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Rumors have suggested the iPhone 7 will be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 6s, and a new report from Korean site ETNews shares some technical details on the methods Apple may use to save space internally and shave off precious fractions of a millimeter from the device's size.

Apple is said to be planning to use a new fan-out packaging technology for the antenna switching module and radio frequency chip in the iPhone 7, which is a feature that allows the iPhone to switch between LTE and other antennas like GSM and CDMA. Fan-out packaging technology allows for a greater number of I/O terminals while cutting down on chip size.

iphone7mockupantennabands-800x659.jpg
A mockup of what the iPhone 7 might look like
Fan Out technology is a technology that increases number of I/O (Input/Output) terminals within a package by pulling out wiring of I/O terminals to outside from a semiconductor chip (Die), which is a previous step before packaging. As area of a chip had become narrower as manufacturing processes had become finer, it was difficult to increase number of I/O terminals. Because industries do not want to increase size of a chip just for I/O terminals, they have been paying attention to Fan Out Packaging technology recently. It is most cost effective from production cost perspective if number of I/O terminals increases within a package while still decreasing size of a chip.
Using this packaging method, along with single-chip EMI shields, Apple will be able to fit more components into a single package while minimizing signal loss and also cutting down on the potential for interference in wireless communication. The radio frequency chip built into the antenna switching module is said to include two chips in one package rather than two chips built into a printed circuit board to save space.

Apple's iPhone 7 is expected to launch in the fall of 2016. Rumors about the device suggest it will look similar to the iPhone 6s, but with redesigned antenna bands and a somewhat thinner chassis. Along with the chip packaging techniques shared today, Apple is rumored to be cutting down on the size of the device through the removal of the headphone jack and the slimming of the Lightning port.

Article Link: iPhone 7 May Use New Packaging Technology for Antenna Switching Module to Save Space
 

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,101
19,603
I wonder if this is what enables them to change the external antenna window design? Would be pretty funny if their antenna design change led to another antennagate. I don't think it will, but it would be pretty funny. I think they're much better at testing things like that than they used to be.
 

Mac 128

macrumors 603
Apr 16, 2015
5,360
2,930
Could it not be thicker, less bendy, and with better battery life? I mean, wouldn't that be... better?

Not necessarily. The "bendy" criticism could be addressed by materials and engineering. The battery criticism is really a compromise no matter how you look at it. The question is how much thicker and heavier would they have to make it to achieve any significant battery improvement? If the performance would only gain 30 minutes to an hour, I'm not sure the trade-off would be worth it for everyone.

Apple seems to have decided, based on essentially consistent performance with slight improvements year after year that the current battery life is acceptable for most people, and for those on the fringes who need more have various battery enhancing options available to them.
 

redheeler

macrumors G3
Oct 17, 2014
8,419
8,841
Colorado, USA
Rumors have suggested the iPhone 7 will be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 6s, and a new report from Korean site ETNews shares some technical details on the methods Apple may use to save space internally and shave off precious fractions of a millimeter from the device's size.
Since day one with my 6s+, I've wished it could be fractions of a millimeter thinner. Finally, I can be reassured it will be a reality.

/s
 

Thunderhawks

Suspended
Feb 17, 2009
4,057
2,118
Could it not be thicker, less bendy, and with better battery life? I mean, wouldn't that be... better?

No, the endgame is that we have the screen surgically embedded into our forearm. Our body is the antenna and the electricity we create within out bodies does the rest.

BTW: Contract free, but the surgery is $ 799.00 designed by Apple, performed in China, which by then has 4 million iPhone surgeons.

Still 16GB.

.....and don't say there wouldn't be enough kooks to try this.
 

Digital Skunk

macrumors G3
Dec 23, 2006
8,096
916
In my imagination
This is by far the thinnest phone I've used. Enough with the thinness and give me more tech options. The wireless charger for the GS7 is actually kind of nice. Not for everyone, but it'd be nicer than that silly dock.

How about an extended battery case for the Plus model?

I don't know . . . I don't get paid to do this, but I do know that it's pretty darn thin already. Improve battery life, and find other places to innovate.
 

DudeDad

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2009
717
309
[QUOTE="Digital Skunk, post: 22746554, member: 93160" The wireless charger for the GS7 is actually kind of nice. Not for everyone, but it'd be nicer than that silly dock.[/QUOTE]

I have my 6 in a dock at work...it stands upright, and allows me to see and use it while it's charging. If it's laying flat to charge, it's basically useless during charging. I think "wireless" charging is kind of cool, but overrated. Besides, it's not really wireless. If it could charge at a certain distance from the thing plugged into the wall, we'd have something there...
 
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