Apple originally signed the deal with Liquidmetal Technologies back in 2010 and has been experimenting with shapeless alloys of metal since then. Liquidmetal alloys are quite different in molecular structure compared to traditional metals, resulting in hard substance. Specifically, it can take the form of unique, thin and durable shapes.
The publication shows the Liquidmetal alloys used through a 3d printing process. Apple says this is going to be a faster and cost friendly process compared to traditional machines.
According to a report from Patently Apple:
“All five Liquidmetal patents published today include the same list of potential products as noted below:
A telephone, such as a cell phone, and a land-line phone, or any communication device, such as a smart phone, including, for example an iPhone, and an electronic email sending/receiving device. It can be a part of a display, such as a digital display, a TV monitor, an electronic-book reader, an iPad, and a computer monitor.
It can also be an entertainment device, including a portable DVD player, conventional DVD player, Blue-Ray disk player, video game console, music player, such as a portable music player (e.g., iPod), etc. It can also be a part of a device that provides control, such as controlling the streaming of images, videos, sounds (e.g., Apple TV), or it can be a remote control for an electronic device. It can be a part of a computer or its accessories, such as the hard drive tower housing or casing, laptop housing, laptop keyboard, laptop track pad, desktop keyboard, mouse, and speaker. The article can also be applied to a device such as a watch or a clock.â€
So far, only the SIM ejection tool has been able to adopt the Liquidmetal tech. Also, one of Apple’s founder says that a breakthough Liquidmetal device is still few years away.
