Earlier this year KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple would use the 7000 series aluminum with the iPhone 6s this year. This is the material used with the Apple Watch, and information on the company’s website talks about it as a much stronger material, as it uses 60% stronger aluminum. It looks as though we may have confirmation of that forecast, indirectly from Apple’s supplier of metal cases.
At a media briefing, Catcher Technologies chairman Allen Horng, while also predicting a stronger next quarter for the company, commented on one of its clients’ new smartphone projects, as reported by Taipei Times (via GforGames).
He said that surface treatment of a harder metallic material is more difficult than traditional metal-casing processes, so it would lower the yield rate at the beginning of the production cycle, but the company is working on improving its techniques.
“However, it will not be a major issue for Catcher, as we keep improving our techniques,” Horng said. “Sales in the fourth quarter of this year will expand further from the third quarter,” Catcher spokesman James Wu said.
Well, it may sound like a bit of stretch, but if we combine this with Apple’s foray into new materials (see Apple Watch), Ming-Chi Kuo’s predictions, “bendgate”, and the fact that Apple is Catcher’s biggest client, well . . . the conclusion could be that Apple is working on a stronger case for the next-generation iPhones.
Meanwhile, a separate report from Digitimes claims Apple has other issues to solve as well, if it wants to enhance iPhone features. This one concerns the in-cell technology, which apparently has its limitations when it comes to resolution and other, as yet unspecified, features related to the touch screen.
