Connect with us

Mobile

Don’t Expect a Liquidmetal iPhone 5, But Expect ‘Breakthrough Product’

Published

on

The iPhone 5 wait continues, and the best looking iPhone 5 concpeet we’ve seen is the gorgeous Liquidmetal iPhone 5, but according to the inventor of Liquidmetal it’s not going to happen. At least not this year.

In an interview with BusinessInsider, Atakan Peker, one of the inventors of Liquidmetal claims that Apple will need to spend, “$300 million to $500 million — and three to five years — to mature the technology before it can used in large scale.”

Read: iPhone 5 Release Date & Rumor Roundup

Liquidmetal iPhone Parts

If Apple still needs to put in the time to perfect Liquidmetal as one of the inventor’s claims, we won’t see an iPhone 5 with a Liquidmetal case, but we may see Liquidmetal iPhone 5 parts or liquid metal parts in other Apple hardware.

The SIM card tool is already made of Liquidmetal, and we could see it used in a hinge or a bracket before the new material shows up in a case or frame.

Liquidmetal in Use

To see an application of Liquidmetal as a piece of a larger item, check out the inclusion of Liquidmetal in the OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean Liquidmetal Limited edition watch below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZcsWVqLC5I&feature=player_detailpage

The Liquidmetal allows the numbers to survive “indefinitely” because of the combined hardness of Liquidmetal and ceramics.

Liquidmetal iPhone in the Future

That pretty much rules out a Liquidmetal iPhone 5 for an October release date, but it doesn’t rule out something extraordinary from Apple in the next few years.

iPhone 5 liquid metal

An artist's take on a Liquidmetal iPhone 5.

Apple has the exclusive usage rights for Liquidmetal, which the inventor thinks will give Apple an edge.

a breakthrough product made only possible by Liquidmetal technology. Apple’s exclusively licensing a new material technology (specifically for casing and enclosures) is a first in the industry.

This is very exciting. Therefore, I expect Apple to use this technology in a breakthrough product. Such product will likely bring an innovative user interface and industrial design together, and will also be very difficult to copy or duplicate with other material technologies.

We expect to hear about iOS 6 at WWDC 2012 in June, which will give insight into the user experience and interface, but it is more likely that the iPhone 5 or new iPhone will see a release this fall.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Mr. H.

    05/03/2012 at 10:41 am

    Knowing how anal retentive Apple is (or actually the late Steve Jobs – which now everyone at Apple will blindly continue to follow such methods for the next decade) the only thing wrong with artist’s take of the iPhone above is the camera lens and flash… Apple would never release such a product like that… Instead they would reject the entire phone and spend millions if need be, to make the lense and flash sit flush with the casing, and not allow the ridge-edge ring to sit around the lense and flash as the picture shows now.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.