It has been long rumored that Apple's initial investment in Liquidmetal technology in 2010 would result in dramatically redesigned iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more. A new Apple job posting has been uncovered that sounds like the folks in Cupertino are gearing up to release devices made with Liquidmetal technology.
The benefits of using Liquidmetal offer features that are not found in a single material. The melting of different metal alloys allows for high wear resistance in many of the products that are currently created using Liquidmetal. Liquidmetal has been used in everything from golf clubs, skis, baseball bats, and even Apple's own SIM ejector tool that it shipped with some iPhone 3GS' in order to test out the technology. Liquidmetal also has the added benefit of being twice as strong as titanium in certain instances.
As Softpedia points out, this could certainly play a major role in upcoming Apple products, and possibly the iPhone 6, which has been rumored to receive a major redesign. Apple's job posting is for a Mechanical Engineer and the job description is listed as follows:
"Apple is looking for Mechanical Engineers that can lead the development and implementation of high precision manufacturing processes in a demanding and high volume environment.
Broad understanding of materials and manufacturing process such as joining (press lamination, gluing, heat staking). Possess some understanding of part creation processes including CNC milling/turning, injection molding, stamping, MIM, die casting, extrusion and sheet forming etc. Experience with mechanical fabricated parts, jigs, fixtures, tooling. Injection molding and plastics experience is a plus. Solid understanding of DOE, GD&T, SPC techniques. Experience outlining and filing patents is preferred."
This is the first real sign that we've gotten to see that Apple is definitely serious about using Liquidmetal technology in upcoming devices. Whether it will debut with the iPhone 6 or another device is anyone's guess for now, but at least we know it's finally coming after being teased about it for all these years.
