Report: Apple Could Spend $500 Million to Develop Liquidmetal Alloy

Apple could spend upwards of half a billion dollars over the next few years to develop Liquidmetal for use in device casings and computer enclosures, according to one of the scientists who invented the alloy.

"I estimate that Apple will likely spend on the order of $300 million to $500 million—and three to five years—to mature the technology before it can used in large scale," said Dr. Atakan Peker in an interview with Business Insider published this week.

Peker was one of the Caltech researchers who invented Liquidmetal in 2003. The alloy, which is solid at room temperature despite its name, combines certain strengths associated with metals with characteristics associated with glass and plastics to produce a material that has high tensile strength, resistance to corrosion and scratching, and can be heat-formed into complex shapes.

Apple has an to develop Liquidmetal and has already used the material in a SIM card ejector pin that is in some iPhone 3G smartphones. That early use of the alloy is believed to have been more experimental than practical, however. The manufacturing costs associated with producing Liquidmetal still must be brought down to make it a viable material for use in Apple products, Peker said.

Peker said he thinks Apple will take its time incorporating Liquidmetal in future products, using it here and there for small parts instead of building an entire product out of the alloy anytime soon. Asked about rumors that a next-generation MacBook might have a Liquidmetal casing, the scientist dismissed the notion.

"Given the size of [the] MacBook and scale of Apple products, I think it's unlikely that a Liquidmetal casing will be used in MacBooks in the near term," he told Business Insider. "It's more likely in the form of small component such as a hinge or bracket. A MacBook casing, such as a unibody, will take two to four more years to implement."

The scientist didn't comment on a from Korea IT News that Liquidmetal could be used for the back casing of the next iPhone.

That report has been questioned, however. AppleInsider, for example, cast doubts on the Liquidmetal rumor based on Korea IT News' prediction that the new iPhone would be unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco this June.

Apple introduced the iPhone 4S last October and most rumors claim the tech giant is planning to keep a similar timeframe for the launch of its next iPhone—though the company did reveal its latest phone's predecessor, the iPhone 4, at WWDC in 2010.

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