Liquid Metal: Apple aims to use it in the first foldable
Apple has long used Liquid Metal for SIM eject tools. It might soon debut in a major product.
SIM tool in an iPhone package: Liquid Metal has been a niche topic at Apple for years.
(Image: Tamisclao / Shutterstock)
Liquid metal, was there something? Apple secured a license for the innovative material back in 2010 and has repeatedly extended it over the years. The material from a US specialist company is considered to be particularly flexible in the production of sophisticated parts, and thanks to the alloy used, it is particularly hard and scratch-resistant. Surprisingly, however, Apple only used the metal for one application to great public effect: The SIM removal tool that comes with the iPhone. Now a well-known analyst believes that the time has finally come for larger products: Liquid Metal is said to be used in the first Apple foldable, which will be released in 2026 or 2027.
Use in sensitive areas
As Ming-Chi Kuo from TF International Securities writes in a report to investors, the material should both improve the durability of the flexible display and reduce wrinkling, which has been a standard problem with the form factor to date. According to Kuo, Apple has chosen the material, which is manufactured using a die-casting process, to be a key component in solving the common problems of foldables. Liquid Metal will also help to make the hardware thinner while remaining – largely – shatterproof.
Kuo has also heard that Liquid Metal will be used for critical mechanical parts of the iPhone foldable. These are said to include the hinges, a particularly vulnerable part of the form factor. Apple has allegedly selected the Chinese supplier Dongguan EonTec as the manufacturer, which is allowed to produce with a liquid metal license.
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Apple has so far only observed
There is currently speculation about a look in the style of the Galaxy Z Fold – so not a "clamshell" form factor like a folding phone, but more like a book. An external display of 5.5 inches meets 7.8 inches when unfolded. Apple had been following the folding phone market for years, but held back. Providers such as Samsung, Google and most recently, various Chinese companies have already released many generations of these products.
However, the market is still considered to be small. The durability of the devices remains a problem. In China, where foldables are popular in the luxury segment despite their high price, there are repeated reports of quality defects, such as with Huawei's triple foldable phone.
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