Next iPhone Could Get Get In-Cell Touch Panels
The next iPhone to sport this new tech?
A new wave of rumors surrounding the next iPhone suggest that the device will be getting in-cell touchscreens.
Compared to the current multi-layer touch panel technology, the new screens are thinner and lighter as they allow manufacturers to integrate the touch feature directly into the LCD. The result would be a substantially thinner smartphone and alternatively more room for hardware and new features, which could allow Apple, for example, to design a layered 3D display.
The Internet rumor mill currently pinpoints the possible launch of the iPhone 5 at June 2012, based on a recruiter claim that Foxconn is hiring 18,000 new workers to support the launch of the device.
In-cell display technologies are currently only within reach of Sharp (in which Foxconn has invested heavily) as well as Toshiba, which might put other Apple display suppliers at jeopardy. Digitimes reported that TPK Holdings and Wintek, which could suddenly see their revenues drop, even if TPK said that it is working on touch-on-lens single-glass solutions for smartphones and tablets.
The publication noted that Sharp will be producing in-cell display panels at its 5.5G factories, while Toshiba is moving the technology to 6G and will begin mass manufacturing this quarter.

Just as long as they don't patent it as revolutionary and start suing everybody all over again.
Are you serious
I agree with this. we're finally seeing a bigger leap in hardware in apple products. There hasn't been that much of a difference in apple hardware in the past few years besides beefier, more efficeint processors. I don't think the battery tech has gotten that much better (apple's is already hecka good though) and the device hasn't actually gotten more compact. Having a thinner screen is definitely an improvement I like to see.
What I don't really think is great is putting 3D technology into something so tiny. Make holographic, 360 degree images that pop out and you can interact with - and then I'll be impressed by 3D tech, no matter how big or small the "screen."
Just as long as they don't patent it as revolutionary and start suing everybody all over again.
Size and weight make a phone less comfortable to carry in a pocket on your body, be it in your trousers or jacket.
I've never experienced thinness being a problem when holding a phone.
I don't understand why people like those ginormous 4.5" smartphones. They are uncomfortable to wear and uncomfortable to hold & operate with one hand.
A smartphone the same size as the iPhone but slimmer would be a pretty good form factor IMO.
"touchalutionary"
It was about time. Maybe they will muster the courage to created a larger less coffin-like phone. Hopefully they won't be using the hyped retina display Samsung manufactures for Apple and will focus in creating a more modern screen with a better viewing angle and gamut. Surely that will save alot of power. It would be nice if they also put a micro-sd slot. As it is now the iPhone is so sooooooooo retro. I guess I am spoiled with my Samsung Galaxy S2, but at the same time I am worried about the Samsung Galaxy S3 coming out in May 3--cause if it ain't what I am expecting I will be ditching Samsung and want more choices---so far the top of the line Motorola and HTC phones don't impress me; yeah they are more impressive than the iPhone 4s, but so are so many other phones, even the Nokia Lumina 900 runs circles around it.
I think that as the pool of Apple users becomes more sophisticated, less zombie like, and able to make tech-intelligent decisions freely, Apple will have to open up a bit. Right now stepping into the Apple eco-system is like being confined to a jailed-in rose garden populated by inyourface frenzied zealots. In my estimate Apple is a good study in mass defrauding and hype. Apple is what happens when people are not doing their homework in an age of massive technological development. Yeah Apple is a threat to the unfolding of technology and certainly has dragged its march down, but I think that wont be for long. For example the sale of Apple's phones were down nearly 4% this quarter while increasing for other phones, an indication that people are making more intelligent choices. You cant keep ignorant people down for ever. The church tried to fight the fact that the earth was round for years, but eventually loss to science. Yeah, you still have a large percentage of people in the world who think the earth is flat. But fact won over myth in the end.
It's pure marketing bs. Just like LCD's. who cares if an LCD monitor is more or less 5mm thinner? Like mp in dslr. Who cares if it has 36mp? there are chinese cameras with 40mp.. they don't take better pics. Or in cars, more HP doesn't mean more speed or efficiency or acceleration or nothing.
It's the consumerism society. It's the same mechanism that makes people buy apple products. 99% marketing 1% product.
Absolutely, because we all know that the iPhone is harder to use, has lower quality build materials, and has a worse display than all the competition...stupid people just keep buying it anyways.
Uhh, what does that mean? iPhone 4 display was already better than that and Samsungs Super Amoled screens did not have this tech.
The iPhone is not harder to use. It simply is less useful. Its display is not bad, but there is so much better stuff out there in so many different ways that when you pair it with a flagship Android phone, the iPhone with its locked-down standards, its lack of java and flash support, and miniscule screen size, not to mention its lack of a micro sd card slot and its coffin-like appearance, you end up with a truly inferior product for a dumbed down population of sheeple. But people, even if dumb, can't be kept in the dark for ever.
What you like and dislike is your opinion, but by calling people "dumbed down sheeple" you only prove your own ignorance, disrespect for others and profound stupidity. I.e a simple troll. Not everyone has the same priorities as you when it comes to specs, performance or brand loyalty.