iPhone 6: The Touchscreen Production Has Started
Leaked pictures of Sharp’s ultra sensitive touchscreen, yes we refer to the one on which you can write using an usual pen or pencil, have appeared online. This new info is actually a blow of oxygen for the rumors claiming that the Apple company will be using the Sharp display technology for their future generation iPhone 6.
The technology we are talking about has been developed by Sharp to have up to eight times more sensitivity than a capacitive touch panel. Even though it won’t be the world’s slimmest display – LG has already announced that title – next summer this year we will be playing with a pencil-friendly iPhone 6.
So, as we were telling you earlier this year, in March the next gen iPhone might be featuring an ultra-sensitive touchscreen, thus allowing to write quick notes on the display of the smartphone, using an ordinary pen or pencil. This way, the user won’t need a designated stylus.
One of the advantages of this new display is that of being light, unlike the other scratch protected Sapphire glass technology.
However, in the smartphone market Apple won’t be the only one delivering the pencil-friendly display. The competition is already there. At the end of June, Sony Mobile has announced the Xperia Z Ultra a handset with a 6.4 inches display which was also called by the company, the slimmest and largest full HD smartphone in the world.
And that’s not all, folks! Apparently, the Xperia Z Ultra launch is also giving its rivals on the phablet market something to compete against. The new Sony phone tablet recognizes handwriting and works with any capacitive stylus, pen and graphite pencil which has a diameter at least 1 mm.
Actually, the first flagship handset able to handle handwritten notes on its display written by any pen or regular pencil is the Xperia Z Ultra.
Obviously, the new technology used in this display is more of an advantage for the handset manufacturers, because aside from allowing owners to write on the screen, it is lighter and thinner so it reduces the overall production costs.
More than that, the same rumor suggests that by using this new technology, Apple will also be able to cut off a lo of the display’s thickness reducing the weight even more. Considering that the shipping costs represent a huge chunk of the overall production dynamics of handsets, every gram saved actually means big savings for Apple or similar companies.
Think about it like this: if during last year Apple made shipments of 134 million units, and even though we don’t know what is the price Apple is paying for the shippings, we can tell you that if the company succeeds to save Dh1 per unit in shipping costs by reducing the weight that much, then it will save Dh167 million, a number projected from 2013′s projected smartphone shipments.
Maybe our math isn’t that accurate, but you get the logic: if the screen is lighter, the shipment costs go lower bringing money back to the company. After all, saving a penny is like working for it twice.
However, let’s return to Sharp’s awesome touchscreen. The new display would allow owners to interact with the phone while using gloves in the winter, and what’s more important is that it marks the first time in history when an owner could write on its mobile phone by using a pencil or a regular pen.
You should know that the new technology is no longer a work of fiction, fantasy, or prototype because according to Patently Apple the production of the screen began on the 15th of March, 2013.
Besides, given that Sharp is one of the main Apple suppliers for iPad displays, there is a big chance for the iPhone 6, maybe even the iPhone mini, to feature Sharp’s new screen technology.
