Apple Orders Display Driver Chips From Synaptics for Next iPhones

[MacRumors]

Apple has placed LCD display driver orders with touchscreen supplier Synaptics for its next-generation iPhones, indicating the Cupertino-based company's in-house development of touch and display driver integration (TDDI) chips may have fallen behind schedule, according to Taiwanese website DigiTimes.

iPhone 7 concept with integrated Touch ID by designer Martin Hajek​

Synaptics acquired Renesas SP Drivers, reportedly the sole supplier of LCD driver ICs for iPhones, in September 2014 in an effort to maintain orders from Apple, and for now it appears the iPhone maker will remain one of its customers. The supplier also works with Google, HTC, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony and other smartphone makers.

Apple previously recruited senior Renesas engineers to internally develop TDDI chips with Touch ID integrated into the display. The single-chip solution could allow for the Home button to be eliminated on future iOS devices, but Apple ordering regular display drivers from Synaptics indicates the technology may not be ready for the iPhone 7.

Apple has filed multiple patents for displays with integrated Touch ID and trackpad capabilities over the past few years, and the iPhone 7 lineup is due for a significant redesign, but it remains too early to predict whether Apple will ever remove its iconic Home button on future iPhones.

In March, Synaptics announced the first TDDI single-chip solutions for smartphones and tablets, allowing for thinner and brighter displays with best-in-class capacitive touch performance. The reduced number of components, fewer lamination steps and increased manufacturing yield of TDDI chips also lowers production costs.

Article Link: Apple Orders Display Driver Chips From Synaptics for Next iPhones

 

[AppleWarMachine]

nice concept...i like

 

[TMRJIJ]

but but but. . .I love my physical Home button.

 

[RandomEnding]

The home button is iconic with nearly 8 years of zeitgeist, no way it could be removed.

However, how many spices are you supposed to cook after the butter melts?

 

[sshambles]

Hard to see them ditching the home button to be honest. Wouldn't be the same replacing it with a software version. Especially when apps crash and are unresponsive to any software inputs.

 

[jpgr15]

Yikes! iPhone 7 rumors are really heating up!

If this means smaller bezels, I'm all in. The haptic feedback given on Android devices when using capacitive buttons feels great, IMHO.

 

[LordVic]

driver, shmivers. use whatever.

That Concept design is the sex.

 

[scott523]

Pretty cool concept. Some breakthrough needs to happen to the battery though.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Best iPhone concept I think I've seen to date.

 

[cere]

This order doesn't mean that the iPhone 7 won't have an integrated TouchID display. It could just mean that Apple will have a phone next year that doesn't have an integrated TouchID display. This could be the iPhone 6S of next year or possible the rumoured 4" phone. Not to say the 7 will have it, but this doesn't mean it won't.

 

[Sirious]

Hard to see them ditching the home button to be honest. Wouldn't be the same replacing it with a software version. Especially when apps crash and are unresponsive to any software inputs.

And it's used to activate Apple Pay..

Unless they make it so you double tap the screen when locked or double click the lock button

 

[munakib]

"Best in class" is so generic along with "sustainable." Lets all try to find a way out of these.

 

[peterdevries]

Not sure why these kinds of hypothetical renderings are used in articles with genuine news. I cannot remember when any of these kind of renderings were confirmed by actual products.

 

[ghost187]

Here is a list of things I'm looking forward to in iPhone 7:

1.) Significant reduction in top and bottom bezel (they can relocate the home button to the side and incorporate Touch ID onto the screen).

2.) Get rid of the camera hump (this can be done by using multiple camera sensors).

3.) Get rid of the ugly antenna lines (by bringing back the glass inserts from iPhone 5).

4.) Switch to an OLED display (I bought an LG OLED TV last year and nothing even comes close to it's picture quality).

Well, according to all the rumors so far, non of these will happen next year, so I am probably describing iPhone 8.

 

[benjitek]

...according to Taiwanese website DigiTimes...

...so, in other words, "a source familiar with the situation"

 

[xero9]

And it's used to activate Apple Pay..

It can be used to easily bring up which card to pay using Apple Pay, but Apple Pay is generally activated when placed near an NFC reader.

 

[Lexdexia]

This concept looks disgusting, which is unsurprising. Often conceptual renderings of future iPhones look several magnitudes worse than the actual product.

Apple could definitely do away with the home button if they could somehow integrate Touch ID into the display itself. But that likely won't happen for at least a decade from now with how current technology works. The tactile feeling of pressing on the home button is easily replaceable by the Taptic Engine, and the home button can be simply emulated by software.

 

[Rogifan]

nice concept...i like

What do you like about it? I've never been a fan of this guys mockups. Not much imagination. I mean two years ago his TV mockups featured a box with chamfered edges and a remote that looked like a skinny iPhone 5.

 

[8692574]

Here is a list of things I'm looking forward to in iPhone 7:

1.) Significant reduction in top and bottom bezel (they can relocate the home button to the side and incorporate Touch ID onto the screen).

2.) Get rid of the camera hump (this can be done by using multiple camera sensors).

3.) Get rid of the ugly antenna lines (by bringing back the glass inserts from iPhone 5).

4.) Switch to an OLED display (I bought an LG OLED TV last year and nothing even comes close to it's picture quality).

Well, according to all the rumors so far, non of these will happen next year, so I am probably describing iPhone 8.

Miss Steve here:
"customers don't know what they want until we've shown them!"

and Henry Ford:
“if I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

 

[rp2011]

I would guess that any feature set for any new iPhone iteration is set as a whole in the planning stages. And whatever could not be ready in time, is then put aside for the "S" model. Meaning whatever we finally see in the "S" model was planned all along for the initial the new phone and the "S" being the most complete iteration of that particular design, and not things added-on after the fact.
The S models are usually the nicest that's for sure.

 

[Andres Cantu]

I hope the iPhone 7 display's resolution is 1080p.

 

[MacMulti]

Full layout iphone to make way for those insignificant shortcuts? can't be real. Oh wait, the concept is only a bait for photocopierS.

 

[newdeal]

I don't honestly think that they are ordering parts almost a year in advance of the next iPhone being shipped. I could be wrong but perhaps these orders are simply for iPhones that are currently in production

 

[agsystems]

Not sure why these kinds of hypothetical renderings are used in articles with genuine news. I cannot remember when any of these kind of renderings were confirmed by actual products.

"Genuine news" - the article make it sound like an Apple PR release when this is more Digitimes garbage.

 

[Leonard1818]

Full layout iphone to make way for those insignificant shortcuts? can't be real. Oh wait, the concept is only a bait for photocopierS.

#1, yes -- it's just a concept. No need to put your sarcasm hat on, even if it does match your pessimist pants.
#2, maybe those shortcuts are insignificant TO YOU, but some of us use them a lot (myself included). You would be benefited (in many facets of life) by thinking from other perspectives too, not just your own.