Apple iPhone 5 May Feature Lighter, Thinner 'Liquid Metal' Build; Release Date, Launch In June 2012 [REPORT] - International Business Times

Apple iPhone 5 May Feature Lighter, Thinner 'Liquid Metal' Build; Release Date, Launch In June 2012 [REPORT] Apple may make its next iPhone considerably thinner and lighter thanks to some recently-licensed patents for "liquid metal," which the company acquired in 2010 from Delaware-based Liquidmetal Technologies. The report comes from a Korean publication called ETNews, which cites "industry sources." "The next flagship phones of [Apple and Samsung] are expected to adopt unprecedented materials for their main bodies, that is, ceramic for the Galaxy S3 and liquid metal for iPhone 5, both being thin, light and highly resistant to external impacts," said ETNews' Kim In-Soon. "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." Apple acquired the licensing rights to various patented amorphous metal alloys from Liquidmetal Technologies in August 2010, but ETNews claims Apple will create a liquid metal alloy of zirconium, titanium, nickel and copper to create "an outer surface smooth like liquid." ETNews added that the iPhone 5 "is expected to make its debut at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco in June." While it's unclear if this latest rumor can be trusted, previous reports also said Apple would release the iPhone 5 in June. In March, Reuters reported that Apple plans to unveil the next iPhone "around the second quarter" of 2012. While this report would mean a release in June or July, it did contradict an earlier report from Japanese blog Macotakara, which believed, citing inside sources from the supply chain, Apple would release the iPhone 5 in September or October, effectively abandoning mid-year iPhone launches for a 11-month upgrade cycle starting in the fall.