Where Does LiquidMetal & Gorilla Glass Fit Into the 2012 iPhone 5?
Posted by Michael Nace on Wednesday Jan 4, 2012 Under iPhone 5 Opinion, iPhone 5 RumorAn aluminum back and unibody construction are dominating the iPhone 5 rumor mill this week. Where will Apple’s acquisition of alloy pioneer LiquidMetal, Gorilla glass, and those glass cutting machine rumors from last year fit into the 2012 iPhone 5 form factor?
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been highlighting how all of the old iPhone 5 rumors from last year seem to be coming around again in an almost systematic fashion. The recycling of feature rumors for the iPhone 5 can only mean one of two things: that Apple has planned these rumored features for the iPhone 5 for almost two years now, or that the rumors are little more than sensationalized fodder to get people reading tech blogs in a second-generation frenzy over the iPhone 5.
This week, the lead story is, once again, a report that the iPhone’s Gorilla glass backing will be replaced by an aluminum back. There are various stories about this rumor, so let’s pick this one, from Cult Of Mac, says it as good as anyone else: “The Gorilla glass that currently houses the fourth- and fifth-generation iPhones — which is notoriously susceptible to cracks and smashes — will be replaced by aluminum for the sixth-generation device, according to the source.”
Just like the built-in bumper rumor and the slide-out keyboard rumor, the aluminum backed iPhone 5 is a very old rumor. Charles Moore reported on it way back on March 9, 2011. But just because the aluminum backed iPhone 5 rumor is getting its second treatment in the media doesn’t necessarily mean that it is bupkis. And I would argue that there is an equal chance that Apple could wield a metal alloy different from aluminum for the iPhone 5′s back, such as the unique, moldable metal alloy from LiquidMetal technologies.
There is a basis for this speculation: Apple acquired LiquidMetal’s rights back in August of 2010, and they must have done so for a reason: sure, Cupertino might have bought them out to keep their technology out of the hands of competitors, but Apple has a more reliable track record of acquiring technologies that they want to subsume into their design efforts.
Charlie White at Mashable had this to say about the prospect of aluminum on the iPhone 5 last year: “It could be aluminum, but there’s also talk of LiquidMetal, that futuristic substance that’s as easy to work with (and as lightweight) as plastic, but strong as aluminum . . . we’re still thinking it’s a little soon for it to appear on the iPhone. We’re betting on aluminum for the iPhone 5, with Liquidmetal making its appearance in a later version.”
But that was last year, before anyone had anticipated the iPhone 4S being released in 2011. Now that we’re into 2012, the prospect of LiquidMetal playing a role in the iPhone 5′s form factor is more likely.
While we are on the subject of form factors, it is also worth noting that, along with the aluminum backed iPhone 5 rumors of last year, we also had the story of Apple investing in glass cutting machines, ostensibly to cut curved glass screens for the iPhone 5. Charles was on that story in 2011 as well, and had this to say back on May 24th, 2011: “Apple itself has reportedly purchased 200-300 glass cutting machines to be used by glass makers, or so the sources affirm, currently storing them at associated assembly plants to be brought into production service once yield rates for curved glass reaches a satisfactory level.”
So, are we due to hear about rumors of the curved glass display for the iPhone 5 again? Based on the recent trajectory of iPhone rumors, I’d say so. The original report about the glass cutting machines came from DigiTimes, so it will be interesting to see if they pick up that story again in 2012.
One thing is for sure: if Apple is going to craft a new form factor for the iPhone 5 and have it look distinct from Android phones, there are indeed going to have to go to extraordinary lengths to design and craft it. Whether or not you like the form factor of the iPhone 4 and 4S, no one can deny that it is a unique form factor, marrying glass, plastic, and metal in a way not usually seen on other devices. Glass cutting and LiquidMetal could be just the ticket.
By Michael Nace
Michael Nace is the Publisher of the iPhone 5 News Blog and iPhone 6 News Blog. He has published articles about the iPhone since 2010.
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January 4th, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Gorilla glass iphone 5 will be great. I watched the video on your mobile phone sony glass is used it is very good strength and wear resistance.
January 4th, 2012 at 1:59 pm
My N8 and SGS2 both have gorilla glass, and it shows. The screens both still look great. For the life of me, it’s still unbelievable that Apple had not chosen to use it. Especially, considering the design of the iP4 and iP4S, just unacceptable imo.
January 4th, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Look what i just found on wikipedia, on the page of iOS in Wikipedia, if you click on the photot this is what comes up. Operating system iphone 5.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Operating_system_iphone_5.PNG
January 4th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Don’t the iPhone 4 and 4S already have Gorilla Glass? I thought they had it…
January 4th, 2012 at 9:54 pm
same here Cristian. i thought everyone saying it was a bad idea to use Gorilla Glass for the iPhone back.
January 4th, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Christian/Lonewolf: Yup. I think Corning makes the “Gorilla Glass” used on the back of the iPhone 4/4S. I quote Cult of Mac on that: ““The Gorilla glass that currently houses the fourth- and fifth-generation iPhones — which is notoriously susceptible to cracks and smashes — will be replaced by aluminum for the sixth-generation device, according to the source.”
I was assuming that gexxhippie was speaking of some next-generation stuff for the actual touch screen.
January 5th, 2012 at 4:44 am
Yeah, I’m confused too. Thanks for the info Michael… But I thought gorilla glass was one of the anticipated rumors for the 2011 iPhone 5? This is the first I’ve heard that its already on the 4 and 4S?
I thought I saw a comparison somewhere last year of iPhone glass and gorilla glass… And the gorilla glass looked far superior for resisting scratches… And that it was almost unbreakable. That doesn’t seem to make sense considering how “breakable” the iPhone is when it comes to dropping it.
Did I mention that I was confused?
January 5th, 2012 at 10:04 am
Apple haven’t acquired Liquid Metal Technologies (LQMT)
They’ve merely bought the exclusive rights to use the alloy in electronic equipment – If Apple had indeed bought LQMT back then, I’d be a millionaire today.. Not that I’m dissatisfied, cause I earned a lot of money anyway.
January 5th, 2012 at 10:42 am
LQMT is a great buy at under 0.15. LiquidMetal doesn’t scratch and has a nice finish. I can’t see us going back to aluminum.
January 6th, 2012 at 10:17 am
I just hope they push it out to the end of 2012….less waiting time for us poor 4s owners…..
January 7th, 2012 at 2:20 am
9to5Mac reported that Corning will be unveiling Gorilla Glass 2 this month. Gotta be on the lookout for that.
January 7th, 2012 at 4:42 pm
[...] 07. Jan, 2012 0 Comments back aluminum unibody construction are dominating the iPhone 5 rumors this week. Where Apple’s acquisition of Pioneer LiquidMetal alloy, glass Gorilla, and rumors of glass cutting machine setting on the iPhone last year 2012 5 form factor? In the last couple of weeks, we have to emphasize that all five old iPhone rumors last year is coming to put in an almost systematic. The recycling of the rumors of features for the iPhone 5 can only mean one of two things: that Apple has planned these features rumored for iPhone 5 for almost two years, or that the rumors are just sensational meat to get the People who read tech blogs in a frenzy on the second generation iPhone 5. This week the main story, once again, a report supported by the iPhone Gorilla glass is replaced by a new aluminum. There are several stories about this rumor, so let’s pick this, worship Mac , says that as good as any other person: “Gorilla glass that now houses the iPhone fourth and fifth generation – which is notoriously susceptible to cracks and breaks – will be replaced by aluminum for the sixth generation device, according to the source “. Like the built-in bumper and the keyboard rumor rumor Slide, iPhone aluminum back 5 is a very old rumor. Charles Moore reported that way back on March 9, 2011. But only because aluminum backed iPhone 5 rumor is getting his second treatment of the media does not necessarily mean that it is bupkis. And I would say there is an equal chance that Apple could have a different metal alloy of aluminum for the iPhone 5 back, as the unique alloy, metal molding Liquidmetal Technologies. There is a basis for this speculation: Apple acquired the rights LiquidMetal is back in August 2010 and must have done for a reason that Cupertino could have bought to keep the technology out of the hands of competitors, but Apple has a reliable track record of acquiring the technologies that they want to be subsumed in their design efforts. Charlie White at Mashable said the following about the possibility of aluminum in the iPhone 5 last year : “It could be aluminum, but also talk about LiquidMetal, this substance is so futuristic easy to work with (and lightweight) as plastic, but strong as aluminum… we think it’s a little early to appear on the iPhone. We are betting on aluminum for the iPhone 5, with Liquidmetal making its appearance in later. “ But that was last year, before anyone had anticipated iPhone 4S being released in 2011. Now that we are in 2012, the prospect of LiquidMetal play a role in the iPhone format 5 is more likely. While we’re on the subject of form factors is also worth noting that, along with aluminum backed iPhone 5 rumors last year, we also invest in Apple history glass cutting machines, under the pretext of cutting curved glass screens for the iPhone 5. Charles was in that story in 2011 also and had this to say again on May 24, 2011: “Apple has been reported purchased 200-300 glass cutting machines to be used by manufacturers of glass, or so say sources, currently stored in the assembly plants associated with the commissioning of production once the rates of return curved glass reaches a satisfactory level. “ So, that is should hear about the rumors of the curved glass screen for the iPhone 5 again? Based on the recent history of iPhone rumors, I would say yes. The original report on the glass cutting machines of wine DigiTimes , so it will be interesting to see if you pick up the story again in 2012. One thing is certain: If Apple is going to develop a new form factor iPhone 5 and make it look different from the Android phones, there are indeed going to have to go to extraordinary lengths to design and craft it. If you do not like the form factor of the iPhone 4 and 4S, nobody can deny that it is a unique form factor, marry glass, plastic and metal so not often seen in other devices. The cut glass and LiquidMetal could be just the ticket For Michael is born The iPhone 5 News Blog [...]