A patent application published by the United States patent & Trademark Office on Thursday has revealed a new material for the backside of an iPhone. The material is said to be liquid metal.

The patent background states that metallic glasses (amorphous alloys and glass alloys) are metallic alloys that don’t possess a crystalline structure like other metals when in their solid state. Their atoms are instead disordered, giving them an amorphous structure.

Metallic glasses with distinct cosmetic properties are difficult to design and in general are difficult to use as a surface coating. Apple seems to have solved that problem with what is called micro-alloying. The metallic glass coating is applied on a metal substrate to form a metallic glass coated surface. Then pulsed radiation is applied to the coated surface to join the metal glass to the metal substrate thereby forming a metallic glass with an altered chemical composition.

In the patent, the image of a device with a micro-alloyed metallic glass coated metal substrate is included. There are rumors that the iPhone 8 will have a glass back and also have wireless charging. Since the only materials that support wireless charging are plastic, ceramic and glass. The last two are fragile and plastic is out of it, so it makes sense to use a stronger material like metallic glass.

READ MORE: Meizu Might Be Working on Optical Fingerprint Recognition Technology Like Apple

There is no confirmation that the material will show up on the iPhone 8. The patent application was filed in Q3 2016 but we want to hope it does. Last year we saw the patent application for Apple’s Touch Bar technology and it made its way to the new MacBook Pro.

(Source)

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Chinese smartphone manufacturers often come up with something interesting every once in a while. iMan is a company that you may have not heard before, but it’s looking to get your attention with its brand new iMan Victor smartphone. While competing in the regular smartphone segment would have been extremely hard, iMan Victor markets itself as a unique phone, in the affordable Luxury smartphone segment.

In case you are wondering what makes it so luxurious, then here’s the answer. The iMan Victor comes with a premium Liquid Metal frame, which makes the phone look much more polished than its price. Further, the phone has IP67 Certification which means it’s waterproof as well. So, you don’t have to worry about getting this device wet. The company claims the Victor is the world’s first Luxury phone with Liquid Metal Frame and IP67 Certification.

As for the specs, the manufacturer reveals that the phone will come with the Helio P10 octa-core chipset inside with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. There will be a 5-inch display with unknown resolution. At the back, the phone comes with a 13MP Sony IMX214 camera. Other features of the phone known to us include NFC support and fingerprint sensor (0.2s unlock). The phone is expected to launch in September for a price tag of $249.99.

For this price, the specs are not the best, but then if you would like to have a smartphone that features liquid metal frame and a unique look, then the Victor could be a decent option.

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We have been hearing a lot about the upcoming UMi Zero 2 flagship. The latest information on the handset says that the phone will feature 4GB of RAM, which will make it the first such device from the company till date. While the specs are turning out to be quite impressive so far, earlier today we came across some new information about this upcoming handset. And its quite interesting too.

According to the latest rumors, the UMi Zero 2 will come with a premium Liquid Metal body. I am sure you would have heard of this alloy which is reportedly tougher than any other material used for a smartphone housing. Its extreme durability and strength has made this alloy quite popular. In fact, Apple has been using the same Liquid Metal for some of its small components. Even though its been years since we first heard about this alloy, smartphones have not yet used this material on a wide scale. In fact, only the Turning Phone can boast of featuring a Liquid Metal body till now. So, it would really be surprising to see a local Chinese manufacturer like UMi use this material for its own device.
Of course, nothing is confirmed so far, so its still very early to make conclusions about the phone’s body. Even if the phone doesn’t come with Liquid Metal body, other specifications are sure to impress the masses, especially when priced right. Lets wait for more information about the UMi Zero 2 which should hopefully debut sometime before the end of this year.

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