Purported 'iPhone 6s' schematics back claims of 0.2mm thicker design for Force Touch

Posted:
in iPhone edited July 2015
An alleged schematic for Apple's next-generation "iPhone 6s" may support claims that the device will be marginally thicker than its predecessor, presumably owing to design additions such as Force Touch.




The schematic, obtained by a Chinese supply chain source for Engadget Japan, indicates a thickness of 7.1 millimeters -- only 0.2 millimeters bigger than the iPhone 6. The change is minute enough that most iPhone 6 cases could fit without modifications, particularly since button and port layouts appear to be identical.

The schematic echoes a claim by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who in June said that the increase may be connected to a new Force Touch-capable display. Force Touch enables pressure-sensitive commands, such as contextual menus or faster audio/video skipping by holding down a fast-forward button. Currently, only the Apple Watch and various MacBooks support the technology.

The thickness might also stem from a rumored switch to tougher 7000 series aluminum, at the moment used for the Apple Watch Sport. Apple may be making the change partly to cope with complaints about the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus warping permanently under pressure. Both devices are significantly taller and wider than the iPhone 5s while also being thinner, which may have compromised their structural integrity.

Apple is expected to ship the 6s and a 6s Plus sometime this fall, alongside iOS 9. Other rumored features include a 12-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera, and a bump to a faster processor paired with 2 gigabytes of RAM.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 41
    darendinodarendino Posts: 126member
    Will it be thicker at the top or bottom, or the front or the back?
  • Reply 2 of 41
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DarenDino View Post



    Will it be thicker at the top or bottom, or the front or the back?

    Uh, front to back.

  • Reply 3 of 41
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    It doesn't show a protruding camera lens

  • Reply 4 of 41
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    mstone wrote: »
    It doesn't show a protruding camera lens

    Looks like it slightly protrudes to me. I suspect any increased thickness will be nearly imperceptible to most users.
  • Reply 5 of 41
    .2 is within Apple manufacturing tolerances.
  • Reply 6 of 41
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DarenDino View Post



    Will it be thicker at the top or bottom, or the front or the back?

     

    Only at the tip.

  • Reply 7 of 41
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post



    .2 is within Apple manufacturing tolerances.



    What does that mean? Depending on the process, Apple can probably work within .01 mm tolerances. 

  • Reply 8 of 41
    darendino wrote: »
    Will it be thicker at the top or bottom, or the front or the back?
    Uh, front to back.
    Just the front will be thicker... /s
  • Reply 9 of 41
    mstone wrote: »
    .2 is within Apple manufacturing tolerances.


    What does that mean? Depending on the process, Apple can probably work within .01 mm tolerances. 

    I watched the disassembly of the AppleWatch... I swear to go Apple has no tolerance...
  • Reply 10 of 41
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    darendino wrote: »
    Will it be thicker at the top or bottom, or the front or the back?

    Top to bottom is would be longer, not thicker.
  • Reply 11 of 41
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    darendino wrote: »
    Will it be thicker at the top or bottom, or the front or the back?

    Only at the tip.

    :lol: I'd say keep it clean but that was funny.
  • Reply 12 of 41
    Sorry, but to me, these schematics look much more like the specs of a [B]bumper[/B] than the dimensions of the device itself.

    This is why you do not see a protruding camera lens anymore…
  • Reply 13 of 41
    konqerrorkonqerror Posts: 685member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post



    .2 is within Apple manufacturing tolerances.

     

    Cheap machining in that case. ISO 286 specifies 190 um on the 67 mm width for Grade C. If Apple's suppliers are machining to Grade A, they have a 46 um tolerance. Your car engine is machined to 5 um.

  • Reply 14 of 41
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    I believe that Apple devices have soon reached a point where making them even thinner than they currently are is probably not a wise choice, merely for the sake of making the devices thinner. The current devices are plenty thin enough.

     

    I can imagine that holding an iPhone that has the thickness of a piece of paper is probably not the easiest thing to hold in your hand.

     

    I think that It's a good thing that Apple has been on a thinness trend for many years now because the current devices are very nice, thin and sexy, but I also believe that it's not a big deal at all if a new feature like Force Touch is added and the phone becomes 0.2 mm thicker, since the iPhone was already very thin to begin with.

  • Reply 15 of 41
    thewhitefalconthewhitefalcon Posts: 4,453member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     

    I believe that Apple devices have soon reached a point where making them even thinner than they currently are is probably not a wise choice, merely for the sake of making the devices thinner. The current devices are plenty thin enough.

     

    I can imagine that holding an iPhone that has the thickness of a piece of paper is probably not the easiest thing to hold in your hand.

     

    I think that It's a good thing that Apple has been on a thinness trend for many years now because the current devices are very nice, thin and sexy, but I also believe that it's not a big deal at all if a new feature like Force Touch is added and the phone becomes 0.2 mm thicker, since the iPhone was already very thin to begin with.




    Especially since the MacBook has some structural flex due to the thinness; it's not as bad as the old white MacBooks, but it's definitely not as solid as a unibody machine should be.

  • Reply 16 of 41

    Oh, enough with these bulky, thick phones, Apple!  Bring on the ultimate: truly 2-dimensional phones.  ;)

  • Reply 17 of 41
    2oh12oh1 Posts: 503member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DarenDino View Post



    Will it be thicker at the top or bottom, or the front or the back?



    It'll be thicker at the back.  In fact, the front will be .7mm thinner.  Thinner, you say?  Yes, thinner.  But the back will be .9mm thicker, thus making the entire device .2mm thicker overall.  It gets confusing though, because Apple has reversed the front and the back, which also necessitated swapping the left and the right.  So, when you're holding the iPhone 6s, technically speaking, you'll be looking at the exact opposite side that you think you are.  The screen is on the back and the front is metal with just a bit of text and an Apple logo.

  • Reply 18 of 41
    darendinodarendino Posts: 126member

    They may release a left handed model as well

  • Reply 19 of 41
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

     

    It doesn't show a protruding camera lens


    What kind of eyes do you have to determine that from the straight image? I suspect that there's no protrude at all and this is one of the features distinguishing the "S" version from current one.

    Edit: After looking at camera spec which is around 0.67mm, it's still protrude in S version. Maybe the 0.2 thickness is added only at the screen layer and it won't change the overall looking vs current model.

  • Reply 20 of 41
    ralphmouthralphmouth Posts: 192member

    Unapologetically bendier - Jony Ive

     

    /s

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