Liquid Metal To Be Used In iPhone 5 Case - Report

Liquid metal case for iPhone 5?

The next-generation iPhone will be housed in liquid metal, Korea-based tech site ETNews.com reported Wednesday.

Liquid metal will reportedly make the upcoming iPhone thin, light and resistant to impact.

"According to industry sources, the next flagship phones of the companies are expected to adopt unprecedented materials for their main bodies, that is, ceramic for the Galaxy S3 and liquid metal for iPhone5, both being thin, light and highly resistant to external impacts." ETNews wrote.

The report added that iPhone 5 is set to debut at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to be held in San Francisco in June.

Developed by a California Institute of Technology research team and now marketed by the team's Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc., liquid metal is the commercial name for an alloy of titanium, zirconium, nickel, copper and other metals. It was first introduced for commercial applications in 2003 and is used for golf clubs, watches and covers of cell phones, among others.

Liquidmetal Technologies granted Apple a perpetual, exclusive license to use its technology in consumer electronics in 2010.

Liquid Metal has been used in Apple products for a number of years. The SIM card ejector tool in some first-generation iPads distributed in North America was reportedly made of Liquid Metal, and since then, it has been used in a number of other internal parts and small mechanical components.