A Weibo post from tipster Fixed Focus Digital claims Apple has not finalized the hinge manufacturing technology for its first foldable iPhone, widely expected to be called the iPhone Ultra. The company is reportedly weighing liquid metal against 3D printing, with a decision expected by the end of July.
But the claim sits uncomfortably against stronger sourcing. The same tipster confirmed liquid metal in June before calling it undecided a few weeks later. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported last year that the hinge would use liquid metal, naming Dongguan EonTec as the exclusive supplier.
And late last month, The Elec reported that Taiwan’s Shinjuxing and US-based Amphenol were already supplying 3D printed hinge modules for the device, which has entered test production. A Taiwanese industry official noted that earlier noise and defect rate issues had been largely resolved.
The Weibo post, if accurate, suggests the choice comes down to production volume. Liquid metal works at small scale but is harder to manufacture in quantity. If Apple can negotiate favorable storage pricing alongside other supply chain terms by the end of July, the economics would support a larger run, which would likely require a switch to 3D printing.
The constraint is volume, not technology
Apple already uses 3D printing in production hardware. The company manufactures titanium cases for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11 using laser powder bed fusion, a process that cuts raw material use by about 50% and was expected to save roughly 400 metric tons of titanium in 2025. The iPhone Air’s USB-C port is also 3D printed, using 33% less material than conventional forging. Applying the same approach to the iPhone Ultra hinge would not be a leap.
Nor would Apple be the first to 3D print a foldable phone hinge. OPPO released a 3D printed titanium hinge in the Find N5 last year, manufactured by Chinese firm Bright Laser Technologies (BLT). That process reduced hinge thickness from 0.3mm to 0.15mm while increasing rigidity by 36%.
BLT iterated on the approach for OPPO’s Find N6, consolidating the hinge’s wing plates from 13 individually machined components into a single printed structure. The technology works for foldable hinges. The open question for Apple is whether it works at Apple’s volume.
Supply chain sources in China say there are no delays to the current timeline, according to Android Headlines. The phone is still expected to debut in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, though Kuo predicts pre-orders may not open until Q4, with only 0.5 to 1 million units shipping in Q3 out of an estimated total production run of 7 to 8 million. Pricing is expected to land between $2,300 and $2,500, which would make it the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever sold.
Apple has confirmed none of this, nor have any of its suppliers on the record. But of all the sources on the manufacturing approach, The Elec’s appears to be the most concrete.
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Featured image shows close-up view of titanium lattice structures produced by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). Gif via Apple.
