'iPhone 7' Thickness Likely to Approach iPod Touch

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new report that suggests next year's "iPhone 7" could be Apple's thinnest smartphone yet, with a thickness of somewhere between 6.0mm and 6.5mm, which Kuo mentions is a near similar measurement of the current iPod touch's 6.1mm. As a comparison, the current model of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are 6.9mm and 7.1mm thick, respectively.

The report also states that the company will stick to a similar Force Touch technology in next year's version of the iPhone, due to the heavy amount of time and investment Apple and its suppliers have put into adapting it for this year's "iPhone 6s" and "iPhone 6s Plus."

iPhone Comparison
Due to this, Kuo believes that Apple is unlikely to switch from in-cell over to glass-on-glass touch panels next year, which a rumor out of Apple's supply chain in Asia suggested last week. The KGI report says that in-cell panels won't encounter any harsh production bottleneck issues, and that Apple won't be looking to create an iPhone display with a resolution of 4k or higher, so it's more likely for the company to stick with in-cell panels for the time being.

The continued use of in-cell panels would also grant Apple the ability to produce an iPhone as thin as Kuo's suggested 6.0mm-6.5mm size. Although glass-on-glass panels allow for the possibility of a bezel-free iPhone, it also limits the ability for the company to create smaller and thinner smartphones, so if KGI's claim of an iPod Touch-size iPhone is true, it would make most sense for the company to keep using in-cell panels.

Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

1984 Avatar
133 months ago
I guess that means the camera will stick out even more and battery life will be less than it could be. Both perfectly acceptable trade-offs though as we have all been begging them for thinner phones after all.
Score: 77 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mizouse Avatar
133 months ago
How about keep it the same size as the 6/6S but increase the battery size instead :confused:
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GenesisST Avatar
133 months ago
Can never be thin enough.
Well, the day you get phone cuts...
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
133 months ago
so annoying. gimme the thickness of the 5 in exchange for twice the battery

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7+ in 2017.
eh u mean 2016
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nia820 Avatar
133 months ago
Forget a thinner device. How about a bigger battery? The iPhone is too thin as it already is. I have to use a case with my 6+ just so I can get a good grip on it and not feel like I'm going to drop it.

If they are going to make a thinner iphone they should have Matte grip at the back of the phone so it doesn't slip out of your hand.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacFather Avatar
133 months ago
Deleted.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)