A few months back there were rumors floating around that future iDevices could feature in-cell touch screen technology. What that means – in lay terms – is that instead of the LCD display panel having a touch sensitive layer on top, it would be part of the LCD panel. The consequence of that is – obviously – that we have a much thinner display. (Up to 0.5mm thinner.)

WSJ has now purportedly “confirmed” that the 6th generation iPhone will feature this in-cell technology. With the display unit being thinner, it should result in a slimmer device, unless Apple uses that extra space to put in a huge battery.

The technology integrates touch sensors into the LCD, making it unnecessary to have a separate touch-screen layer. The absence of the layer, usually about half a millimeter thick, not only makes the whole screen thinner, but the quality of displayed images would improve, said DisplaySearch analyst Hiroshi Hayase.

It would also lead to Apple cutting costs, as it wouldn’t need to purchase the touch screen layer separately from the LCD panel. What’s perhaps more interesting is that in the list of possible manufacturing partners there’s a clear omission: Samsung. The list includes Sharp, LG and Japan Display. Sammy’s not in sight. It’s true to say that the two companies aren’t particularly on speaking terms right now, and, as the company sees its Korean rival’s products as rip-offs, that’s not going to change any time soon.

Via: WSJ