Future Samsung phones might be made out of new 'Metal 12' magnesium alloy

Although we don't usually talk too much about them, Samsung's recently been killing it in the laptop space. The company announced its new Notebook 9 for 2018, and while there's a lot to like about the machine, one of its highlights is a new magnesium alloy Samsung created specifically for it. Samsung refers to the alloy as "Metal 12", and it allows the Notebook 9 to be incredibly durable and lightweight at the same time.

How does this pertain to Android, you ask? Samsung just trademarked the "Metal 12" name with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, and as such, there's a strong possibility that Metal 12 will soon be used in more of Samsung's products – such as smartphones and smartwatches.

Samsung notes in the trademark that Metal 12 could be used for these gadgets, and while I don't expect to see Metal 12 make an appearance on the Galaxy S9 or Note 9, it's possible that it could make a debut as soon as the Galaxy S10. Samsung actually toyed with the idea of using magnesium in the Galaxy S7, and while this obviously never came to market, this isn't the first time the company's wanted to try using a new metal.

Aluminum has been the go-to metal of choice with smartphones for a while now, so the potential of magnesium entering the market is rather exciting. The Essential Phone proved that titanium has its place (as long as you don't mind some extra heft), and the prospect of having a device that's both durable and lighter than current aluminum handsets is something I can definitely get behind.

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Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.