There’s been a few new rumors surrounding the launch of the next generation iPhone (iPhone 5) as of late. We had just heard about the possibility of the next iPhone having a new ‘liquid metal’ casing, which would make the uni-body outer casing thinner and lighter, thus allowing for more hardware to get packed inside without it getting too heavy for one’s mobility. This would keep things consistent from Apple claims with every new iPhone or iOS product that they are ‘thinner’, ‘lighter’ and ‘faster’.
Helping Apple keep those claims for the iPhone 5 launch expected in Q3 2012, the latest rumor coming from within Apple’s supply chain, is that the next generation iPhone will move to a new “in-cell” touch panel display. This new display technology is lighter and thinner than the Retina displays previously used in iPhone models. Again, this will make it easier to pack the inside of the casing with more hardware, without worrying about the overall weight of the iPhone.
The current displays in the iPhone 4 and 4S involves a layer of sensing glass on the outside of an inner LCD screen. This capacitive touchscreen makes it thicker as it has two layers and an extra step in the assembly line. Moving to the single layer in-cell touch panel would remove a step in production as well, speeding up the manufacturing process. When you manufacture 30 million iPhone devices, saving two seconds becomes a large amount.
Sources – Digitimes
Image – iMore