Siri’s ears are burning as iPhone fold goes liquid metal

We’re now in the century sci-fi writers made their fortunes writing about — and hardware manufacturers seem keen to explore new products and processes that make some of those predictions a reality. Just as Minority Report comes pretty close to predicting visionOS and Spatial Computing, so too will a whisper of Ringworld be reflected in the hard but soft metal substance Apple might use in future devices, principally the folding iPhone.

Liquid Metal has been around in the Apple-verse for a long time. It’s a zirconium- and titanium-based alloy stronger than steel and more flexible than aluminium; the company has licensed it since around 2010 for use as the SIM card removal tool that looks like it wants to be a paper clip and once found in the box with iPhones. While it doesn’t share all the same qualities as Larry Niven’s “Unobtanium” used to make the Ringworld space station, it does at least deliver resilience and flexibility and it’s the latter that matters according to Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo.

He says Apple will use liquid metal to make the foldable hinge in the so-far-unannounced or confirmed folding iPhone it hopes to introduce next year. 

Pour me another

Kuo explains that Apple wants to use the substance to build a folding device that is flatter and more durable than existing devices of its type, as well as having a hardly discernible crease. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has previously told us that Apple really wants to build a fold mechanism that isn’t visible when unfolded and does not deteriorate in use.

To achieve this, key iPhone fold components including hinges will be crafted from liquid metal. The analyst predicts Android device makers will soon follow suit, which is good news for exclusive liquid metal supplier, Dongguan EonTec, the analyst said. Apple’s 21st-century take on a folding device is likely to be thin, like the iPhone 16e, and almost certainly built to the high-end design aesthetic Apple maintains across its product range. It will also have a high-end price to match, which implies this will be the device to slam ostentatiously on the table during board meetings. 

Et tu, Siri?

While the hardware seems to be coming into view, it’s clear that one essential component isn’t yet in place, and that’s Siri. Only two weeks ago, Kuo told us Apple wants to position the device as a true AI-driven iPhone, with the power of artificial intelligence artfully combined with the large display. The snag? Siri isn’t ready yet, which has made for big staffing changes within Apple’s Siri team. Reflecting the strategic importance of AI to Apple, CEO Tim Cook has put Apple’s best product designers in to sort Siri out, moving former Siri boss John Giannandrea aside to make way for genius engineer Mike Rockwell, who led Vision Pro development. (Giannandrea hasn’t left the company, incidentally, but seems to have been given a more limited sphere of responsibility and is no longer reporting directly to Cook, who has lost confidence in his ability to execute on product development.)

Apple’s Game Of Thrones is interesting, but what it truly represents is the importance the company attaches to Siri on iPhones — and not just iPhones. Apple has a number of additional products in the pipeline, including a home control device, some of which have allegedly also been delayed due to contextual Siri’s no-show. In that light, the fact that a folding iPhone is expected to become a poster child for AI on a mobile device depends on what the new Siri team can build.

No pressure, then.

What else do we know about the folding iPhone? In development intermittently since at least 2014, Apple’s hardware engineers now seem to feel the tech and the time is right for the device. Kuo tells us to expect a 7.8-in. display when unfolded and a 5.5-inch display at rest. You’ll have rear and front camera, eSIM, Apple’s C2 5G modem,  and Touch ID as a side button. The device should be as slim as 9mm when closed but isn’t expected to appear until next year’s main iPhone refresh cycle in late 2026. Final specifications will be set in stone later this year. Apple will likely follow this up by developing and optimizing the manufacturing process in preparation for mass production next year.

But a lot depends on getting those Siri improvements in place.

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