Future iPhones, Apple Watches May Use New Power-Saving Backplane Technology to Extend Battery Life

[MacRumors]

Apple may adopt a new power-saving backplane technology for iPhone and Apple Watch displays in the long term, which should contribute to longer battery life on those devices, according to research firm IHS Markit.

For context, the backplane is responsible for turning individual pixels on and off, meaning that it plays a significant role in determining a display's resolution, refresh rate, and power consumption, as IHS explains.

At present, OLED displays in smartphones use LTPS TFT, or low-temperature polysilicon thin-film transistors, as the standard backplane technology. But, in the coming years, IHS believes Apple could switch to LTPO TFT, or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, for the backplane in future iPhones.

In theory, IHS estimates that LTPO can save 5-15% in power consumption versus LTPS, resulting in extended battery life on future iPhones. The reasons for this are quite technical, but from a high level, IHS says that LTPO has an Oxide TFT structure that can reduce the power leakage of LTPS.

The more technical explanation is that power consumption would be especially reduced under a "switching model," where "the pixel circuit would be patterned such that the switching TFT would be p-Si and the drive TFT would be IGZO."

As the size and resolution of iPhone displays continues to increase, power consumption increases, so any battery life gains are beneficial.

IHS believes that Apple may also be interested in developing LTPO technology to gain more control over components of OLED displays, as it says manufacturers like Samsung and LG currently maintain exclusive control over the process.

Apple currently sources flexible OLED panels exclusively from Samsung, but LG may emerge as a second supplier as it aims for qualification, according to IHS. Samsung and LG are both suppliers of flexible OLED panels for the Apple Watch, too, and IHS says Apple may soon require them to look at LTPO.

IHS Markit believes Apple may ask display manufacturers to start deploying LTPO first on the Apple Watch, and then gradually introduce it in the iPhone display over the long term, as it did with OLED first on Apple Watch and then iPhone X.

Article Link: Future iPhones, Apple Watches May Use New Power-Saving Backplane Technology to Extend Battery Life

 

[enrilo]

Have you ever tried to add a bigger battery? Just saying.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Yes, how about this kind of energy-sipping innovation plus bigger battery? Best of both worlds?

Whenever I see this kind of rumor, I envision a future "same great battery life" announcement with an even "thinner" battery inside. How about going the other way: imagine an announcement of "with double the battery life" for a change.

 

[ctg7w6]

Sounds awesome. Don’t really like hearing rumors of future iPhones beyond the next one coming out that I know I’m going to drop a lot of money on, but already know in some ways how it will be superseded. Oh well, technology... and can’t complain, I’m on a rumors site lol.

 

[BvizioN]

Have you ever tried to add a bigger battery? Just saying.

Some others have tried on the past . And they have exploded. Following year the have decreased the size. A year later they have regained their confidence.
Apple plays safe!

 

[benshive]

Have you ever tried to add a bigger battery? Just saying.

 

[Naraxus]

Is this going to be the same battery saving tech that Apple sneaked onto to iOS, slowed down phones and called it a "Feature"?

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Have you ever tried to add a bigger battery? Just saying.

No phone can be all things to everyone. With the iPhone, Apple looks to make a phone that meets the needs of the largest group of people (being the general consumer). They collect all kinds of data about their customer usage of the iPhone and use this to inform many of the choices they make in creating new models. One of these is battery usage. The vast majority get through the day on a single charge without issue. This shows that their current battery is more than adequate for the majority of users. While they will continue to look for ways to improve battery life, increasing the size of the battery (which results in increased price of the phone) isn't needed, as most are just fine with the current battery size.

Sorry, but if you need more battery life, you should either look to a battery case, portable charger, or a different phone. Apple has made it very clear over the past couple years that expanding the size of the iPhone battery is not something they're interested in doing.

 

[nt5672]

Not sure I understand the value of this. When it happens, the watch will be made thinner, and the batter smaller, so we'll still only get a day or less of battery life. Whats the point.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

This is good stuff!

 

[nutmac]

Have you ever tried to add a bigger battery? Just saying.

At the very least, make it thick enough so that the rear camera lens no longer protrudes.

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

No phone can be all things to everyone. With the iPhone, Apple looks to make a phone that meets the needs of the largest group of people (being the general consumer). They collect all kinds of data about their customer usage of the iPhone and use this to inform many of the choices they make in creating new models. One of these is battery usage. The vast majority get through the day on a single charge without issue. This shows that their current battery is more than adequate for the majority of users. While they will continue to look for ways to improve battery life, increasing the size of the battery (which results in increased price of the phone) isn't needed, as most are just fine with the current battery size.

Sorry, but if you need more battery life, you should either look to a battery case, portable charger, or a different phone. Apple has made it very clear over the past couple years that expanding the size of the iPhone battery is not something they're interested in doing.

Let's not forget that currently, regardless of protestations to the contrary, Apple has a built-in disincentive for the glued-in battery to experience an extreme long life -- beyond 70-80% of capacity. This may change dramatically as Apple morphs financially to its Service Sector, de-emphasizing the financials derived from hardware sales.

dis·in·cen·tive
noun

1. a factor, especially a financial disadvantage, that tends to discourage people from doing something.

 

[bigboyz12000]

Apple may adopt a new power-saving backplane technology for iPhone and Apple Watch displays in the long term, which should contribute to longer battery life on those devices, according to research firm IHS Markit.

For context, the backplane is responsible for turning individual pixels on and off, meaning that it plays a significant role in determining a display's resolution, refresh rate, and power consumption, as IHS explains.

At present, OLED displays in smartphones use LTPS TFT, or low-temperature polysilicon thin-film transistors, as the standard backplane technology. But, in the coming years, IHS believes Apple could switch to LTPO TFT, or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, for the backplane in future iPhones.

In theory, IHS estimates that LTPO can save 5-15% in power consumption versus LTPS, resulting in extended battery life on future iPhones. The reasons for this are quite technical, but from a high level, IHS says that LPTO has an Oxide TFT structure that can reduce the power leakage of LTPS.

The more technical explanation is that power consumption would be especially reduced under a "switching model," where "the pixel circuit would be patterned such that the switching TFT would be p-Si and the drive TFT would be IGZO."

As the size and resolution of iPhone displays continues to increase, power consumption increases, so any battery life gains are beneficial.

IHS believes that Apple may also be interested in developing LTPO technology to gain more control over components of OLED displays, as it says manufacturers like Samsung and LG currently maintain exclusive control over the process.

Apple currently sources flexible OLED panels exclusively from Samsung, but LG may emerge as a second supplier as it aims for qualification, according to IHS. Samsung and LG are both suppliers of flexible OLED panels for the Apple Watch, too, and IHS says Apple may soon require them to look at LTPO.

IHS Markit believes Apple may ask display manufacturers to start deploying LTPO first on the Apple Watch, and then gradually introduce it in the iPhone display over the long term, as it did with OLED first on Apple Watch and then iPhone X.

Article Link: Future iPhones, Apple Watches May Use New Power-Saving Backplane Technology to Extend Battery Life

Bigger battery, flush rear camera lens would be ideal! Also, quick chargers should be standard at this point for the new generation iPhones that are coming. Yet, i doubt they will be packaged with the offerings. It will be something we have to buy extra as usual.

 

[Mascots]

Future iPhones, Apple Watches May Use New Power-Saving Backplane Technology to *make them thinner

ftfy

 

[cppguy]

I can already envision the next keynote: We managed to drastically reduce the thickness. This is our thinnest phone yet, and it has an amazing 6 hours battery life.*

* when half of the pixels are black

 

[PickUrPoison]

At the very least, make it thick enough so that the rear camera lens no longer protrudes.

I think if Apple were going to make a thicker, heavier phone just to have a flush camera lens, they would have done so before making upwards of a billion iPhones with the camera bump.

Like the notch, there are some people who care about it, but Apple is happy with the choice they made. Thicker, heavier phone, or camera bump? Full-width bezel with dead, unusable space all the way across? Or partial bezel with dead space only in the middle, but usable display to the sides?

 

[kazmac]

Just what we need: a thinner phone with the same battery life. Yay! /s

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Not sure I understand the value of this. When it happens, the watch will be made thinner, and the batter smaller, so we'll still only get a day or less of battery life. Whats the point.

Less stuff inside iPhone = cheaper phone to make.
Cheaper phone cost with same or higher price = higher profit margin.
Higher profits = richer company.
Richer company = fat bonuses PLUS everyone in the press and their cousins touting your name with words like "genius."

Oh, and we consumers get to sling around "...but who makes the most profitable..." and "$2XX million in the bank can't be wrong" in heated debates attempting to shout down any other consumers who might be sharing any "think different" (as a consumer) thoughts vs what Apple has decided we should ALL want to buy now.

 

[dfs]

Apple may adopt a new power-saving backplane technology for iPhone and Apple Watch displays in the long term, which should contribute to longer battery life on those devices, according to research firm IHS Markit.

For context, the backplane is responsible for turning individual pixels on and off, meaning that it plays a significant role in determining a display's resolution, refresh rate, and power consumption, as IHS explains.

At present, OLED displays in smartphones use LTPS TFT, or low-temperature polysilicon thin-film transistors, as the standard backplane technology. But, in the coming years, IHS believes Apple could switch to LTPO TFT, or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, for the backplane in future iPhones.

In theory, IHS estimates that LTPO can save 5-15% in power consumption versus LTPS, resulting in extended battery life on future iPhones. The reasons for this are quite technical, but from a high level, IHS says that LPTO has an Oxide TFT structure that can reduce the power leakage of LTPS.

The more technical explanation is that power consumption would be especially reduced under a "switching model," where "the pixel circuit would be patterned such that the switching TFT would be p-Si and the drive TFT would be IGZO."

As the size and resolution of iPhone displays continues to increase, power consumption increases, so any battery life gains are beneficial.

IHS believes that Apple may also be interested in developing LTPO technology to gain more control over components of OLED displays, as it says manufacturers like Samsung and LG currently maintain exclusive control over the process.

Apple currently sources flexible OLED panels exclusively from Samsung, but LG may emerge as a second supplier as it aims for qualification, according to IHS. Samsung and LG are both suppliers of flexible OLED panels for the Apple Watch, too, and IHS says Apple may soon require them to look at LTPO.

IHS Markit believes Apple may ask display manufacturers to start deploying LTPO first on the Apple Watch, and then gradually introduce it in the iPhone display over the long term, as it did with OLED first on Apple Watch and then iPhone X.

Article Link: Future iPhones, Apple Watches May Use New Power-Saving Backplane Technology to Extend Battery Life

 

[wigby]

Some others have tried on the past . And they have exploded. Following year the have decreased the size. A year later they have regained their confidence.
Apple plays safe!

The size of the battery is not what causes the explosion. It's the faulty engineering that physically constrains it or does not account for any expansion at all.

Apple prides themselves on innovation. Increasing battery (and case) size simply for more run time is an embarrassment that the tech industry would never let them live down. I can personally live with a slightly thicker phone but I can also personally live with less runtime too. I think I speak for most satisfied iPhone customers who have full day runtime and also want to know that the premium prices we all pay for goes into R&D that increases efficiency and not just band aids runtime issues with fatter batteries. That what battery cases are for.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I think if Apple were going to make a thicker, heavier phone just to have a flush camera lens, they would have done so before making upwards of a billion iPhones with the camera bump.

Apple did. iPhone 5 model. We consumers loved it and bought "all they could make."

There's no challenge in making such a phone again- just a choice. Apple chose thinner in spite of creating the camera wart issue as a byproduct. Buyers buy in spite of it because the whole is valued enough to put up with any individual shortcomings... but "a billion" doesn't necessarily mean that "a billion" people voted FOR the wart... some slice of them just puts up with the wart because they want the rest enough to not make that the proverbial straw issue.

Same with the notch. The most faithful will defend ANY decision Apple makes. But those proclaiming to like/love the notch are probably not making notch stickers to make their other screens have notches too... nor has any entrepreneurs jumped on this apparently high-demand opportunity to make such stickers for our computers and TV screens, maybe windows in our homes too? Once again, for those that don't welcome the notch, they may indeed be 1+ of those "a billion" because they want the rest bad enough to roll with the perceived negative choices- in their opinion- made by Apple.

Personally, I am still Apple everything but I would much prefer an iPhone 5 level of thin for a flush camera and bigger battery (even if that made it a bit heavier), a notch-less front because a thin bezel up there is better- IMO- than looking like there's a bite taken out of everything that plays on that screen, and I'd much prefer to have the option of using traditional wired "just works" headphones with everything than having to use dongles and/or just doing without when trying to embrace "the future" (and trading off some sound quality to boot).

BUT, I'm still Apple everything anyway- not thrilled about any of those courageous corporate choices, but not yet at the "straw" to make me deal with changing to something(s) else. Apparently, I'm not the ONLY Apple everything consumer who both has Apple stuff but doesn't love every Apple decision made for us.

 

[dfs]

Back when Watch 0 was first released it had a special "developer port" and a third party mfr. got the bright idea of creating a battery strap that took advantage of its presence (https://9to5mac.com/2015/05/03/apple-watch-hidden-port-battery-straps-faster-charging/). Apple soon took away the port, which put this developer out of business, but it was a great idea and it's in urgent need of revisiting. In order to avoid building a ridiculously huge watch, this is where the batteries belong. Or, better yet, the optimal solution would be a strap with a built-in array of photoelectric cells so we could have a Apple Solar Watch that never needed recharging. Face it, a ten percent improvement in battery life isn't anything that makes me want to jump up and down, and it most certainly doesn't inspire me to open my wallet to purchase a watch with such a measly improvement.

 

[itsmilo]

I am waiting for the day I am old, my god son is around my age and laughing about our generation having to carry like 2 power banks like an idiot

 

[goobot]

Everyone here talking about Apple making things thinner and putting in bigger batterys knows every iPhone after the 6 has been thicker right?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

The size of the battery is not what causes the explosion. It's the faulty engineering that physically constrains it or does not account for any expansion at all.

Don't be fooled. They very likely know that to be true. We'll just make up spin to try to help rationalize corporate decisions... like the key to waterproofing a phone is getting rid of a headphone jack hole (spun almost every time) while ignoring the larger rectangular hole just millimeters away and the rows of smaller round (speaker) holes also nearby... as if water is prejudiced to only sneak in though a headphone jack hole.

I have a car battery in my car that is thicker than all of my mobile devices batteries from all the time there's been mobile devices COMBINED. It never explodes.

There are people with solar panel battery arrays made up of upwards of dozens of car battery-sized batteries or bigger batteries. They pretty much never explode either.

It's likely that Apple themselves USED to use bigger batteries in prior generations of these very devices. They pretty much never exploded.

They thinned the battery because "thinner" batteries support "thinner" marketing spin... and less battery costs less per unit. Now they've "thinner"ed so much that the camera module sticks out (because the laws of physics can't be thinned). We are to like it because that is what a corporation has chosen to make. Some of us will write down anything to rationalize it because that corporation is always right.