The iPhone 7 (assumed to be next year’s model) could bring a return to the glass-on-glass touchscreens Apple previously used on its iPhones. That’s according to a new rumor from the company’s supply chain, which also specified that the iPhone 6S (this year’s model) will still have the in-cell technology Apple used in its more recent iPhone models.
iPhone 7 to sport ultra-thin glass screen?
DigiTimes reports that Apple’s suppliers have started sending samples of “fully laminated” glass-on-glass displays to both Apple. The website also reports that Corning and Asahi Glass are among the companies that have sent samples of the ultra-thin glass screens. The companies are reportedly trying to make glass-on-glass displays that are about as thin as the in-cell displays so that the iPhone 7 will be as thin as the newer iPhones which include in-cell display technology.
Apple is said to be considering whether to bring the glass-on-glass displays back with the iPhone 7 instead of keeping the in-cell technology it has used more recently and is likely using in this year’s iPhone 6S. The company switched to in-cell displays with the iPhone 5 in 2012.
Why would Apple return to older tech?
The reason Apple may be thinking about going back to glass-on-glass technology for iPhone displays is because of problems with the production of in-cell displays. According to DigiTimes, bottlenecks in the production process are keeping Apple from adding new features and increasing the resolution of its iPhone displays. The company probably wants to catch up to competitors in terms of resolution by improving the iPhone’s resolution to 4K, also known as ultra-HD, which is problematic because of those production bottenecks.
DigiTimes also reports that Apple may even be able to ditch the bezels for the iPhone 7 by switching back to glass-on-glass displays. The report indicates that in-cell displays have problems with touch sensitivity around the edges, which is why bezels are pretty much a requirement with them.
What else might be in store for future iPhones?
Apple scheduled a huge event for Sept. 9 at a venue it has never held events at before. The company is expected to unveil the iPhone 6S at the event, and there will likely be some big surprises because of the sheer size of the venue. After all, why else would the company use a venue that holds several thousand more people than the venues it used for past iPhone unveilings?
The iPhone 6S is expected to have Force Touch technology, which debuted in the Apple Watch and was added to the newest MacBook. Also expected are a better 12-megapixel camera and a stronger 7000 series aluminum casing.
