iPhone fold report resurrects decade-old liquid metal component rumor

AppleInsider

A rumor from long ago may finally come true, with liquid metal hinges and bearings predicted to be used in the iPhone Fold.

Renders of a possible iPhone fold

Foldable screens currently display a very visible crease after they have been used for a time, but it's previously been claimed that Apple has at least reduced this. Now Ming-Chi Kuo is backing that up with a report, seemingly based on his supply chain contacts, about one way Apple is achieving this.

"[In] order to improve the durability, screen flatness and crease-free screen of the foldable iPhone," writes Kuo on Twitter, "Apple will use liquid metal materials for key component bearings (hinge) and process them through die casting."

Screen creasing is caused by fatigue failure, similar to how an aluminum can tears when folded over and over. To keep that down in a glass substrate, a minimum bend radius must not be exceeded.

So, it's not clear why liquid metal hinges and bearings are required for a crease-free screen. Apple's goal for that is more about the hinge design, and the glass itself, rather than than the material used in said hinges.


Apple previously used similar materials in conjunction with California's Liquidmetal Technologies, but not for major components. In 2010, the company's alloy technology was used to make the SIM ejector tool for the iPhone and iPad, for example.

But that SIM ejector seems be about as far as Apple went with the technology.

While Kuo refers to this, he says that for the much larger and critical iPhone fold order, Apple is now working with Chinese firm Dongguan Yian Technology. The company is said to have the exclusive contract with Apple, and Kuo estimates that the iPhone fold alone will double the firm's annual revenues.

While Kuo says that the iPhone fold will be Apple's first use of liquid metal in the core components of a device, the company does have an extensive history of working with it. In 2015, it won a patent in conjunction with Liquidmetal Technologies for manufacturing products layer by layer, but the company didn't deploy this in mass manufacturing.

Nonetheless, Apple has definitely pursued the technology. In 2014, it applied for another patent regarding using liquid metal in molding systems.

Separately, it has been claimed that an iPhone fold may retail for more than the cost of a current Mac Studio.

Most recently, Kuo has vacillated between supply chain reports and guesswork predictions, and is rarely clear which is which. In this case, he does refer to a latest industry survey, however.



Read on AppleInsider

danox

That would be a home run out of the past it’s currently a penny stock, at one time it’s high watermark was $22 a share, coincidentally I bought 12,000 shares for pennies back in 2005-2012 (kept them for fun), you can still buy shares on E*TRADE for .0548 per share…… I also bought 400 shares of Apple and a bunch of shares of Pixar, which had a two for one split and later was converted to Disney stock when Steve Jobs sold Pixar to Disney.

edited March 21

jwdawso

To be a material engineer at Apple - sounds like so much fun!

eriamjh

Liquid Metal is a euphemism for “cast” parts.  

What a nothing burger! 

mike wuerthele

eriamjh said:

Liquid Metal is a euphemism for “cast” parts.  

What a nothing burger! 

It sort-of is, sort-of isn't.

Assuming Kuo is right about what he's saying, and is accurate about who he thinks is involved, Liquid Metal as applied is a composite material with good hardness and resistance to fatigue failure. More plastic deformation, than, say, aluminum or steel.

danox

eriamjh said:

Liquid Metal is a euphemism for “cast” parts.  

What a nothing burger! 

What a crybaby Apple is up $4.17 today.  

edited March 21

avon b7

It does seem a bit weird to mention liquid metal and screen creases. Maybe he got two stories mixed up or something happened in his translation. 

I'm not sure why it would be newsworthy either seeing that liquid metal has been used on hinges in folding phones since 2019. It's also used on some premium smartwatches. 

Perhaps it's more the type of liquid metal or the casting method. Phone hinges have used zirconium based Liquid Metal + MIM by, IIRC, DGYA Amorphous Alloy Technology Group. 

chasm

I'm skeptical of an iPhone fold.

The existing folding phones are a neat trick but are:

a) hideously expensive
b) prone to hinge damage

By its nature a folding iPhone would have to be significantly thinner, which likely means some loss of features or technology. Even if Apple could work around these issues and keep the cost reasonable, there's no evidence that folding smartphones are anything but a niche in the Android market as well, so the goal of developing a folding iPhone would be ... ?

A foldable iPad makes a lot more sense to me.

radarthekat

I still say it should be two separate screens that come together using a hinge mechanism that includes protective edges when folded that rotate out of the way at the last micrometer when unfolding, just as the edges of the two screens will come up against one another.  And rotate back into place to protect the edges as the phone is folded again.  This would require extreme precision to ensure no debris is allowed to get near the screen edges.  But if possible would allow a foldable phone with two gorilla-glass hardened screens to form a single display, no compromise in toughness or durability.  But you’d need a hinge mechanism that’s both very precise to a very tight tolerance and very durable so it doesn’t lose tolerance through wear. 

danox

Another way to think of liquid metal is, what is the Apple spin? What does Apple have in mind? What do they plan to do that will go one step beyond their competition (no different than their curated monitors). The rest of the PC world has standardize on the cheaper 4K monitors @ 120Hz while Apple keeps pushing ahead with higher resolution monitors 4.5K and above, which by the way require more information to be pushed down the pipeline hence the upgrade to thunderbolt five. 

Remember Samsung (shrinking margins) did not want to bother with tandem Oled, but LG who got 3/4 of Apples orders for the iPad did. Samsung probably was concerned that they would not be able to put it into their tablets because no one would buy them at least not at a higher prices Apple their competitor could command Samsung wanted a little EU competition favor from Apple in short, let’s stay even with each other.

edited March 23