Low yield rates for in-cell touchscreens may affect Apple's next iPhone

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple could feel the squeeze from display makers for the launch of its next iPhone, as yield rates for the in-cell touch panels Apple is rumored to adopt are said to be too low to generate profits.

To encourage Japan Display, LG Display and Sharp to produce more in-cell touch panels, Apple has reportedly offered subsidies as high as $10 to $15 per panel, according to the hit-or-miss Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes. With yield rates too low, display makers are allegedly struggling to make a profit on the next-generation display technology.

Citing rumors in the touch-panel industry, Tuesday's report said the poor yield rates are "likely to cause certain disruption to Apple's shipping schedule for the new iPhone."

Japan Display reportedly has the highest yield rate of Apple's in-cell touch panel partners. But its yield rate is just 50 percent, the report said.

"Due to the poor yield rates, combined shipments of in-cell tocuh panels for the upcoming iPhone are estimated at only 4-5 million units in July —?far below Apple's target of 20-25 million for all of the third quarter, the rumors pointed out," authors Siu Han and Jessie Shen wrote.

In-cell technology


Market watchers reportedly believe that Apple could be forced to approach TPK, the major panel supplier for previous iPhone models, to build more traditional touch panels using the full lamination process. However, DigiTimes Research analyst Luke Liun believes it is unlikely Apple would revert to previous-generation touchscreen technology, as such a move would probably delay the launch of the next iPhone.

Numerous reports have indicated that Apple plans to feature in-cell touchscreen technology on its next-generation iPhone. The new in-cell screens integrate the touch sensors into the LCD itself, allowing the screen to be even thinner by eliminating the need for a separate touchscreen layer.

DigiTimes is notorious for being the source of unreliable rumors about upcoming products, particularly with respect to Apple. However, the publication was the first to report in April that Apple planned to adopt in-cell touch panels for its 2012 iPhone, a detail that was later corroborated by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, as well as The Wall Street Journal.

More evidence of Apple's switch to in-cell touch panels also came earlier this month, when touch panel supplier Wintek announced its June sales were down an unusually high 33.6 percent month over month. That was interpreted by analyst Brian White with Topeka Capital Markets as a sign that the company may have lost out on key orders for Apple's next-generation iPhone.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 41
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member


    Sounds like another attempt to manipulate AAPL by putting out negative rumors. Do serious investors take rumors seriously? Or is this stuff just for fanboys and iHaters to argue about?

  • Reply 2 of 41
    xmikuxmiku Posts: 32member


    How much thinner are we talking about? I personally don't like "too" thin cell phones, that is why I carry my Galaxy S II in a bumper case. Without it feels too light and too thin.

  • Reply 3 of 41
    atlantatlant Posts: 5member


    Think of the thinner display as a trade-off for more battery space.


     


    You're right that there is a minimal "thinness" which will still feel correct in your hand, not break in your pocket, etc.

  • Reply 4 of 41
    larryalarrya Posts: 606member
    We hear this every single time a new iPhone or iPad is about to be announced. I ageee - it probably is an attempt at manipulation just before the price booms in order to maximize profit for "analysts".
  • Reply 5 of 41
    downpourdownpour Posts: 37member

    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

    The strange thing is, the new design doesn't look any thinner than the current model. They would also have more room for the battery, with the phone being much longer, so is all this trouble over the screen worth it? 


     


    I'm still hoping the two-tone design is a complete red herring and Apple come out with a super slim phone more like this...


     



    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     
  • Reply 6 of 41
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member


    Notice how Samsung is not a supplier.  If this is really a problem they can just pay a bit more for the first batch until the production line improves and the yield gets better.

  • Reply 7 of 41


    Hiiii Friend !!!


    I just thinks that when new launches announce in market we just thinks that what new features will add in this product & also thinks that product will justify price or not.


    Damdama Lake 

  • Reply 8 of 41
    theothergeofftheothergeoff Posts: 2,081member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by xmiku View Post


    How much thinner are we talking about? I personally don't like "too" thin cell phones, that is why I carry my Galaxy S II in a bumper case. Without it feels too light and too thin.



     


     


     


     


    Quote:



    The strange thing is, the new design doesn't look any thinner than the current model. They would also have more room for the battery, with the phone being much longer, so is all this trouble over the screen worth it? 


     


    I'm still hoping the two-tone design is a complete red herring and Apple come out with a super slim phone more like this...


     



     




     


     


    We're talking 1/2 a millimeter here.  if you're looking for a thinner phone... move along.


     


    Not so much an improvement on thickness of the phone, but more weight/volume can be added to battery, and the visual clarity of the display will supposedly be better (less layers of glass, less refraction).


     


    Because Apple feels the phone thickness and squared edges actually makes the phone a better camera (for gripping), my guess if you see any change in thickness it will be very minimal.

  • Reply 9 of 41
    cvaldes1831cvaldes1831 Posts: 1,832member
    lkrupp wrote: »
    Sounds like another attempt to manipulate AAPL by putting out negative rumors. Do serious investors take rumors seriously? Or is this stuff just for fanboys and iHaters to argue about?
    LOL, it's a Digitimes rumor. It's automatically tossed into the circular file.

    Not just by investors, but by pretty much everybody except the technology media who worship at the altar of the Almighty Pageview.
  • Reply 10 of 41
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    lkrupp wrote: »
    Sounds like another attempt to manipulate AAPL by putting out negative rumors. Do serious investors take rumors seriously? Or is this stuff just for fanboys and iHaters to argue about?

    To me this is the classic 'we put out a rumor to pump up some supplier companies stock and now we have to find a way to recant it without looking like morons so we'll push a rumor of a problem so we can say yes they were planning o do X but can't just yet'. This issue can cover everything from the iPhone and iPod touch to the iPad mini, even perhaps computers and displays
  • Reply 11 of 41
    ghostface147ghostface147 Posts: 1,629member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by herbapou View Post


    Notice how Samsung is not a supplier.  If this is really a problem they can just pay a bit more for the first batch until the production line improves and the yield gets better.



    I don't believe samsung ever made iPhone displays. LG or Sharp.  However they are supplying processors for Apple, like the A4, A5, and the current A5X.  We don't know what chip is in the iPhone 6.  

  • Reply 12 of 41
    blackbookblackbook Posts: 1,361member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Downpour View Post




    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

    The strange thing is, the new design doesn't look any thinner than the current model. They would also have more room for the battery, with the phone being much longer, so is all this trouble over the screen worth it? 


     


    I'm still hoping the two-tone design is a complete red herring and Apple come out with a super slim phone more like this...


     



    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     



    That is still my favorite iPhone mockup. I would love to see that debuted in September although it's not likely.


     


    imageimageimageimage

  • Reply 13 of 41
    downpourdownpour Posts: 37member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff View Post


     


    Because Apple feels the phone thickness and squared edges actually makes the phone a better camera (for gripping), my guess if you see any change in thickness it will be very minimal.



     

    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }


    I really don't like the feel of the 4/4S though, my wife has my old 3GS and it's a much better design in that respect. You could argue the current brick design works better as a camera, but it isn't a camera, it's a phone.


     


    Phones need to be slim, aesthetically pleasing, comfortable to hold (i.e. rounded corners) and should fit in your pocket.


     


    Apple have been disappointing me recently with all these minor incremental updates. I want to see another technological breakthrough from them, like we used to get back in the good old days. 


     



    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     


    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     
  • Reply 14 of 41
    downpourdownpour Posts: 37member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by blackbook View Post


    That is still my favorite iPhone mockup. I would love to see that debuted in September although it's not likely.


     



     

    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     


    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

    Yeah, it could be improved in a couple of ways, but it's not far off perfection. The back could definitely look better, but it's just a homemade mockup, so I'm sure Apple would do a better job.


     


    I'm really hoping this is the direction Apple will go in for the iPhone 6. That shape with a bezel-free screen would be epic.


    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     
  • Reply 15 of 41

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post


    Sounds like another attempt to manipulate AAPL by putting out negative rumors. Do serious investors take rumors seriously? Or is this stuff just for fanboys and iHaters to argue about?



     


     


    Do you seriously think that DigiTimes is part of some vast conspiracy?   I suppose that fits in with the "us against them" AppleFan meme, but with zero evidence, it seems like a far-fetched position to take.


     


    If this story is true, then it is very bad for Apple.  The iPhone represents a huge portion of their profits.  Around half?  And with iPhone sales currently flagging, Apple needs to get the iPhone 5 on the market ASAP.  


     


    My guess is that it would not be possible to use the regular screens at this point, absent a major redesign.  How could Apple bet the farm on a technology that cannot be produced in sufficient quantities?  Did Jony over ride Tim and insist on the design aspects over the supply chain aspects of the product?  How could something like this happen?

  • Reply 16 of 41
    blackbookblackbook Posts: 1,361member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Downpour View Post


     


    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     


    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

    Yeah, it could be improved in a couple of ways, but it's not far off perfection. The back could definitely look better, but it's just a homemade mockup, so I'm sure Apple would do a better job.


     


    I'm really hoping this is the direction Apple will go in for the iPhone 6. That shape with a bezel-free screen would be epic.


    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     



    One of the things I like about the mock is that the phone keeps the current 3:2 screen aspect ratio even though the screen's size increases to 4 inches. In the mock this is done by making the phone slightly wider, while also making the phone shorter so it's dimensions just look better to the eye than the taller narrow 16:9 leaks we've been seeing lately.

  • Reply 17 of 41
    amoradalaamoradala Posts: 146member
    Tim cook must be crying into his keyboard after this Digitimes report.

    What a terrible oversight - not to check whether the millions of parts he has just ordered can actually be made.

    You would have thought they might have tested these things first. How embarrasing.

    (Insert rolling eyes icons and sarcasm tags here)
  • Reply 18 of 41
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    amoradala wrote: »
    Tim cook must be crying into his keyboard after this Digitimes report.
    What a terrible oversight - not to check whether the millions of parts he has just ordered can actually be made.
    You would have thought they might have tested these things first. How embarrasing.
    (Insert rolling eyes icons and sarcasm tags here)

    There is still a level of risk involved with each new advancement. Early yields might not reveal all potential problems.
  • Reply 19 of 41


    Hit or miss??? WTF, no it's always miss. Digitimzes hazzzzzzesss nooosx idezz waz theys towkinz abzoxutz................EVER

  • Reply 20 of 41
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Hit or miss??? WTF, no it's always miss. Digitimzes hazzzzzzesss nooosx idezz waz theys towkinz abzoxutz................EVER

    Did you graduate form LOL Cat University?
Sign In or Register to comment.