It is also likely to be the thinnest iPhone ever at just 6mm thick, and may have improved battery life.
Ming-Chi Kuo has made a living from predicting upcoming Apple releases, and believes the tech giant's next flagship device will use Bulk Amorphous Alloys, pioneered by Liquidmetal Technologies.
The mix of titanium, nickel, copper and zirconium is classed as a glass because of its unusual composition.
Metallic glasses can be extremely strong and flexible, like rubber, and also have an extremely smooth surface like glass.
Apple has been interested in the technology since 2013, when it filed a patent application to use the technology in a device with curved edges.
Website AppleInsider obtained notes written by Kuo, who advises investors on new Apple products for financial services company KGI Securities.
He claims the three year-old-design, made more feasible by 3D printing developments, will feature a glass coating.
And he also reckons the next iPhone will be the thinnest to date, thanks to Apple's investment in super-thin OLED screens.
Organic light-emitting diodes are thinner, do not require a backlight, and produce better picture quality.
The Electronic Times reported that LG and Samsung Display, who are planning to invest $12.8 billion in developing production capacity for OLED, are close an agreement with Apple to deliver the screens.
And the firm has opened its own laboratory to develop the technology further.
The combination of these technologies will lead to an iPhone that is just 6mm thick, significantly thinner than the 7mm iPhone 6, Kuo claimed.
The trend for progressively thinner phones sparked controversy with the release of the iPhone 6, which users complained would bend in their pockets.
These new developments might also bring Apple a step closer to the rumoured iRing, a circular device employing a flexible touchscreen.
Kuo also expects the addition of the 3D touch system in the iPhone 6s to spell the end of the homescreen button.
"As many have speculated, the addition of 3D Touch may provide Apple with a way to eliminate the home button on the phone and use the additional space to make the screen bigger or make the device smaller," he told Barrons.
Better battery life and faster processors are also rumoured to be in the iPhone 7 pipeline.
The revelations come days after Apple unveiled a £359 budget iPhone, a mini iPad Pro, a new Apple iWatch, and free TV upgrades.
The iPhone SE will look similar to the iPhone 5, but will contain many of the features contained in the 6s.
SOURCE: THE SUN
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