It looks like the iPhone 16 is facing production problems due to the alleged new ultra-thin bezel design. Manufacturers are struggling to produce the displays to meet Apple's standards.
A report from The Elec says that no manufacturers have been able to produce these new display panels for the iPhone 16 and meet Apple's high quality standards. LG Display and Samsung Display are two of the tech world's display behemoths, and even they are struggling to produce these display panels.
The issue seems to be caused by Apple's new Border Reduction Structure (BRS) tech. It's all about making the iPhone 16's bezel thinner, but as a result, adds complexities into the manufacturing process. There's talk of bending circuits, which supposedly had everyone worried about the phones overheating. But fear not, because Apple and its band of merry suppliers have allegedly conjured up some heat-controlled heat dissipation tech to keep those temps down, per Sisa Journale.
Reporting on the production problems, The Elec explains: "The iPhone 16 Series OLED applies Border Reduction Structure (BRS) technology, which makes the bottom bezel thin. To implement a thin bezel, the circuit under the bezel must be placed more tightly and some wiring must be bent down, which increases the technical difficulty. It is known that no company has stabilized the iPhone OLED production rate to the level that Apple expects."
iPhone 16 underway
Further in this report, The Elec mentions that there are set to be four new OLED displays. That is because the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are expected to be ever so slightly larger than the current models, 6.3 and 6.9 inches respectively, with the regular iPhone 16 and 16 Plus retaining the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes.
Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone lineup at its usual September keynote. In the meantime, the next confirmed Apple event is WWDC 2024, which begins June 10 and should herald the introduction of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2.
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