It’s called the iPhone 5 LM and the LM, as you can imagine, stands for liquid metal. This doesn’t mean that the new iPhone will magically be able to morph into different shapes and sizes, naturally; what it does mean is that the iPhone 5 LM comes with a Liquidmetal casing. This makes it totally smooth and elegant.

While some of the concept drawings depict the return of the physical home button, others seem to have abandoned it, leaving a silky smooth front face. Which direction Apple ends up taking is anyone’s guess at this point. While the concept is really just a series of drawings, it comes with desired specs too. These include the quad-core A6 chip, a much larger 4.5-inch widescreen display (I find it unlikely Apple will make that much of a leap), 10MP camera, virtual home button, and embedded SIM card.

All in all, this sounds a heck of a lot like Antonio De Rosa’s concept. If two designers, who presumably worked separately on their respective concepts, end up at almost the same place, is that a good indication that Apple’s designers will end up there too?

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Considering that the current iPhone 4S is the 5th iPhone, it’s probably a bit of a misnomer to refer to the next iPhone as the iPhone 5, so perhaps iPhone Plus is a little more fitting. In any case, De Rosa has accompanied the conceptual drawing with a lust-worthy list of features, the most notable of which is a Liquidmetal alloy body. That, along with the remrkably thin profile, should give the iPhone Plus a super sleek look. The thinner profile could be thanks to the rumored in-cell screen technology.

Despite going thinner, the footprint of the next iPhone appears to be getting bigger. De Rosa acknowledges this with a 4.3-inch display, which would put the iPhone Plus in line with many current Android smartphones. Rounding out the dreamy list are a quad-core A6 processor, capacitive home button, 10MP camera, 1080p HD video recording, and a pico projector. I’m thinking that last bit won’t make the cut, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see an A6 chip in there.

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Apple certainly has to make sure that the sixth generation iPhone is something different, since most iFans were not too happy about the 4S. It appears like the device will indeed be different, coming with a LiquidMetal casing and the earlier rumored LTE support to keep up with the times, if the new rumors are to be believed that is.

According to Gene Munster, analyst for Piper Jaffray, Qualcomm is getting ready to supply the LTE chipset for the next iPhone and the device will possibly be launched this October. Nothing unbelievable about that launch date as it is a year after the iPhone 4S’ announcement.

But what’s more interesting is the info that the upcoming iPhone might be housed in a LiquidMetal casing. In case you are imagining the iPhone in liquid state, LiquidMetal is an alloy of titanium, nickel, copper, zirconum and other metals. If this material is used for making the casing, it will give you the feeling of glass but will be physically tough and also resistant to wear, scratches and dents. Which means those iPhone repair stores which are sustained solely off broken iPhone screens may have a tough future.

Since objects made of LiquidMetal can be formed with a process like injection molding, it is possible to make different physical forms. We are expecting a unique unibody casing.

A new design will always be welcomed as the current iPhone design has been here for nearly two years. And Apple has the exclusive rights to use LiquidMetal in electronic products; their first product was an iPhone SIM card ejector tool. Many other manufacturers are already into new materials for their phones, but the iPhone 5 (or the new iPhone or maybe iPhone T1000 or whatever it will be called) will be more attractive with the benefits of LiquidMetal.

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You know that space age Liquidmetal technology we love to hear about that’s in everything from high-tech gadgets to thousand dollar watches? Well, it may have just become an internal component to some seriously jaw dropping technology. Apple uses Liquidmetal in the iPhone and iPad casing — oddly enough not in the iPhone 4s back glass — but apparently a new use for this ultralight weight stronger than steel GMO substance has been found; to house a vat of potentially explosive combustable liquid to power your gadgets.

Yes, thats right, Liquidmetal will help power the next iPhone 5, if the latest evidence is to be believed.  So how is Liquidmetal being used for fuel cells? The patent describes the “amorphous alloy” used to make collector plates for fuel cells, it doesn’t specifically use the Liquidmetal name, but the electrochemical battery technology that will use hydrogen to generate electricity with amorphous alloy is owned by Apple.

How long does your current smartphone stay charged for? In standby mode 90% of the time, a week tops. Compare that to a month of constant use on a Liquidmetal fuel cell. Would you buy the iPhone 5 with a 30 day battery charge? Apple seems to think so, and it seems that Liquidmetal may have more uses than we initially believed.

[Cult of Mac, Gizmodo via USPTO]

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