Apple to eschew glass for a metal body in the rumored iPhone 9 with LCD display
Hot on the heels of the report that all 2018 iPhones will sport the "notch and horns" design indeed, comes another tidbit straight from the Land of the Rising Sun. This time, the Japanese sources deal with one particular member of Apple's expected 2018 family, the rumored "budget" model with a 6.1" display.
It is apparently prepped as Apple's silver bullet for getting away from over-reliance on Korean suppliers (read: Samsung), as not only is it supposed to come with an LCD, instead of OLED display panel, but now Nikkei is also reporting that it will sport a metal body, instead of glass.
Thus, Apple will be able to offer cheaper model, still with Face ID on board, but with a cheaper and easier to make aluminum alloy unibody, which can be offered in many more colors than the current all-glass iPhones. The iPhone 9, as it might be named, is expected to land starting at Apple's traditional $649 price tag at the base memory config.
If Apple's foray into glass bodies taught us something this year, it is that the rumored upcoming metal iPhone is likely to be more durable than the eventual 5.85" iPhone Xs and 6.46" Xs Plus, or whatever Apple calls its next models with OLED displays.
source: Nikkei
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