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Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn is developing glass casings and OLED displays for smartphones in an attempt to secure orders for the tenth-anniversary iPhone next year, according to Japanese website Nikkei.
The report claims Foxconn has been developing glass chassis for at least one year, and developing its own OLED display technologies through its Sharp acquisition. It would be competing with Samsung, and China's Biel Crystal and Lens Technology, to win orders.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple will switch to non-aluminum casing, with glass being the most likely candidate, for the majority of new iPhone models in 2017. Kuo and multiple other sources also expect next year's iPhone to have a thinner and lighter OLED display in a move away from LCDs. Earlier reports said Samsung would be a primary supplier of OLED panels for future iPhones.
Samsung's Galaxy S7 sets the benchmark for OLED-based smartphones, and makes a strong case for Apple's rumored shift towards the display technology. iPhones have used various LCD display technologies since the original model launched in 2007, but OLED panels are often thinner, brighter, and more energy efficient than their LCD counterparts. The technology, however, can be more expensive to produce.
Apple's tenth-anniversary iPhone is shaping up to be a significant upgrade, compared to the relatively incremental refresh expected from this year's iPhone 7. The rumored switch to glass casing and OLED display will mark the first major overhaul of Apple's smartphone since the iPhone 6 launched in late 2014, given that this year's iPhone is expected to retain an iPhone 6s-like design.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)What if all the current design leaks were fake and this is going to be iPhone 7?
They are moving away from the two-year cycle. It won't be called the 7S. Maybe 8, X, or just "iPhone."Why would they redesign an S model?
iPhone 4 2.0? I will say, iPhone 4 was my first iphone and honestly, it has been my favorite so far.
I have to agree, it was my first iPhone too. I was about 14 years old and I'd saved all the money I had to buy one. Walking out of the Apple Store with one of those boxes in my hand is something I'd dreamed of for ages.When that thing got announced, the world gasped. It was unlike anything we'd seen before with a totally new way of designing and constructing mobile devices out of premium materials. Regardless of antenna-gate, that thing was amazing. Not to mention it was the first smartphone with a display of the resolution, everyone was talking about how 'crystal clear' Retina was. I can hear Steve Jobs right now saying, "You cannot see the pixels!"
I'm looking forward to next year's iPhone to see what they have in store for us after the snore fest of the past 3 years.