Perhaps one of the lesser known features of the Samsung Notebook 9 (2018) devices that were launched last December is the fact that it is made out of a special metal called “Metal 12”, which is basically a lightweight magnesium-aluminum alloy. According to GalaxyClub.nl (via SamMobile), Samsung has actually filed a trademark for it.
Based on the trademark filing, it seems that Samsung is hinting that this magnesium-aluminum alloy could be used in future Galaxy devices. It is possible that Samsung could simply be covering their bases, but it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if it were true, although whether or not it will find its way into the Galaxy S9 or the Galaxy Note 9 remains to be seen.
This is because there have been some rumors in the past that have suggested that Samsung could turn to the use of magnesium for their Galaxy handsets, and that the company actually tested out such alloys in the past. This trademark filing does seem to be along those lines especially based on the trademark covers, but like we said it could just be Samsung trying to cover all their bases.
It should be noted that this wouldn’t be the first time that we’re hearing about companies exploring other materials beyond aluminum for their phones. There were rumors in the past that Apple could be considering using liquidmetal for their iPhones (although this rumor has yet to come to fruition), and at one point there was even talks about phones being made from ceramic (some do exist but it’s still not the standard material of choice).