Apple’s next smartphone to make its debut at WWDC 12, according to the report

Apr 18, 2012 14:51 GMT  ·  By

Apple and Samsung Electronics are doing away with the materials used to manufacture their current smartphones, switching to liquidmetal and ceramics respectively, according to industry sources quoted by a Korean paper.

Korea’s IT News source, etnews.com claims to have heard from unnamed industry sources that “Samsung Electronics and Apple, the two leaders of the global smart phone industry, [are shifting] the focus of their competition to new materials.”

The report specifically outlines (emphasis ours) that “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.”

Since the report doesn’t get any more specific about the sources leaking this information, it’s safe to take all this with a grain of salt before jumping to any conclusions.

It continues, noting that the Galaxy S3 is known to have a ceramic main body, and that it is scheduled to be unveiled in London on May 3.

“In the meantime, iPhone5 is likely to take liquid metal, an alloy of zirconium, titanium, nickel, copper and so forth having an outer surface smooth like liquid,” reads the piece.

On the launch date, the Korean source cites old rumors saying that “the new iPhone is expected to make its debut at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco in June.”

Indeed, Apple has released every new iPhone iteration during its annual WWDC events - all with the exception of the iPhone 4S, which debuted in October 2011.

There are just as many pundits who believe the next iPhone will be unveiled at WWDC 12, as there are analysts and market researchers who strongly uphold that Apple has abandoned its summer refresh cycle for the iPhone.