Apple's new iPhone 5 could be housed in a little-known hi-tech alloy known as 'liquid metal' - which feels like glass to the touch.
The alloy, a mix of titanium, nickel, copper and zirconium among other metals, is tough, light and scratch resistant, and said to feel as smooth as glass.
But analysts fear that shortages of hi-tech components could mean the device is delayed until October.
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| Proposed Design of Apple iphone 5 |
The material can be shaped in a process similar to the 'injection moulding', used for plastic which could lead to a rounder, more organic shape for the new handset.
The leak was reported in Korean IT News, which said, 'In the meantime, iPhone5 is likely to take liquid metal, an alloy of zirconium, titanium, nickel, copper and so forth having an outer surface smooth like liquid.'
Korean IT News predicted that the handset would launch in June at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. The design is not finalised - the images here are concept designs made by Ciccarese Design for MacRumors.
Others, though, predict that the new iPhone will launch in October - a year after the last iPhone update, the 4S.
Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray said that component shortages would lead to the expected summer launch of the new handset being delayed to October.
The news caused Apple's share price to dip by 3.4% according to a report in Bloomberg News.
Apple's iPhone 4S is looking increasingly dated as manufacturers such as HTC bring out phones such as the One X armed with hi-tech components such as quad-core processors.
Sony's Xperia S has a screen resolution far higher than the current iPhone.
Samsung is also said to be on the verge of launching its eagerly awaited Galaxy S3 handset.
Samsung is also said to be on the verge of launching its eagerly awaited Galaxy S3 handset.
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