Despite the occasional reports of unsatisfactory
sales numbers for the current iPhone X, by all accounts, Apple still remains
committed to the new notch design. The currently accepted theory predicts a
total of three new iPhone models for 2018 - a budget 6.1-inch LCD one, a
refresh to the current OLED 5.8-inch one and a new 6.5-inch one. A pair of
freshly leaked photos claim to show the panel assembly and digitizer for the
biggest of the bunch.
As per the source, the photos were taken at an LG
facility in Vietnam, during what is described as a trial production run. This
does fit in nicely with previous news that LG Display will likely be the
exclusive OLED supplier for Cupertino phones - a position currently held by
Samsung.
One of the shots shows what appears to be a ready
display assembly and sadly offers little info. The notch on top and all the
sensors, camera and earpiece cutouts are clearly visible. But beyond that, it's
nearly impossible to differentiate it from a current iPhone X part.
The other photo, however, is a lot more revealing.
Surprising, given it is only the digitizer for the phone. Still, judging by its
relative size to an average person's hand, it is clearly a bigger device. The
notch looks just a bit smaller from where we're standing, which also fits in
with previous rumors. Still, it's hard to tell from this angle and it could
just be the larger overall footprint playing tricks on our perception.
Some helpful, eagle-eyed people also managed to make
out the serial numbers on the connectors on the bottom of the digitizer.
Apparently the version number formatting is consistent with current Apple
numbering conventions. There is also a production week - the 46th week of 2017,
or some time around the middle of November. This is a perfectly plausible time
frame for a test production run, giving even more credibility to the leak.
Still, it's hard to definitively judge on
authenticity one way or the other. Plus, even if the photos are the real deal,
there is still the possibility for design changes and tweaks before the final
version is ready to go into the alleged new iPhone form factor.