WSJ Says Next iPhone Will Have Thinner Screen

The WSJ is confirming a DigiTimes report that the next iPhone will adopt in-cell touch panels.

Apple Inc.'s next iPhone, currently being manufactured by Asian component makers, will use a new technology that makes the smartphone's screen thinner, people familiar with the matter said, as the U.S. technology giant strives to improve technological features amid intensifying competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and other rivals.

Japanese liquid-crystal-display makers Sharp Corp. and Japan Display Inc.-a new company that combined three Japanese electronics makers' display units-as well as South Korea's LG Display Co. are currently mass producing panels for the next iPhone using so-called in-cell technology, the people said.


In-cell touch panels integrate touch sensors into the thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD manufacturing process, obviating the need for additional sensors and glass. This makes the whole screen thinner by about half a millimeter.

The move is bad news for touch panels suppliers TPK and Wintek whose shipments in the second half of 2012 is estimated at one-third of shipments the two companies shipped in the first half.

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