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iPhone 5 Screens Rolling Off Manufacturing Lines, Says LG


By Robert Gilmer | 26 August 2012

Apple is widely expected to launch its next-generation iPhone sometime in September, and it appears that many of the new smartphone’s key components are already finding their way off suppliers’ production lines.

Upstream suppliers are believed to be responsible for the spate of parts leaks, but while the latest bit of news doesn’t come with an intriguing photo of a new component, it gives further evidence of the September release window.

LG Display’s CEO Han Sang-beom recently told Reuters that his company has started mass-producing the iPhone 5’s display and is apparently on track to meet its manufacturing targets. LG Display is the second of Apple’s three main LCD panel suppliers to confirm the start of production for the part for the sixth-generation iPhone.


Sharp earlier disclosed that it would start shipping out these displays this month, which leaves just Japan Display as the only supplier to not confirm plans for building the new iPhone’s screens.

Japan Display is a relatively new joint venture among Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba, which aims to pool together their design expertise and manufacturing capabilities to build small and medium-sized display panels for smartphones and tablets. If Apple is really aiming for a mid-September launch, Japan Display should also be cranking out its share of displays.

The iPhone rumor mill is awash in reports about the new device’s features, but the biggest change display-wise is the rumored 0.5-inch boost to a 4-inch size. At the same time, the touch screen supposedly uses in-cell touch sensors, eliminating one layer from the LCD panel. This would allow engineers to design a thinner component.

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