While it is clear that this year's iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices benefited from the use of 7000 Series aluminum in their construction Apple seems set to improve the design of its device lineup further and has filed a patent for creating a fastener with hook and loop design with Liquidmetal.

Reporting on the patent which was published a few days ago, Apple Insider stated that the patent would allow for a fastener based on a similar design to that of Velcro being created. Importantly the fastener would be created with Liquidmetal which Apple purchased rights to in 2010.

Earlier this year, Apple even extended the license agreement with Liquidmetal Technologies until February 2016. This proved that the manufacturer which has become the biggest smartphone OEM in the United Sates is serious about using Liquidmetal in the design of its devices. However, until now Apple has only using Liquidmetal in the pins for the SIM cards on its iPhones.

If the fasteners find their way into the production line of mobile devices like the iPhones, it will used to prevent customers from opening them. This was also clearly specified in the patent which stated that it would prevent tampering with the device and once forced open the device would be "non-functional."

This particular patent for Liquidmetal fasteners was filed in the year 2012 by people working for Crucible Intellectual Property which functions as a subsidiary of Liquidmetal Technologies. However, even though the patent exists and Apple has bought the right to Liquidmetal the fastener could just remain on the drawing board and never make it to the production line.

Patently Apple meanwhile states that they had reported about Liquidmetal patents several years ago and they include a zipper made from the material which would help keep devices waterproof.

Manufacturing devices using Liquidmetal is however much costlier than using more conventional metals like the 7000 series aluminum alloy, and this is the major factor which has prevented Apple from using it even though it is tougher than steel.