Apple purportedly utilizing Liquidmetal alloy in SIM ejector tool
By Darren Murph 
posted August 17th 2010 9:54AM
posted August 17th 2010 9:54AM
Well, would you look at that. Just days after Apple made official its purchase of Liquidmetal's IP, now the world is finding out how the two love birds are working together. Or, should we say, have been working together. According to Atakan Peker, the alloy's co-inventor, the SIM ejector tool that ships with older iPhone units is made of Liquidmetal's materials. To quote: "That's my metal. I recognized it immediately. Take it from an expert, that's Liquidmetal." Cult of Mac has also confirmed independently that the tool is relying on the newfound acquisition (and Wired assumes the same is true on the iPad 3G), and from a supply chain standpoint, this oddity definitely makes sense. Apple's no fan of relying on a sole supplier for anything, and given that Liquidmetal is one of a kind, it's testing the waters on a relatively non-essential part of the puzzle. There's still no word on how Apple plans to integrate the metal into future products, but given that the pair have apparently already been in cahoots, you can bet they'll be able to skip right over the pleasantries and get down to what's important.
Well the tip of it bends like liquid so I believe it.
@Waltah Ahh-you sure, Waltaaahhh?
@Waltah I happen to have mine here, it's not bending with a fair amount of force. It flexes a bit but goes back.
Heh that' s funny, I never realized how flimsy it looks (but certainly isn't) before. Never had to eject the SIM.
@Waltah
So do we file this article under "Who Cares" in the 'ol file cabinet?
@Peter Fox
You cared enough to read the article and comment... Engadget and Apple thanks you.
@Peter Fox No, under "huh"...
@Waltah
The alloy is nearly 50% Zirconium which is double the weight of titanium and triple the weight of Aluminum. Of course if it's twice as strong then it could be made at half the thickness. If they can't make it two times thinner than aluminum then MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones would end up weighing more. I think they definitely could use it as a coating though. Another caveat is if you hit it harder than the yield strength it can shatter like glass .. but I dont think that's a big issue now.
They could also use it for accessories like mice, remote controllers, or game controllers.
@Waltah "plans to integrate the metal into future products" Oh... could it be the new antenna!
@grub
Hey can you tell us if you can bend it (permanently) and how much force it needs? Bite it, does it scratch or dent?
Tell us and if you're brave post a youtube video.
@iPhone 4 Uh, that would have zero effect on antennae issues, but okay.
@Waltah
it's ....... wait for it........MAGICAL!
I would file this under "Solution Looking for Problem".
@JS I can get a bend in it, takes a LOT more force than any paperclip. Can also bend it back. I don't want to destroy it, that might void my iPad warranty ;)
@Waltah in other news, the iPad box is found to have so much empty space.
@iPhone 4 Can't be used for an antenna. The resistance of Zirconium is 4.21 x10(-7) Ohm/M, which is about 30x that of copper, silver and gold, and about 4x that of iron and steel. That would make for a rather inefficient antenna.
@JS Actually, no. They can't make it half the height when they have twice as strong a material.
The second moment of area is cubic when you look at only one direction of expansion. Thus you can only reduce the thickness by ~20%.
@RikkiTikkiTavi
But does it bounce like LiquidMetal?
@Waltah
It may bend...but will it blend?
Why use a special allow to make something that takes the place of a paperclip?
@CrowTRobot
"Apple's no fan of relying on a sole supplier for anything, and given that Liquidmetal is one of a kind, it's testing the waters on a relatively non-essential part of the puzzle." That is why.
@massalo
Glad some of us still read the whole article
@massalo
If the concern was single sourcing that part, Apple could've vendor-qualified both Staples AND Office Depot.
@etwashoo2 The point is, Apple has bigger things in mind for Liquid Metal, and this was just an experiment.
@heathmaxie
I am happy that you are glad.
I actually did read the whole article but did not see how Apple is getting their "test" results back. Are they waiting for people like Waltah to bring their SIM ejector tools to an Apple Genius Bar? I do not recall anyone talking about how wonderfully strong their SIM ejector tools are. I have one in my 3G and it has never been taken out, I bet I am not alone.
@CrowTRobot
Well I'm glad that your happy....
@CrowTRobot
It's all fun and games until the ejector warps in your hand and starts a symbiotic relationship with you...
This is exactly how superheroes are born. Watch your apple store skylines for Ejectorman
@heathmaxie Well I'm overjoyed that you are glad.
@CrowTRobot
That way they charge you 29 bucks.
@CrowTRobot I honestly think Engadget's got it wrong here. They shipped the little tool, the guy said he recognized it as his metal, and he established a licensing deal with Apple AFTER.
More likely Apple inadvertently infringed on his patent and they made amends.
@SecretAsianMan
The iPhone 5 will bring the return of the SIM ejector tool using a material they are testing for the iPhone 7: Adamantium
Snikt! Snikt! Bitches
@CrowTRobot : Because now Apple can charge you $50 more to recoup the cost of the magical paper clip. :)
@CrowTRobot . Better question would be, "Why do we even need a tool to eject the sim? I have never seen that in other phones.
That's odd, when I took mine out of my iPad 3G package it just looked like something I would lose and use a paperclip in place of.
Kind of neat.
@grub
Every one of these suckers is lost within minutes of opening. They creep out of your house, slide down the road, meet up in a foundry in LA and fuse.....
@grub
does it blend?
In the future it will act as a key to start Apple's own T-1000
@kornfan
This is the grandfather of the T-1000
@Neosubu
So Apple buys the IP behind mimetic poly-alloy and they make a SIM ejector tool out of it? There are way cooler options...
@kornfan
I figured it out in 2012 Google and Apple will merge. Apple will make the hardware while Google supplies the software and Syknet will be born.
@kornfan
I'm not afraid of Apple's T-1000. Just touch it in a certain place and it shuts down.
@kornfan
Apple == Skynet.
Why the christ if this news? Cmon now, this has next to no bearing on anything
@peachy
Because anything Apple is relevant! Jeez!
/s
@peachy
STFU
@peachy
because this shows that Apple is using the liquidmetal for something and there is a chance that if it works out on a small scale like this. Someday it could end up as the body of a macbook pro.
Now that's an essential use of that high-tech alloy!
A SIM ejector? Really? This is news?
@slinky317 I guess that paper clip isnt good enough any more...
@slinky317
This is what engadget has come to, sady. yes.
@Jaylittles531
Don't be mean to Clippy.
@slinky317
Yeah- think of all those paperclips that now won't need to be wasted, being bent out of shape and poked into a phone... only to be thrown away.
If only there was a more durable solution, perhaps using an exotic alloy of unknown environmental impact that could be manufactured to ensure no more valuable and costly steel is wasted on paperclips not fulfilling their potential.
Magic.