Keeping the discussion going regarding Apple’s iPhone 5 sales figures, Bloomberg notes that yield rates on the iPhone 5s displays which utilize new in-cell screen touch technology may be behind supply that can’t quite keep up with demand.
Apple used the technology in the first major iPhone overhaul since 2010 to make the device more svelte, an attribute that helped lure a record 5 million buyers in three days. Yet producing in-cell screens is also more painstaking than earlier screen types, contributing to bottlenecks.
“This is like the opening weekend for the summer blockbuster movie,” said Tom Dinges, senior principal analyst at IHS ISuppli. “They needed to get a lot of products in the door during a tight window, and these supply constraints that were talked about probably did have some impact.”
To churn out these displays Apple relied on LG and Sharp, though the latter reportedly had a number of quality control issues that they weren’t able to get ahead of up until about two weeks ago.
The in-cell screen technology enables Apple to roll out thinner screens because the technology embeds the touch sensors onto the LCD itself, thereby making it unnecessary to have a separate touchscreen layer. The end result is a much thinner screen, as evidenced by the radically svelte iPhone 5.
via Bloomberg
Tue, Sep 25, 2012
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