iPhone 7 Said to Expand Use of Single-Chip Electromagnetic Shielding

Apple is working on electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding that will individually shield most of the device's major chips, helping to maintain the iPhone's performance as its power and complexity and thus potential for interference increases (via ETNews). The company has used EMI shielding on large portions of the iPhone's circuit board in the past, and a few individual chips have included their own shielding, but the iPhone 7 will apparently include a broader array of single-chip EMI shields, from radio frequency to wireless LAN and Bluetooth chips.

South Korean manufacturers StatsChipPac and Amkor are both said to be responsible for the production of the EMI shielding process on the iPhone 7 line. The cost of that production is also predicted to increase with the intricacies introduced using the technology.

Amkor Technology

A production line in Amkor Technology

“As clock signals of digital chips have increased and as diverse functions such as 3D-touch and others have recently added, reduction of electromagnetic waves have emerged as major topic of this industry.” said a representative of this industry. “As other Smartphone businesses might be looking to apply EMI Shield technology to major chips just as Apple did, packaging and other related equipment industries will benefit a lot from this.”

According to the report, Apple decided to use the EMI shielding technology due to its effectiveness in preventing interference in wireless communication. Individual EMI shields can also allow for "more elaborate" and more densely packed circuit boards allowing for smaller devices or larger batteries. Similar EMI shielding was applied to the S1 chip package used in the Apple Watch last year

In regards to the general manufacturing of the next-generation iPhone, today a report stated that Apple has already lined up its partners for both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Foxconn and Wistron are said to be heading up production on the 5.5-inch device, while Foxconn will join Pegatron in fulfilling orders for the 4.7-inch smartphone.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

techpr Avatar
93 months ago
I need iPhones, lots of iPhones!





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Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrAverigeUser Avatar
93 months ago
they need shielding if they go wireless charging.
So - this indicates clearly that wireless charging will be implemented in iP7.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ElectroBricks Avatar
93 months ago
Previous Incorrect Statement: The health aspect of this is really intriguing. While various studies have not concluded whether electromagnetic radiation is bad, Apple added, interestingly enough, the "keep iPhone at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) away from the body" message in the iPhone 4's Important Product Information Guide. Also note that the Apple Watch already has this feature and they feel comfortable not to include this message in any of its documentation. Regardless, this new process, if implemented, should lower radiation coming from the iPhone 7 and it never hurts to be "safe than sorry."

Corrected Version: I'm going to defer as to what is going on to to kdarling:
Individual chips aren't the reason it's suggested to keep an iPhone from touching your head. It's because of the high SAR from the top cellular antenna.
So, I made an ignorant statement about how the reduction of electromagnetic radiation for the chip might provide health benefits. Instead, this really won't make any difference in the radiation output of the device. The top cellular antenna is really what is outputting, possibly harmful, radiation. As a result, this change is irrelevant to that. Thanks kdarling for letting me know! (Sorry mods for changing the post, but I thought it was important that I not give false information.)

TL;DR: The top cellular antenna is really what is outputting, possibly harmful, radiation so this possible change is irrelevant to that.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PlainviewX Avatar
93 months ago
"...densely packed circuit boards allowing for smaller devices or larger batteries."

Yay to bold.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
samcraig Avatar
93 months ago
"...densely packed circuit boards allowing for smaller devices or larger batteries."

Yay to bold.
Don't get too excited. It's Apple. So the likely choice for Ive would be smaller device - IE - thinner.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1Zach1 Avatar
93 months ago
Obviously this is Apples first secret step in EMP protection for the iPhone.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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