The next iPhone may have a back case made from a lightweight metal alloy that replaces the current glass back, according to a report from Korean news site ETNews. The new back would be based on metal technologies acquired by Apple in its purchase of Liquidmetal Technologies in 2010. The site also claims that this new iPhone will be unveiled at Apple’s WWDC event this June.
While the possibility of a Liquidmetal-sourced back for a future iPhone is not outrageous—Apple has done little publicly thus far with the assets and technologies it acquired from the company—the source of the rumor and the suggestion that the next iPhone will debut at WWDC gives us great pause.
ETNews has a very brief track record of reporting Apple news and its only recent report incorrectly stated that what would become the iPhone 4S would be launched in June of last year (the phone eventually launched in October).
In addition, the “late” launch of the iPhone 4S and multiple other rumors and leaks point to a Fall launch for the next iPhone, further undermining the credibility of the report’s claim that Apple will debut the device at WWDC.
Lastly, we should point out that Apple hasn’t yet announced WWDC 2012, and there’s no indication that the event will take place in June. The specificity of the rumor’s timeline is easy to overlook because Apple has often scheduled the developer conference in June, but it doesn’t inspire confidence at the water cooler in TMO Towers.
As a result, while this is hardly the most ridiculous rumor to get the Internet hopping, the story should definitely be taken with a grain of salt.