In 2010, while the iPhone was still a small player in the game of the smartphone, Apple made a movement that apparently aimed to pass the iPhone to the next level. He bought global exclusive rights to use materials developed by LiquidMetal, an alloy based on zirconium with a amorphous structure used for high precision and high performance parts.
So far, he did not know why Apple has bought the company. The most notable liquidmetal product was the SIM ejector tool of the iPhone, and it would also have been used in certain parts of Apple Watch. However, a new rumor suggests that Apple's investment in Liquidmetal could play a major role in the folding iPhone.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple works on a hinge for a folding phone that will use liquid metal instead of traditional metal. “According to recent industry research, Apple focuses on improving sustainability, improving screen flatness and the minimization of folds in its foldable iPhone design,” he writes. “To achieve these objectives, key components and hinges will be made from liquid metal using a casting process.”
To be clear, the liquidmetal company does not manufacture metal parts which are really fluid. Completely the opposite: it specializes in a special process of launching decline which produces exceptionally strong, hard and precise metallic parts which do not require additional shaping and finishing. The “liquid” part comes from the flow process and the amorphous atomic structure of the metal before the flow, not from the final shape of the metal.
Kuo underlines the supplier of liquid metals Eontec as the “main beneficiary” of Apple's decision and does not mention Apple's investment in Liquidmetal, but he has certainly played a role in the development of the telephone.
Apple is expected to launch its first folding iPhone in 2026. For the latest news and rumors, stay listening to our folding rumor of the iPhone.
