iPhone 5 May Not Feature Liquidmetal Technology, but iPhone 6 Could
Judging from a recent report, it seems that Apple might not be able to implement Liquidmetal technology into the next iPhone.
However, the company still seems adamant about using the technology on its devices since it extended its agreement with LiquidMetal Technologies this month that will license its ongoing intellectual property to Apple for another two years.
This provides Apple with a full license to all of Liquidmetal's intellectual property for commercialization in consumer electronics for another two years.
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The agreement was brokered through a subsidiary known as Crucible Intellectual Property, LLC.
"Under the MTA [Master Transaction Agreement], the Company was originally obligated to contribute to Crucible Intellectual Property LLC, a special purpose subsidiary of the Company, all intellectual property acquired or developed by the Company through Feb. 5, 2012, and all intellectual property held by Crucible Intellectual Property, LLC is exclusively licensed on a perpetual basis to Apple for the field of use of consumer electronics under the MTA," read the agreement. "Under the Amendment, the parties agreed to amend the MTA to extend the Feb. 5, 2012 date to Feb. 5, 2014."
Now, this new agreement does not necessarily mean that the technology will not be on the next iPhone. But Apple could be extending the agreement because the company has not quite perfected its implementation into its next smartphone's design.
Liquidmetal technology has been a rumored feature on the next-generation iPhone for quite some time.
However, features meant for future projects sometimes are mistaken to be coming out on the next-generation model, while Apple is sometimes still in very early stages of working with the technology and is not even close to the point of using it for that device.
With Apple's extension with Liquidmetal and common blunders when it comes to matching up development with the correct device, it would not be too farfetched to say that customers will not see the technology on an Apple smartphone until the generation after this upcoming one.
