SinceApril of this year, Apple has been rumored to be using in-cell display panels in the next iPhone. The panel combines touch sensors and color filters into a single layer, making them much thinner.
Tonight, a major news outlet has added its weight to the theory.The Wall Street Journalis reporting that it has learned that Apple is indeed using the improved display tech in its latest handset…
According toThe Journal:
“Apple Inc’s next iPhone, currently being manufactured by Asian component makers, will use a new technology that makes the smartphone’s screen thinner, people familiar with the matter said, as the U.S. technology giant strives to improve technological features amid intensifying competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and other rivals.
Japanese liquid-crystal-display makers Sharp Corp. and Japan Display —a new company that combined three Japanese electronics makers’ display units—as well as South Korea’s LG Display Co. are currently mass producing panels for the next iPhone using so-called in-cell technology, the people said.”
The in-cell panels have a number of advantages — they produce a higher quality image, are easier to manufacture, and are much thinner than their on-cell counterparts. That last item is probably what Apple’s after.
The company is rumored to have made a number of design changes to its new handset, includingtrimming downthe dock connector and utilizingsmaller SIM cards, to make room for upgraded components.
Those upgrades include a larger, 4-inch display, LTE-compatibility, improved camera sensors and a faster processor. The new iPhone is said toalready be in production, and is expected to appear sometime this fall.
