Report: Apple Nearing Large Screen iPhone Production
Another report has emerged that Apple (AAPL) next month will kick off volume production on two new iPhone models sporting significantly larger screen sizes than the current devices the vendor offers.
Another report has emerged that Apple (AAPL) next month will kick off volume production on two new iPhone models sporting significantly larger screens than what the vendor currently offers.
According to a new Bloomberg report, Apple’s manufacturers in China are readying iPhones equipped with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays, a 17.5 percent and 37.5 percent increase in screen real estate from the current 4-inch models now on the market.
Bloomberg’s sources said the new iPhones will also be rounder and thinner than previous models. Both devices may be ready for sale by September, the report said.
In early April, word surfaced that Japan Display, Sharp and LG Display were in the mix to make the larger iPhone displays. Japan Display was said to be first up on production beginning at its plant near Tokyo, with Sharp and LG gearing up a month later.
The iPhone 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens will use in-cell touch-panel technology baked into the screen, as featured on its current iPhone 5, making for thinner construction than standard touch-panel films. Design problems with in-cell technology for the larger 5.5-inch display has prompted Apple to begin production on the 4.7-inch panel first, according to reports. The 5.5-inch panel could be delayed for several months and Apple is said still to be considering shifting instead to a film sensor design.
The phablet move comes as Apple is fighting increased competition for iPhone sales worldwide with users snapping up larger-screen units in greater numbers. Rival Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 will feature a 5.7-inch display model when it debuts in September and other mobile device makers are headed in the same direction.
The China market, particularly important to Apple with its China Mobile deal, is prime phablet territory, according to researcher Forrester, whose data shows that 40 percent of Google (GOOG) Android mobile devices sold in China this year feature displays exceeding 5 inches, Bloomberg reported.
And, while Apple impressed Wall Street in its recently concluded Q2 2014 with a 17 percent increase in iPhone sales to 43.7 million units, the vendor’s lack of new technical innovation on its flagship product puts more pressure on tweaking aspects of the smartphone to uncover new markets. In other words, phablets, here we come.
