DigiTimes

iPhone 8’s Touch ID said to use on-screen optical fingerprint scanning

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 26, 2017

Apple is said to have developed a next-generation Touch ID sensor where an OLED display of the device doubles as a fingerprint sensor. This should enable users to rest their finger on the display to authenticate themselves.

According to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News report, citing sources from Apple's chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Apple has managed to develop an optical fingerprint sensor to enable authentication directly on the screen.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo first called it in January.

He said because Touch ID’s capacitive sensor does not work through the display’s cover glass, Apple could go with an optical sensor which doesn’t require physical contact with a user’s finger.

Other iPhone 8 features, according to a TSMC source, include no physical Home button, the screen ratio of 18.5:9 instead of the previous 16:9 and invisible infrared image sensors to enhance camera functionality and enable augmented reality features.

Apple is understood to have been plagued with yield issues regarding the new optical fingerprint sensor. It's unclear if the company has managed to resolve those technical issues.

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Foxconn and Sharp buying a stake in micro-LED startup eLux

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 24, 2017

Apple's favorite contract manufacturer Foxconn Electronics is teaming up with its display-making subsidiary Sharp to acquire a 31.82 percent stake in eLux, a Delaware-based startup engaged in research and development of micro-LED technology and its application to virtual reality and augmented reality devices.

The American startup was established in October 2016 by researchers formerly employed at Sharp's research facilities across the United States.

Sharp says it will team with CyberNet Venture Capital, panel maker Innolux and Advanced Optoelectronic Technology (all affiliated with Foxconn) to buy eLux in October.

Nikkei said earlier this week that Sharp will take a stake of just over 30 percent in eLux, valued at $7 million, in exchange for related patents. Additionally, the Japanese giant will transfer 21 patents regarding micro-LED technology to eLux, said DigiTimes.

Apple is apparently serious about this promising new display technology.

Aside from acquiring micro-LED specialists LuxVue back in 2014, the Cupertino company could kick off trial production of micro-LEDs by the end of 2017, with Apple Watch Series 3 likely switching from OLED to micro-LED display technology.

Power-conserving micro-LEDs consist of small, light-emitting diodes that render images.

They're capable of boosting battery life by as much as 300 percent versus LCDs. The technology allows for improved color gamut and up to two to three times the brightness of OLED-based screens under the same power consumption.

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Apple could start building micro-LED screens by end of 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 24, 2017

Despite many technological bottlenecks, Apple could kick off trial production of the power-efficient display panels based on a relatively new and unproven micro-LED technology by the end of this year. According to a supply chain report Wednesday from Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, the Cupertino giant is likely to crank out a small volume of micro-LED display products from its plant in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan at the end of the year.

Other companies are looking to commercialize micro-LEDs, too.

Samsung-owned PlayNitride should install a production line for micro-LEDs in the second half of 2017, which will use a mass-transfer process that mounts micro-LED chips on thin film transistor substrates. Micro-LED are so small that a five-inch 400-by-600 pixel smartphone panel requires nearly one million and a 4K TV panel about 50 million tiny chips.

PlayNitride doesn't expect first micro-LED-based mobile products to appear before 2019.

Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute is expected to tie up with local businesses to begin trial production of micro-LEDs in 2018, using its in-house developed technology.

Let's not forget Apple's contract manufacturer Foxconn, which recently announced plans plans to acquire display startup eLux for the development of next-generation micro-LEDs.

Apple itself acquired micro-LED specialists LuxVue three years ago.

Business Korea claimed last month that Apple Watch Series 3 is likely to use a micro-LED display before the technology proves feasible enough to be deployed on a mass-scale across Apple's iPhone, iPad and Mac devices.

Samsung Display and LG Display, which currently supply LCD screens for Apple devices, could lose around $1 billion per year should the iPhone maker adopt micro-LEDs.

As we explained before, micro-LEDs could pave the way for Apple devices with longer-lasting batteries and brighter screens. As you know, traditional LCD-based screens waste a lot of energy because they require a backlight.

In addition to boosting battery life by as much as 300 percent versus LCDs, micro-LEDs allow for higher-resolution screens with improved color gamut and two to three times the brightness of OLED technology under the same power consumption.

Image: LuxVue's patent related to commercialization of Micro-LEDs, now owned by Apple.

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Apple boosts production of 10.5″ iPad Pro ahead of rumored WWDC reveal

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 23, 2018

Apple has boosted production of a rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro model ahead of the tablet's supposed reveal at the company's annual pilgrimage for developers next month, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes said Friday.

The device's monthly shipment volume is now expected to grow to 600,000 units in July, up from around 500,000 units currently. The Cupertino company is hoping to achieve annual shipments of the new tablet in excess of five million units in 2017.

The 10.5-inch iPad Pro model reportedly entered mass production in March-April.

Watchers expect demand for the recently launched $329 iPad model “to pick up strongly” starting at the end of the quarter, reaching its peak in the next quarter when the device's monthly shipments could pass four million units in June and July, the market watchers noted.

As for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro model, Apple is expected to update its highest-resolution iOS device at some point this year, with some supply chain sources saying a second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro model could enter mass production in June.

“Sources from the upstream supply chain noted that Apple's inexpensive 9.7-inch iPad is expected to accelerate Apple's pace on phasing out the iPad mini 4 from the market,” as was rumored earlier this week.

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Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo gave the 10.5-inch iPad Pro model 70-30 odds of being announced at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month.

In a recent note to clients, Kuo wrote that Apple’s engineers were able to squeeze a 10.5-inch display into a form factor similar to the existing 9.7-inch iPad models due to the narrower side bezels on the upcoming tablet.

“The newly designed 10.5-inch iPad Pro will have a similar form factor to the 9.7-inch model, but will feature a larger display thanks to narrow bezels,” said the analyst.

Kuo believes that the overhauled design of the device should help improve the user experience and boost traction in the corporate and commercial sectors.

Apple has reportedly commissioned Foxconn to assemble the 10.5-inch iPad Pro model.

General Interface Solution will be the sole supplier of touch panels for the device.

The same supplier provides 3D Touch components for existing iPhones and is said to have landed orders for the three times pricier 3D Touch parts for the OLED-based iPhone 8 model.

KGI forecast 10.5-inch iPad Pro shipments of five to six million units in fiscal 2017, accounting for fifteen percent of total fiscal 2017 iPad shipments.

Image: 9.7-inch iPad Pro with a 10.5-inch piece of paper overlaid via Dan Provost.

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3D Touch component costs for iPhone 8 to double vs iPhone 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 19, 2017

Apple is paying between $7 and $9 per unit for iPhone 7's 3D Touch components, but that price is expected to triple for the firm's rumored OLED-based iPhone 8 model to between $18 and $22.

The 150 percent price increase, according to a report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News cited by DigiTimes, stems from the fact that pressure sensors for OLED displays require a separate protective glass bonding on both the front and rear of the display panel.

“Due to the additional bonding of glass covers, overall processing cost for OLED-based 3D Touch solution is about 50 percent higher than that for the LCD-based one but the quotes for the client is about 150 percent higher,” reads the report.

Taiwanese touch panel makers TPK Holdings and General Interface Solution act as suppliers of 3D Touch parts for existing LCD-based iPhones. Both TPK and General Interface Solution should be the sole suppliers of iPhone 8's enhanced 3D Touch components as well.

Apple has accepted the price increase, according to Economic Daily News.

iPhone 7's 3D Touch module, as mentioned before, directly bonds pressure sensors on the LCD display panel. For OLED display technology, TPK's 3D Touch solution entails bonding of a glass cover on the front and back side of an OLED panel each “to reinforce the fragile panel.”

TPK has reportedly passed certification for its OLED-based 3D Touch solution for iPhone 8. The company now expects to obtain significant orders from Apple.

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TSMC resolves manufacturing woes, kicks off production of A11 chips for upcoming iPhones and iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 11, 2017

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has commenced production of Apple-designed A11 chips for upcoming iPhones and iPads.

According to a report Thursday from Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, the semiconductor foundry has successfully resolved initial manufacturing issues in the company's ten-nanometer FinFET process technology.

“TSMC has begun 10nm chip production for Apple's next-generation iPhone 8 series,” sources told the publication. “Production was once affected by issues involving stacking components in the backend integrated fan-out packaging process, but they have already been solved.”

TSMC is Apple's exclusive manufacturer of the in-house designed 16-nanometer A10 Fusion chip for the iPhone 7 series. TSMC's new ten-nanometer process should yield smaller chips that run faster and consume less energy.

TSMC has also secured 12-nanometer chip orders (a smaller version of its 16nm technology) from Nvidia, MediaTek, Silicon Motion Technology and HiSilicon. As for TSMC's 10nm process, the node technology has obtained orders from Apple, MediaTek and HiSilicon, as per sources.

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AirPods manufacturer Inventec reportedly lands orders for Apple’s rumored Echo rival

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 3, 2017

Following claims that Apple has finalized designs for its alleged standalone Siri/AirPlay device, Chinese-language Economic Daily News report Wednesday that AirPods manufacture Inventec has now landed orders for the device.

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the connected speaker will be Apple's first AI-based smart home device, powered by Siri and supporting AirPlay and other features.

It's expected to take on Amazon's smart home assistant Echo, but will be aimed at the premium segment of the market.

Inventec is the sole assembler of Apple's wireless AirPod products, while iPhone manufacturer Foxconn Electronics is the sole producer of Amazon's Echo devices. Kuo said Apple may announced the device at WWDC 2017 in June. He added adding that the connected AI-driven speaker will be priced higher than Amazon's $179 Echo.

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Other reports have said that Apple's device will feature Beats audio technology and a MacPro-like concave top with built-in controls, with a speaker mesh portion covering it all.

Mockup via iFunnyVlogger on Twitter

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Samsung likely to set up 7G flexible OLED factory

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Samsung's display-making arm is likely to set up a seventh-generation manufacturing plant in South Korea solely dedicated to flexible OLED panel production, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported this morning citing UBI Research. Samsung Display produces more than 90 percent of all OLED panels for smartphones and tablets. The company is expected to churn out OLED panels for iPhone 8 on an exclusive basis until rivals Sharp, LG Display and Japan Display join the mix in 2018 and 2019.

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Apple suppliers prepping to stockpile A11 chips for upcoming iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 25, 2017

Quarterly chip demand for iPhone is predicted to surpass 50 million units in the second half of this year as Apple begins to stockpile next-generation processors and other chips for 2017 iPhones, trade publication DigiTimes said Wednesday. Chip orders should hit a total of between 220 million and 230 million units between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third. This implies strong projected demand for the OLED-based iPhone 8 and the iterative LCD-based iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus updates.

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New iMac to target Microsoft Surface Studio with server-grade Xeon chips, discreet graphics & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 25, 2017

We know Apple is working on pro-level iMacs slated for release this year and one source has already described some of the features allegedly found on higher-end models, including faster Intel Xeon chips, ECC RAM and more. Citing sources from supply chain makers, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes said Tuesday that Apple is testing a new server-grade iMac model aimed at high-end users that will take on Microsoft's recently released Surface Studio.

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