Apple to adopt new 3D Touch technology for OLED iPhone
Apple is expected to replace current 3D Touch technology with a new design based on thin film sensors when it introduces a next-generation iPhone with OLED display, according to noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a note to investors obtained by AppleInsider, Kuo says the forthcoming iPhone will feature a 3D Touch module located beneath an OLED panel, a layered arrangement first introduced with iPhone 6s in 2015.
Instead of using a sensor design involving flexible printed circuit boards, however, Apple is predicted to make the switch to thin film, a component package promising enhanced sensitivity over existing implementations. The increased should provide a better overall user experience than the now two-year-old 3D Touch design, perhaps paving the way for gestures more complex than home screen quick actions and system-wide "peek and pop" previews.
Fitting a film sensor beneath an OLED panel is not easy, Kuo notes. Whereas current 3D Touch iterations integrate a rigid metal conductive plate as part of the layered sensor design, film sensor stacks do not, leaving the flexible OLED screen susceptible to deformation. To avoid potential damage from regular operation, a passive metal component will be placed under the film sensor to provide structural support, Kuo says.
The new sensor materials and design inevitably require a more involved lamination process that will drive up per module costs, which the analyst estimates will increase 10 to 20 percent compared to current 3D Touch sensors. Module suppliers GIS and TPK are expected to split orders and begin shipping out supply in March or April.
An evolution of Force Touch technology deployed in Apple Watch and MacBook trackpads, 3D Touch was originally billed as "the next generation of multi-touch" when it debuted on iPhone 6s.
Unlike Force Touch, which uses sensors deployed under the perimeter of an Apple Watch display to detect finger pressure, 3D Touch employs an array of capacitive sensors integrated with an iPhone display's backlight. The system measures the distance between iPhone's flexible cover glass and the sensor array many times per second, then translates the results into granular force and location data.
Film sensors operate under the same working principles, but offer more accurate deflection readings in a design that takes up much less internal space.
Apple is widely rumored to unveil its first OLED iPhone later this year alongside a pair of "s" model upgrades for the iPhone 7 series. The 10th anniversary edition, as some are calling the OLED variant, is expected to feature a stainless steel "glass sandwich" design and incorporate exotic technologies like wireless charging, an "invisible" under-panel home button and more. Most recently, rumblings from within Apple's supply chain suggest the OLED version will sport a wraparound 5.8-inch OLED "flex" screen with embedded sensors.
In a note to investors obtained by AppleInsider, Kuo says the forthcoming iPhone will feature a 3D Touch module located beneath an OLED panel, a layered arrangement first introduced with iPhone 6s in 2015.
Instead of using a sensor design involving flexible printed circuit boards, however, Apple is predicted to make the switch to thin film, a component package promising enhanced sensitivity over existing implementations. The increased should provide a better overall user experience than the now two-year-old 3D Touch design, perhaps paving the way for gestures more complex than home screen quick actions and system-wide "peek and pop" previews.
Fitting a film sensor beneath an OLED panel is not easy, Kuo notes. Whereas current 3D Touch iterations integrate a rigid metal conductive plate as part of the layered sensor design, film sensor stacks do not, leaving the flexible OLED screen susceptible to deformation. To avoid potential damage from regular operation, a passive metal component will be placed under the film sensor to provide structural support, Kuo says.
The new sensor materials and design inevitably require a more involved lamination process that will drive up per module costs, which the analyst estimates will increase 10 to 20 percent compared to current 3D Touch sensors. Module suppliers GIS and TPK are expected to split orders and begin shipping out supply in March or April.
An evolution of Force Touch technology deployed in Apple Watch and MacBook trackpads, 3D Touch was originally billed as "the next generation of multi-touch" when it debuted on iPhone 6s.
Unlike Force Touch, which uses sensors deployed under the perimeter of an Apple Watch display to detect finger pressure, 3D Touch employs an array of capacitive sensors integrated with an iPhone display's backlight. The system measures the distance between iPhone's flexible cover glass and the sensor array many times per second, then translates the results into granular force and location data.
Film sensors operate under the same working principles, but offer more accurate deflection readings in a design that takes up much less internal space.
Apple is widely rumored to unveil its first OLED iPhone later this year alongside a pair of "s" model upgrades for the iPhone 7 series. The 10th anniversary edition, as some are calling the OLED variant, is expected to feature a stainless steel "glass sandwich" design and incorporate exotic technologies like wireless charging, an "invisible" under-panel home button and more. Most recently, rumblings from within Apple's supply chain suggest the OLED version will sport a wraparound 5.8-inch OLED "flex" screen with embedded sensors.
Comments
Piezoelectric Effect is the ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress. The word Piezoelectric is derived from the Greek piezein, which means to squeeze or press, and piezo, which is Greek for “push”.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/11/xiaomi-mi-mix-review-this-is-what-the-future-of-smartphones-looks-like/
Except Xiaomi is using Piezoelectrics to produce sound, simply as a resonator, similar to the bone conduction earpiece technologies already in existence. Nothing really new there. It's a whole different game to be using it as a pressure sensor at the microscopic scale and sensitivity required for something like 3D Touch.
That some small change noted by customers can have a long and complex chain of innovations behind it, can easily be forgotten.
For sure, from a customer perspective you don't care too much, like you don't care about the actual tech in your toaster or washing machine. Actually, even in TV sets or cars. And this is fine.
What I personally like is to see that there is still a heck of a lot of innovation going on, and that the user experience is the purpose and driver behind it. Not tech for the sake of nerdy features.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/11/07/27/apple_investigating_flat_key_less_keyboard_using_acoustic_cues.html
(Edit: The link to the old AI article may give you a 404 error depending on how you get there. Odd.)
and the associated patent:
http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-adv.html&r=18&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=(apple.AS.+AND+20110721.PD.)&OS=an/apple+and+pd/07/21/2011&RS=(AN/apple+AND+PD/20110721)
Nothing I'd really read up on before or noted where it's used. Thanks Radar!
Good primer here for us non-engineers:
http://www.imore.com/science-behind-taptics-and-force-touch
"Beginning with the Apple Watch, Force Touch has been introduced to many of the products within Apple's lineup including Retina MacBook, MacBook Pro, Magic Trackpad 2, and flagship iPhone models like the iPhone 6S, and iPhone 7."
3D Touch is getting more and more useful now.
Earlier, the best advantage for me with it was the ability to move the cursor to any place in the text I was typing. Now, with all the interaction I can do with Notifications, it is getting to be a real useful, time-saving option.