At least one of the upcoming iPhones Apple has planned for this year might not be offering a key feature many people are using right now.
According to a new note from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities (via MacRumors), the Cupertino company may remove the “3D Touch” pressure-sensitive display technology from one of its 6.1-inch LCD iPhone this year, with none of the phones launching next year including the feature.
According to his note, the 3D Touch feature may be dropped because of a new “Cover Glass Sensor” technology that will mean Apple moves the touch module from the display panel to the glass itself.
It’ll also be adding in a thin-film sensor to the screen tech, but exactly what that will be capable of doing is currently unclear. The thin-film sensor raises the touch panel price by 15 percent to $26 USD, so Apple will remove 3D Touch to recover the losses.
Additionally, Kuo says that Apple believes 3D Touch to be a premium feature. And since the LCD-based iPhone will be the cheapest of the three smartphones it plans to release this year, 3D Touch won’t find its way to that model.
This would be a bold move from Apple considering 3D Touch is now so integrated within iOS 11 (and probably iOS 12 when it launches), but if the company intends to one day make all its phones with this technology, it may be soon phased out altogether.
