Samsung Is Building a Hybrid Foldable Frame to Rival iPhone Ultra’s Liquidmetal

Samsung is reportedly developing a new hybrid smartphone frame that combines titanium and aluminum for future foldable devices, and the move appears focused on solving one of the biggest problems in ultra-thin premium phones, heat management. The company is now testing what insiders describe as a “dual-phase” structure that uses a titanium outer shell with an aluminum core to improve both durability and thermal performance without making the device too bulky.



According to tipster Schrödinger, Samsung started researching this framework through SAIT last year after discovering that pure titanium creates thermal issues inside compact devices because the material traps heat more aggressively than aluminum. That concern reportedly influenced Samsung’s shift away from a fully titanium design in the Galaxy S26 Ultra.



Samsung’s Hybrid Frame Focuses on Heat and Rigidity



The reported structure places titanium on the outside to improve scratch resistance and maintain a premium feel, while the inner aluminum layer works as a large heatsink that pulls thermal load away from the chipset and motherboard during heavy workloads. This approach becomes even more important for foldables and future tri-fold phones where thinner bodies leave less room for cooling systems.



The leak also suggests Samsung sees this as a direct response to Apple’s ongoing work with Liquidmetal technology. Apple’s amorphous alloy material offers higher strength and flexibility than traditional titanium, especially for moving components like hinges, but manufacturing costs remain extremely high.



Samsung’s hybrid frame is also expected to carry a massive production cost because nano-molding titanium and aluminum together is reportedly difficult at scale. As a result, the company will likely reserve the technology for future Fold, TriFold, and other ultra-premium devices first.