It’s that time of year again, and no, I’m not talking about Christmas. The iPhone rumor mill goes on all year round, but when it’s this close to launch, it’s always at its most accurate. The past couple of weeks saw quite a few cases or models of the chassis that will apparently be the new look of the next iPhone. Apple will of course remain tight-lipped on the matter, until the very day of the announcement but unfortunately for them, their manufacturers are not as silent.
Wall Street Journal is known to have great sources that are reliable in revealing company secrets. One such secret is the apparent release of the new iPhone with a much thinner screen. This report is in line with insiders from large display manufacturing companies like Sharp, LG and Japan Display, Inc. These three companies are capable of creating a thinner display for the upcoming iPhone with in-cell technology.
What is in-cell technology?
Let’s start with a little background. The iPhone’s display is made up of 3 distinct parts. The first part is the obvious glass cover, which is your main point of interaction with the device. Right below that glass cover is a touch input panel that translates touch input into the many points of the screen. This layer is then followed by the actual TFT LCD that produces the images you see on screen.
While there are no confirmations at all as to what this would mean in the overall dimensions of the device, two distinct rumors stand out.
One of them mentions the more obvious fact, that a thinner LCD will mean that the device will be thinner overall. Making the device thinner will yield a lighter device, which will make room for the increased screen size that is rumored to be included in the new release.
One other possibility is that the device will maintain its thickness, but will use the extra space saved from the LCD to place a larger battery, to increase the time that the device will keep on going. This is a welcome addition to more practical users who feel that a thinner device will not be good for the iPhone.
Image sources: gottabemobile.com, bgr.com, techtree.com