iPhone 5 Rumors: Will 'Liquid Metal' Make for a Slimmer Frame?

As smartphones have gotten bigger and bigger for their multi-purpose use, the newest rumor for the infamous iPhone 5 is sure to please Apple fans. It's frame will allegedly be skinner but it's how that will be achieved that is interesting.

(Related: Apple rumors: New iPad 3 pictures leaked, iPhone 5 speculation)

Computer World reports the rumor mill is churning out news that the next-gen iPhone will be made with "liquid metal" technology, meaning it will be poured instead of cast. With Apple purchasing the rights to some alloys of LiquidMetal Technologies in 2010, Computer World states Korea's ETNews has "industry sources" that believe the tech may be put to use in this next design, cutting down on weight and freeing up pocket space.

Here's more from Computer World that could be giving credence to these rumors:

LiquidMetal announced in March that it had begun shipping commercial parts to several of its customers. "Parts delivery began this past December with continuing shipments scheduled for the months ahead," the press release said.

Given recent claims Apple's iPhone factory partner, Foxconn, has begun recruiting staff to run its iPhone 5 production lines, is it possible the partners are beginning to create the production lines for new iPhones using LiquidMetal?

The Daily Mail describes the alloy as "a mix of titanium, nickel, copper and zirconium among other metals." It also states rumors are that the new phone could be launched as early as June, while others maintain it should be expected in October. Apple itself, as always, has not announced anything formally about the iPhone 5.

Here is a video explaining the LiquidMetal technolgy (via Computer World):

Such a design would also use "in-cell touch technology," which Computer World explains would make the display thinner because " the touch sensors are placed within the color filters, rather than on top of them." Venture Beat explains this technology would be adopted from Sharp and Toshiba.

International Business Times also has experts speculating the phone will have a "unibody design."

As always, we won't really know what cool new features the phone will have until it is officially launched, but it's still fun to speculate.