As is the normal drill, the rumor mills are at work again and they’re predicting that the next generation Apple smartphone or iPhone 5 may just be the slimmest one yet. This speculation comes from the notion that the Cupertino company might probably take to employing in-cell touch panel technology. This might replace the current glass-on-glass technique that is used to manufacture Apple handsets presently.
As dug up by AppleInsider, the aforementioned story gained momentum after a report was brought out by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, that agreed on the idea of the Cupertino developers adopting in-cell touch panels for the next handset. What does it mean for users? Well, to start with, this technique will cut about 0.4mm off the current device’s thickness which spells out to be 9.3mm.
According to Kuo, the company intends to go thinner than the 8mm mark with its next smartphone, for being able to maintain that competitive edge in a space where most manufacturers are churning out sleeker offerings by the day. It has also been predicted that the next handset will measure as thin as 7.90mm. This may just happen if the device fits in a slimmer battery and comes complete with the metal back that is seen on the Apple iPod.
For those not in the know, the metal back casing is part of numerous rumors about the phone. It is also noted that the device may be complete with 4G LTE capability and make its way to stores in Q3 of this year. Since many have come up with their own expected release date, vague information regarding the iPhone 5 launch can be taken with a pinch of salt.