iPhone

One Bank of America analyst believes that the next major redesign of the iPhone following the drastic changes in the X model will be a new foldable form factor. Via CNBC, BoA Merrill Lynch report that Apple is working with suppliers to create a foldable phone, to launch in 2020.

Samsung has been teasing a foldable device for a while now, although at the moment it’s still vaporware. Foldable and flexible devices are definitely the future, it’s just not clear how soon that can become a reality.

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The iPhone lineup for 2018 is looking to be composed of three new models, a 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, a successor to the existing 5.8-inch iPhone X and a new high-end 6.5-inch OLED ‘iPhone X Plus’.

Digitimes today reports that the new 5.8-inch iPhone will be significantly cheaper to manufacture, which could imply a drop from the $999 price point Apple established with iPhone X.

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OLED superseded LCD because it’s brighter, has better color saturation, and is more power-efficient. microLED is expected to replace OLED within the next few years for the same reasons – it improves on all three of those factors.

I don’t believe that Apple’s ‘secret manufacturing facility‘ for microLED screens indicates any desire or plan on Apple’s part to move into large-scale component manufacturing, but I do think it’s a very smart move.

I suspect there are three reasons Apple has established the facility …

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Supply-chain reports predicting Apple’s order for iPhone displays across 2018 would, if accurate, point to record-breaking sales for the year.

Taiwanese supply-chain sources report that Apple is expected to buy 250-270M display panels for iPhones this year. This would be well above the 216M iPhones sold last year, and even higher than the company’s all-time record sales of 231M in 2015 …

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Macotakara has shared a new video that first surfaced on Weibo and shows an iPhone SE-style phone with an iPhone X-style display that appears to be running iOS. Based on the current rumors (and lack of schematics and hardware leaks) so far, however, the likelihood that this is an actual iPhone is next to nothing. The footage does make for some nice visual eye candy however…

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Google officially announced today a rebranding of its wearable platform from Android Wear to Wear OS. The company says the shift “better reflects our technology, vision, and most important of all—the people who wear our watches.” Along with this news is some interesting data on how a subset of users on Google’s wearable platform are also iPhone users.

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Chinese news site Commercial Times has claimed that iPhone supplier Wistron was caught using ‘unauthorized components’ in its production of the iPhone 8 Plus in China.

The report says that Apple ordered the company to halt production when the issue came to light, with assembly suspended for two weeks …

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Apple’s iPhone supplier in India has won approval for a new $105M assembly facility close to the tech hub of Bengaluru. The new plant will allow it to expand local iPhone production in the country.

Wistron currently only makes the iPhone SE model locally, but a recent report says that Apple plans to begin local production of iPhone 6s models too …

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A new survey from Loup Ventures aims to offer color on what percentage of Apple’s current iPhone users plan to upgrade to this year’s yet-to-be-announced models. The survey ultimately indicates that the iPhone is “settling into a lower growth, more predictable rhythm.”

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Update: President Trump has blocked Broadcom’s takeover of Qualcomm, citing national security concerns.

Some 13 years after Intel turned down the opportunity to make the CPU for the upcoming iPhone, it is now considering the world’s biggest ever tech acquisition to deal with the threat that decision continues to pose today.

In 2005, when Apple was working on the first-generation iPhone to be launched in 2007, Steve Jobs invited Intel to pitch for the CPU business for the planned smartphone. Not believing Apple’s sales projections, and not seeing any way to make money from it, Intel turned him down …

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We covered the release of the LXORY Dual Wireless Charging Pad back in January. The new charger offers three input options — including USB-C and Lightning — and an affordable price tag. Now, we’ve had a chance to use the new wireless charger for several weeks, read on for our full review.

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Apple’s Made-for-iPhone/iPad/iPod (MFi) licensing program is being updated with new branding that manufacturers will have to adopt over the coming months. 9to5Mac has confirmed the updated branding is now available for MFi partners, as first reported by Chargerlab.

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