Kuo: Upcoming 6.1-inch LCD iPhone may skip 3D Touch in favor of better glass
Apple is allegedly switching up the touch technology in its 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, which may make the phone lighter and more durable but might also result in the sacrifice of 3D Touch, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed this week.
The phone is expected to use "cover glass sensor" (CGS) technology in which the touch module is moved out of the display panel to the surface glass, Kuo wrote in a memo quoted by Feng. The design change is said to involve adding a thin-film sensor to the mix, raising parts costs from $23 to $26.
Apple will probably remove 3D Touch support on the phone to keep prices down, Kuo argued. The technology is predicted to remain on this year's two OLED models, sized at 5.8 and 6.5 inches, but Kuo speculated that CGS could be used on all iPhones starting in 2019, effectively killing off the control option.
Though not inconceivable, it is unlikely that Apple would scrap 3D Touch at this point. It's so fundamentally interwoven with iOS and some third-party apps that many users likely depend on it.
One possibility is that the thin-film sensor will be used in some sort of replacement for 3D Touch, though how that might work is unknown.
The 6.1-inch iPhone is otherwise expected to use Face ID and an edge-to-edge display like its OLED-based counterparts. Kuo has previously suggested that the phone could cost as little as $550, despite the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 currently selling for $699.
The analyst's forecast calls for the product to make up 65 to 75 percent of Apple's iPhone shipments this year, given the appeal of its price and minimal sacrifices to get there.
The phone is expected to use "cover glass sensor" (CGS) technology in which the touch module is moved out of the display panel to the surface glass, Kuo wrote in a memo quoted by Feng. The design change is said to involve adding a thin-film sensor to the mix, raising parts costs from $23 to $26.
Apple will probably remove 3D Touch support on the phone to keep prices down, Kuo argued. The technology is predicted to remain on this year's two OLED models, sized at 5.8 and 6.5 inches, but Kuo speculated that CGS could be used on all iPhones starting in 2019, effectively killing off the control option.
Though not inconceivable, it is unlikely that Apple would scrap 3D Touch at this point. It's so fundamentally interwoven with iOS and some third-party apps that many users likely depend on it.
One possibility is that the thin-film sensor will be used in some sort of replacement for 3D Touch, though how that might work is unknown.
The 6.1-inch iPhone is otherwise expected to use Face ID and an edge-to-edge display like its OLED-based counterparts. Kuo has previously suggested that the phone could cost as little as $550, despite the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 currently selling for $699.
The analyst's forecast calls for the product to make up 65 to 75 percent of Apple's iPhone shipments this year, given the appeal of its price and minimal sacrifices to get there.
Comments
Will the 4.7 be discontinued for this cycle? That is remarkable too.
Personally, I can not grasp the love for these huge displays, and they are getting much larger, except for the SE 2, perhaps.
If Apple would have added a long press instead of force touch to iOS the Android folks would have lost their minds. Hahaha. I saw it on other forums when force touch was released. How this was another thing that Apple was playing catch up with. People just thought it was a long press they didn’t realize it reacted to pressure.
For three years I’ve primarily used my iPad to manage my seven figure stock and options portfolio, write, and do the myriad other tasks I used to sit at a table and use my MacBook Air to do.
In January I replaced my iPhone 6 (4.7” display) with an iPhone 8+ (5.5” display) and now do much of my trading and investment research on the iPhone. My usage between the iPad and iPhone went from 80/20 to closer to 40/60, respectively. I’ll look forward to a larger display in about the same size form factor as the 8+ when the display is extended to consume the upper and lower bezels. That’s when I’ll switch to FaceId and move beyond TouchID.
I find the precision cursor option when using 3D touch on the keyboard indispensable. I would be extremely surprised if they did remove 3D Touch in the next OS version.
Is there any precedence of Apple taking away software features on iOS? They removed the dedicated GameCenter app, but that was an app, not a software feature.