As various iPhone 6s parts continue to leak out like crazy, a source provided MacRumors with new high-quality images and information pertaining to a screen assembly on Apple’s upcoming ‘iPhone 6s’.
The claimed part is slightly heavier and thicker than on the iPhone 6, but the biggest takeaway is a mysterious new chip which seemingly confirms that Force Touch is coming to the next iPhone.
Force Touch display
While the part provides no discernible cues with respect to rumored force sensors,
the display panel is thicker than that on the iPhone 6 even though the screen shielding is glued in place rather than use mechanical screws.
“Our source also says the iPhone 6s display panel is slightly thicker than the iPhone 6 panel, a change that may be related to Force Touch support and contributing to the reported 0.2 mm increase in overall thickness for the device,” reads the article.
It weighs just under 2 grams more—and that’s without a front camera assembly.
A mystery chip, shown above and up close below, is visible through a cutout found on the rear of the display. The same chip made an appearance in previous leaks showing a partially assembled iPhone 6s but its purpose remains something of a mystery. “Our source suspects it is indeed related to Force Touch,” writes MacRumors.
The cutout is apparently necessary because the chip is slightly thicker than the rest of the display assembly, so the hole allows the shielding to cover the display panel evenly without adding too much thickness, with the chip protruding through the rear shielding.
There is another vague possibility: this chip could be a whole new Renesas SP Drivers part designed to improve image quality. Back in 2014, rumors were swirling that Apple was buying Renesas SP Drivers, a division of Renesas Electronics that builds mobile display chips.
The deal was supposed to help Apple “improve image sharpness and battery life” on iPhones, but negotiations broke down. Renesas was later acquired by touchscreen chipmaker Synaptics in an effort to combine its touch technology with Renesas’ display drivers into one chip.
Both Renesas and Synaptics were on Apple’s list of suppliers at the time of this writing.
It’s unclear if Renesas is still the sole supplier of iPhone display chips like it used to be prior to the acquisition deal with Synaptics.
Anyway, all will be revealed soon enough as Apple gears up for its media event on September 9 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, the same historic venue where it introduced the Apple II.
Source: MacRumors