Rumor: New backlight component will enable Apple to maker thinner, lighter 'iPhone 6'

Posted:
in iPhone edited July 2014
Apple's anticipated next-generation iPhone may use only one brightness enhancement film for its display, a change that could enable the company to reduce the size of the LCD component in the handset and create the thinnest and lightest iPhone to date.




While Apple is said to currently use two brightness enhancement films for the Retina display found in the iPhone 5s, the company may have found a way to reduce the screen to just one such film, according to China Times. The switch will reportedly result in a thinner and lighter design, but will also allegedly make manufacturing more difficult.

As a result, Apple will be taking on more suppliers to beef up capacity and help to ensure availability, according to the report, which was first spotted by G for Games. While Miebea was previously supplying backlight enhancement films to Apple, it's been said that OMRON and Radiant will join as suppliers for the "iPhone 6" display.

For months, rumors have consistently claimed that Apple is planning to launch two new iPhones this year, with display sizes of 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches. Both would be an increase from the 4-inch form factor of the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5, which were already a bump up from the 3.5-inch display found on the iPhone 4S and its predecessors.

The next iPhone is expected to be about as thick as a current iPod touch, which measures just 6.1 millimeters. For comparison, the current iPhone 5s is 7.6 millimeters thick.

The next iPhone is expected to be a complete redesign, justifying the new number in the model, with rounded edges much like the iPod touch. Mockups claiming to show the design of Apple's "iPhone 6" also suggest that the lock button on the device has been moved to the upper right side of the handset, while the volume buttons are expected to be "pill" shaped instead of circles.

If Apple follows its recent release pattern, as is expected, then the next iPhone should be unveiled sometime in September and would launch the following Friday. It's likely that iOS 8 would become available to the public around that same time.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 47
    Interesting, as far we know we could see a thin beutiful iPhone.
  • Reply 2 of 47
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    HOLD THE PHONE. Shut up that's a great joke and it wasn't even on purpose

     

    The next iPhone will be thinner... and LIGHTER?!

     

    THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED.

  • Reply 3 of 47
    blazarblazar Posts: 270member
    All perfectly good news... I doubt we will hwar about the top secret features or battery life till later.

    Anyone else prefer to stay the same thickness and add more battery life?
  • Reply 4 of 47
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Eventually, somewhere around iPhone 15 or 16, it will probably end up being as thin as a piece of paper. I wonder where the cut off point is, and at what point is too thin too much of a good thing, even if the tech is available to make it crazy thin?

  • Reply 5 of 47
    apple ][ wrote: »
    Eventually, somewhere around iPhone 15 or 16, it will probably end up being as thin as a piece of paper. I wonder where the cut off point is, and at what point is too thin too much of a good thing, even if the tech is available to make it crazy thin?

    The iPhone 15 will be shaped exactly like a piece of paper: razor thin and too big to hold in one hand. Because screen size one-upsmanship has no theoretical boundary.
  • Reply 6 of 47
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,813member

    Thin and light might be important to other people but I just want an iPhone where I don't have to buy a battery case to use it all day long for a change. By around 4PM my iPhone's internal battery is drained and it switches to the battery case battery for power. In many cases I do not have an electrical source for a charger so had to get a battery case which adds a lot of bulk and weight. But I am actually used to it now and sort of prefer that heft as it is harder to drop. 

     

    I am curious how the display on the iPhone 6 will compare with the Samdung S5 display. We can all find tons of faults with the S5 but one thing they got right was the display. It really is a very beautiful display and even does well outdoors in sunlight which was the one area it had failed on previous models. I wonder if Apple will be able to surpass them with the iPhone 6 display. 

  • Reply 7 of 47
    indyfxindyfx Posts: 321member
    Apple ][
    "Eventually, somewhere around iPhone 15 or 16, it will probably end up being as thin as a piece of paper. I wonder where the cut off point is, and at what point is too thin too much of a good thing, even if the tech is available to make it crazy thin?"

    I think somewhere around the thickness of a credit card (perhaps two), beneath that there is little practical value.
    And being flexible would be nice too

    Yes that seems fanciful and unrealistic, but so would have the current iPhone 5, back in the day of the original iPhone.
  • Reply 8 of 47
    You could cut a steak with that iPhone 6. The lock is needed now more than ever. I can't wait to see whay the iPhone 15 or 16. http://www.geekchoice.com
  • Reply 9 of 47
    shogunshogun Posts: 362member
    gwmac wrote: »
    In many cases I do not have an electrical source for a charger so had to get a battery case which adds a lot of bulk and weight.

    You're not anywhere near outlet or a vehicle or a charger all day every day? If so, you realize that puts you quite a bit out of the mainstream, right?
  • Reply 10 of 47
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member
    shogun wrote: »
    You're not anywhere near outlet or a vehicle or a charger all day every day? If so, you realize that puts you quite a bit out of the mainstream, right?
    That's besides the point. A high end smartphone should be able to last a full day on a single charge with normal use. My HTC phone can do this easily and it came out over 2 years ago.
  • Reply 11 of 47
    jusephejusephe Posts: 108member
    It won't be probably the thinnest smartphone on the planet as that is 5,5 mm and lower. But those phones are low end crap with smallish batteries and if we look at the best of the best android phones, like the galaxy (8,2 mm) G3 (8,9 mm) Z2 (8,1 mm) or oppo find 7 (9,2 mm), they are hardly approaching the thinnes of almost 2 years old iPhone 5 despite drastically bigger diagonal (it's generally easier to make a bigger device thinner). With iPhone 6 Apple will shave off a lot of thickness (my bet is exactly 6 mm or at least 6,66 ;) and as I told before maybe not the thinnest of the thinnest, but the world thinnest superphone by far.
  • Reply 12 of 47
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,741member
    Anyone have an idea how thick such a layer is?
  • Reply 13 of 47
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,813member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Shogun View Post





    You're not anywhere near outlet or a vehicle or a charger all day every day? If so, you realize that puts you quite a bit out of the mainstream, right?

    Hardly. Construction workers, hospital workers that do not want to leave their phone plugged in an outlet because they are walking all over the hospital and want to have it with them, lawyers in court all day, employees who do not have an outlet anywhere near them,  anyone working outdoors. It is a lot more people than you think. Not everyone sits in an office or cubicle with an outlet where you can charge your phone for an extended time. There are a lot of people that simply either do not have access to a charger or will not be near that outlet long enough to do much good. Apple used to be among the best at battery life but have allowed other companies to best them recently. I simply was saying that I hope Apple can retake the lead with battery usage again. I realize that the only reason the galaxy S5 wins that battle is because it uses a 2800 mAh battery vs. only a 1560 mAh battery in the 5s so for Apple to even get close it actually has won but ITRW the S5 lasts longer with actual use. Now that the iPhone 6 will be larger maybe we will also get a battery around 2500 mAh possibly which should give us far longer battery life even with a larger display. 

  • Reply 14 of 47
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by WonkoTheSane View Post

    Anyone have an idea how thick such a layer is?



    Thinner than a stander, at least.

  • Reply 15 of 47
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,813member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DroidFTW View Post





    That's besides the point. A high end smartphone should be able to last a full day on a single charge with normal use. My HTC phone can do this easily and it came out over 2 years ago.

    Exactly. We shouldn't need to have to find an outlet or a car charger for normal use. A modern smart phone should last all day long under normal use and it doesn't because of the 1560 mAh battery which is really really small. It is amazing that it lasts as long as it does though considering batteries in Android phones are nearly twice that. I think with a larger iPhone 6 the battery should increase to a more reasonable size of around 2500 mAh. 

  • Reply 16 of 47
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,741member


    Thinner than a stander, at least.

    Pardon me for breathing* which I don't do anyway so I don't know why I bother to mention it all.... What's a stander?

    *actually pardon me for being German ;)
  • Reply 17 of 47
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by WonkoTheSane View Post

    *actually pardon me for being German.image

     

    Oh, sorry. (no, that's not what I mean)

     

    Layer, a thickness of a material and "layer", or "someone who lays down" (as in lay and the suffix -er) vs. stander, "someone who stands up".

     

    I get a real kick out of this kind of humor, even though it doesn't often translate with cognates. Heck, I love it in other languages. In Japanese, "[he/she]'s really into making shoulder massage tickets" can also be read "My shoulders tense up at the sight of this shoulder massage ticket."

  • Reply 18 of 47
    indyfxindyfx Posts: 321member
    DroidFTW:
    "That's besides the point. A high end smartphone should be able to last a full day on a single charge with normal use. My HTC phone can do this easily and it came out over 2 years ago."

    Your statement is a terrible distortion. First I normally (easily) get a day out of my iPhone (5). If you play a lot of games or are constantly on the phone you may need to bump the charge during the day (and the 5 takes a "bump" charge -quickly-)
    On the other part of your statement Android phones are notoriously bad on battery consumption. The only way your unnamed HTC could have better runtime than an iPhone (given similar configuration and use) is if it were double the size (to accommodate huge batteries necessary for the power sucking android operating system).
    If you want to carry a brick around in your pocket fine (you and the other few dozen people who feel that way can), knock yourself(s) out, but the rest of the world wants thin and lightweight phones that can be easily pocketed and forgotten until they are needed.
  • Reply 19 of 47

    The switch will reportedly result in a thinner and lighter design, but will also allegedly make manufacturing more difficult.
    Yay for yield issues just like every release.
  • Reply 20 of 47
    just_mejust_me Posts: 590member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by IndyFX View Post



    DroidFTW:

    "That's besides the point. A high end smartphone should be able to last a full day on a single charge with normal use. My HTC phone can do this easily and it came out over 2 years ago."



    Your statement is a terrible distortion. First I normally (easily) get a day out of my iPhone (5). If you play a lot of games or are constantly on the phone you may need to bump the charge during the day (and the 5 takes a "bump" charge -quickly-)

    On the other part of your statement Android phones are notoriously bad on battery consumption. The only way your unnamed HTC could have better runtime than an iPhone (given similar configuration and use) is if it were double the size (to accommodate huge batteries necessary for the power sucking android operating system).

    If you want to carry a brick around in your pocket fine (you and the other few dozen people who feel that way can), knock yourself(s) out, but the rest of the world wants thin and lightweight phones that can be easily pocketed and forgotten until they are needed.

     

     

    iphone does not have the best battery life anymore.  

     

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