Patent includes how Liquid Metal could be used
Since Apple acquired the exclusive use of the super-resistant alloy known as Liquid metal o Liquid Metal in 2010, there has been a lot of speculation about how the Cupertino company could use this metal. Since then, and approximately 6 years have passed, the only point of the different Apple devices that we have seen is in the iPhone SIM card tray.
At first, the most logical thing was to think that it would be used to build the housing in Liquid Metal, but at the moment its production cost would be too high, although it is not ruled out that this will change in the future (and, in fact, it usually is like this in any type of technology). The answer to why Apple signed to stay with the exclusive of this alloy may lie in a new patent that was awarded yesterday and goes far beyond the SIM card tray.
Liquid Metal could extend the life of the home button
I am convinced that there will be many users who do not like part of this patent at all: Liquid Metal could be used for improve the reliability and longevity of physical buttons on Apple devices. As you can see in the previous image, the start button is the perfect candidate to use the Liquid Metal described in this patent. The form ensures that the physical buttons have two problems:
The conventional manufacture of such buttons implemented by dome keys is inefficient and complicated […] The positioning of the actuation protrusions in relation to the domes is not always as precise as would be desired. For example, if the performance is not aligned correctly with the center area of a dome, the tactile feedback for that dome will be hampered and therefore not as robust as intended […] On the other hand, due to the low elasticity limit, when deformed, approaches its plastic deformation zone under little stress, running the risk of not being able to return to its initial shape.
According to Apple, Liquid Metal solves all of these problems. But does this patent application mean that the home button will still be present on iPhones of the future? In my opinion, not necessarily. Although in the image we clearly see the start button, we also have to take into account that the apple smartphone has other buttons, such as volume and sleep, to which the switch is attached to put the device on silence. If we look back, the iPhone 5 had a problem with the sleep button that would not have existed if they had used Liquid Metal. But it must be recognized that things are looking bad for all those users who prefer that the start button disappear. As always, we will only know if this patent is used over time.