South China Morning Post reports that Apple will release two versions of its next generation iPhone, with a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch sapphire display in September.
The report claims that according to its sources who have seen the prototypes, the next generation iPhones will come with a 441 pixels per inch (ppi) display compared to iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c that come with 326 ppi Retina Display.
The Hong-Kong based newspaper claims that display of the next iPhone will be flat, and won’t be curved. Last November, Bloomberg had reported that Apple was working on larger iPhones with a curved glass display.
The report also claims that Apple will discontinue iPhone 5c when it launches the two variants of iPhone 6, and continue to iPhone 5s with lower-cost components, as a lower-cost iPhone.
Ever since Apple confirmed that the company was planning to setup a sapphire glass production facility in Mesa, Arizona with GT Advanced Technologies, there have been rumors that the next generation iPhone will feature a sapphire display to improve durability. It was also reported that Apple has started trial production of iPhones with sapphire glass display.
According to reports, Apple is aggressively pursuing the launch of its new plant in Mesa, Arizona by February and may be acquiring sapphire manufacturing components that could theoretically produce 200 million 5-inch display panels, which cover approximately one years worth of iPhone handsets.
As I have mentioned earlier, I find it hard to believe that Apple will be able to scale up production of sapphire glass displays at its Arizona plant so quickly to meet the demand of the new iPhone. So it makes more sense that Apple will use sapphire display for iWatch rather than the next iPhone. In case of the iWatch, Apple will be able to manage the supply constraints by staggering the launch across the world.
An iPhone with a bigger screen has been one of the most requested features, and it looks like the next iPhone will finally be coming with a display or displays larger than 4-inches. That said, I also expect Apple to continue offering a 4-inch iPhone variant as well, since a number of people prefer the current size. It will be interesting to see how Apple will price the iPhones with larger displays.
Let me know your thoughts on the possibility of iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch 5.5-inch sapphire screen in the comments below.
[South China Morning Post via MacRumors]
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