminum or magnesium. In die-casting, the
alloys tend to be brittle and have poor wear resistance.
Liquidmetal's injection
molding process is still a relatively new technology, and it's fairly
expensive -- but that's not necessarily anything that Apple would shy
away from.
Liquidmetal has been used in Apple products (as well as those of other manufacturers) for several years. The SIM card ejector tool
in some North American first-generation iPads was made of Liquidmetal,
and since then, Keller said, it's been used in a number of other
internal parts and small mechanical components.
"We expect Apple and
other manufacturers to start using this not only for larger and more
visible portions of devices, but also entire enclosures," Keller said.
Thus, a Liquidmetal iPhone chassis seems entirely reasonable to expect
in the not-too-distant future.
Jones also noted that
the discovery and use of new materials was one of Steve Jobs'
obsessions. "But Apple will need to ensure a change in material does not
compromise the performance of the device," he added, noting the
infamous "antenna-gate" issue with the iPhone 4.
Reports that an upcoming iPhone could have a metal back and a unibody case have been circling since well before the iPhone 4S was announced.
Source: Wired
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