Photos of purported 'iPhone X Plus' display assembly reveal LG manufacturing

Posted:
in iPhone edited March 2018
A pair of images posted to a Chinese blog on Saturday purportedly offer a first look at Apple's next-generation "iPhone X Plus" handset, a 6.5-inch device rumored to see release later this year.




According to a MacX forum post, the images originate from LG Display's manufacturing facility in Vietnam, where the company is reportedly producing a trial run of "iPhone X Plus" screens for Apple.

Rumors that LG would supply OLED panels for a future iPhone X model first surfaced last year. Most recently, reports in January said the Korean company inked a deal to provide 15 to 16 million 6.5-inch panels in the second half of 2018.

As seen in the photos above and below, the parts bear hallmarks representative of Apple's new sensor "notch" design, which provides space at top of the display for the TrueDepth depth sensing camera array used for Face ID biometrics and advanced photo taking features.

While the panel's dimensions are unknown, the glass looks to be significantly larger than current iPhone X hardware. In particular, the cutout appears to take up a smaller portion of the cover's footprint in comparison to Apple's existing flagship smartphone.

A closer look at cabling attached to the cover glass reveals manufacturing indicia that appear to be in line with Apple's typical coding scheme. The numbers suggest the part was produced in November of 2017, the same month iPhone X went on sale.




Not much can be made of the OLED panels assemblies, though the parts also include space for a TrueDepth sensor array. On the front is a lozenge-shaped cutout for the ear speaker, seemingly similar to a new, smaller design introduced with iPhone X.

Apple suppliers are known to produce parts, especially evaluation proofs, well ahead of a planned launch, so the parts could be legitimate. AppleInsider was unable to confirm the validity of the images.

Rumblings of a 6.5-inch iPhone X model surfaced in September and were later echoed by KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who in November predicted Apple to debut the jumbo-size handset alongside a second-generation 5.8-inch iPhone X and a 6.1-inch LCD model this year.

Apple is rumored to adopt a number of cutting edge technologies for its 2018 iPhone lineup, including a new metal frame for faster wireless transfers, enhanced LTE modules with support for 4x4 MIMO, LCP circuit boards and more.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    Now just check the left hand of all employees in that factory and you’ll have your leaker.
    watto_cobrabshank
  • Reply 2 of 12
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,311member
    Wallet open and ready for the 6.5-inch iPhone X.
    edited February 2018 supadav03watto_cobrabshank
  • Reply 3 of 12
    So the reports of Samsung lowering iPhone X OLED production "due to low iPhone X demand" is more likely because Apple will not use Samsung for 100% anymore, and use LG instead. It seems the only "reason" reporters can find for lowering production at one supplier is because Apple products is failing! The iPhone X is failing! Haha! The "failing" narrative of Apple is getting tiresome.
    Rayz2016bb-15watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 12
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,067member
    I think I am gonna hold out and purchase this iPhone. My iPhone 6s Plus is wicked slow and so glitchy but the current iPhone X is just too small for my needs. I can only imagine though, the iPhone 6.5” will probably be around $1,499!
  • Reply 5 of 12
    JinTech said:
    I think I am gonna hold out and purchase this iPhone. My iPhone 6s Plus is wicked slow and so glitchy but the current iPhone X is just too small for my needs.
    My sentiments exactly, I also have the 6s Plus. When I picked up the iPhone X in the Apple Store, I was surprised how much smaller the phone was. Of course, the screen size was the same (virtually) as my 6s Plus. because the screen was edge to edge. Although I read many reviews of the X, I didn't realise how much smaller the phone was. With my failing eyesight, the X Plus would be great for me, but preferably with a larger capacity battery. The 6s Plus does not last long between charges. Looking forward to this years X Plus, especially as I'm due an upgrade.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 12
    Love my X but would pick the X Plus next go around, if available. Don’t use an iPad or computer so having the extra screen real estate would be great. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 12
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,080member
    john f. said:
    So the reports of Samsung lowering iPhone X OLED production "due to low iPhone X demand" is more likely because Apple will not use Samsung for 100% anymore, and use LG instead. It seems the only "reason" reporters can find for lowering production at one supplier is because Apple products is failing! The iPhone X is failing! Haha! The "failing" narrative of Apple is getting tiresome.
    I just hope that they are not the same LG displays that showed up in the Pixel 2XL.
    Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.   Samsung makes the best OLED screens for phones.
    Apple should only move away from them when the quality from alternates are equal.

    bb-15watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 12
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,936member
    Stage is being set for 2018 iPhone rumors. All 3 new iPhones will be winners especially lower cost 6.1" LCD.
    crossladwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 12
    thttht Posts: 5,700member
    k2kw said:
    john f. said:
    So the reports of Samsung lowering iPhone X OLED production "due to low iPhone X demand" is more likely because Apple will not use Samsung for 100% anymore, and use LG instead. It seems the only "reason" reporters can find for lowering production at one supplier is because Apple products is failing! The iPhone X is failing! Haha! The "failing" narrative of Apple is getting tiresome.
    I just hope that they are not the same LG displays that showed up in the Pixel 2XL.
    Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.   Samsung makes the best OLED screens for phones.
    Apple should only move away from them when the quality from alternates are equal.

    Odds are pretty good that Apple’s acceptance criteria will be such that people will not be able tell the difference between Samsung and LG panels without microscopes and measuring devices.

    LG makes the OLED panels for the Apple Watch. We haven’t heard anything bad regarding those panels over the last 3.5 years. I wish Apple went with that OLED design for the iPhone X as it was RGB. So, it’s more of an echo chamber impression that Samsung has the best OLEDs and everyone else sucks. What Samsung has a leg up on other manufacturers is manufacturing capacity. They can produce enough volumes of OLED displays to go into Galaxy models or iPhone models.

    Once LG ramps up, which Apple has funded LG to do, I don’t think people can really tell the difference. Acceptance criteria will ensure this.
    jony0watto_cobrapropod
  • Reply 10 of 12
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    tht said:
    k2kw said:
    john f. said:
    So the reports of Samsung lowering iPhone X OLED production "due to low iPhone X demand" is more likely because Apple will not use Samsung for 100% anymore, and use LG instead. It seems the only "reason" reporters can find for lowering production at one supplier is because Apple products is failing! The iPhone X is failing! Haha! The "failing" narrative of Apple is getting tiresome.
    I just hope that they are not the same LG displays that showed up in the Pixel 2XL.
    Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.   Samsung makes the best OLED screens for phones.
    Apple should only move away from them when the quality from alternates are equal.

    Odds are pretty good that Apple’s acceptance criteria will be such that people will not be able tell the difference between Samsung and LG panels without microscopes and measuring devices.

    LG makes the OLED panels for the Apple Watch. We haven’t heard anything bad regarding those panels over the last 3.5 years. I wish Apple went with that OLED design for the iPhone X as it was RGB. So, it’s more of an echo chamber impression that Samsung has the best OLEDs and everyone else sucks. What Samsung has a leg up on other manufacturers is manufacturing capacity. They can produce enough volumes of OLED displays to go into Galaxy models or iPhone models.

    Once LG ramps up, which Apple has funded LG to do, I don’t think people can really tell the difference. Acceptance criteria will ensure this.
    Supposedly, the acceptance rate on OLED panels were really low at Apple so that explains the high quality more than anything else.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 12
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,642member
    This is the year we buy new phones, which is what we do every other year. Despite the temptation of my daughter and myself to buy the iPhone X, something my wife wasn’t in as much of a hurry to buy, we decided to wait. I usually don’t like to buy into the first year of a brand new design, which is why I bought the 3G, rather than the first model, and why I didn’t buy the 2013 Mac Pro. I did buy the first cellular iPad in 2010 because I had a very good use case for it.

    i’m hoping that one of two things are true regarding this report.

    one is that Apple won’t use LG screens, because everything we see about these screens show us that they are terrible. By the way, in my opinion, their Tv screens aren’t as good as people think they are.

    two, if Apple will be using them, that they are working with LG to get the quality up to Apple’s acceptance levels, as well as using Apple’s technology in them that has made Apple’s OLEDs better than Samsung’s, despite that Samsung makes them.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 12 of 12
    is it just the angle of the photo, or is the notch slightly offcenter to the left?  
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