An Apple supplier appears to have confirmed rumours that the company is working on an all-glass version for the iPhone 8.
Allen Horng, chairman and chief executive of Catcher Technology, which currently manufactures the aluminium body of Apple's iPhones, told Asian media that the glass iPhone would be expensive to create.
"Glass casing still needs a durable metal frame which requires advanced processing technology and would not be cheaper than the current model," he said at Catcher Technology's annual shareholder meeting.
However, he also said that "only one model" of the iPhone would adopt glass casing next year, suggesting Apple may be planning to offer multiple variants of the device.
While the company is scheduled to launch its iPhone 7 later this year, that model is expected to look very similar to the iPhone 6 and 6s.
Apple is saving its major design overhaul for the so-called iPhone 8 in 2017 - perhaps intended to coincide with the iPhone's 10th anniversary.
The news comes after KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a track record of leaking accurate information on Apple products, published a report last month claiming the American tech firm will completely redesign the iPhone in 2017.
Instead of the aluminium casing used in the iPhone 6 and 6s , Apple will move to an all-glass enclosure. This will be complemented by a new cutting-edge curved OLED display, supplied by Samsung.
This wouldn't be the first time Apple has used glass in its iPhones. The iPhone 4 and 4s had glass front and back panels, with a stainless steel band sandwiched between the two.
However, these phones were plagued by durability issues, with many customers claiming their phones cracked too easily when dropped .
Kuo noted that some investors are concerned that glass casing would be too heavy or fail a drop test, but said he believes that a return to glass casing will not be problematic for Apple.
"Apple already uses glass casing for iPhone 4/ 4S, and non-Apple brands have also been using glass casings. We therefore think a drop test will not be problematic for glass casing," he wrote in his report, according to MacRumours .
"A glass casing may be slightly heavier than an aluminum one of the same thickness, but the difference is so small that the use of the thinner and lighter AMOLED panel will compensate for that."