According to a report from IHS Displaybank, Sony has been chosen to produce “in-cell” panels for the next-generation iPhone.
Apparently Sony already started production of the panels in February and will increase production later this month in preparation for a rumored fall 2012 launch for the next iPhone. In addition to Sony, other manufacturers including Sharp, Toshiba, and LG have combined their efforts to produce enough panels for Apple.
Japan’s Sony Mobile Display began mass production of in-cell touch panels in February, as the Sony Corp unit gets ready to supply the key component for Apple Inc’s next-generation iPhone 5.
In-cell screen technology enables smartphones to be thinner due to its design embedding the capacitive touch sensors into the LCD filter array. Traditionally these components are stacked on a separate piece of glass, making the display slightly thicker than it otherwise could be.
In other words, this technology could make the next-generation iPhone thinner than the iPhone 4S.
Due to the complexity of in-cell display technology, displays using the technology may only be seen in a handful of high-end devices over the next year. It is projected however that current capacitive display technology will continue to be the dominant choice for touchscreen devices in 2012 and 2013.
[AppleInsider via Taipei Times]
