Larger iPhone 16 Pro display and slimmer bezels don't mean higher price
Apple will reportedly set its Pro line of iPhones further apart by equipping them with larger displays. Instead of mimicking the 6.1-inch iPhone 16 and 6.7-inch iPhone16 Plus display diagonals like it has done so far, Apple will have four different iPhone 16 series screen sizes this year.
According to reputed Apple analysts and leaked CAD schematics of their dimensions, the iPhone 16 Pro will be fitted with a 6.27" OLED panel. That's likely to be listed as a 6.3-inch display in the official specs, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max's 6.85" screen could very well be rounded up to 6.9 inches in marketing materials.
To achieve the 0.2-inch increase in display diagonal, Apple has allegedly asked its main iPhone 16 Pro line display suppliers - Samsung and LG - to apply the so-called "border reduction structure." It simply means shaving off the inactive area at the edges that is needed for display driver circuitry and attaching to the minimum physically possible.
This goes especially for the bottom bezel, where the display driver circuitry is found. Trimming the bottom bezel will thus be the hardest part of the job for LG and Samsung. Both companies have allegedly advised Apple that they cannot increase production yield further because of the tougher display manufacturing requirements.
LG, in particular, which only supplies half of Samsung's output for Apple, is looking for ways to cut manufacturing costs as it can't rely on economies of scale as Samsung does. It has found them, reports The Elec, by diversifying its display driver circuitry supplier. Instead of only relying on one IC maker, it has found a second supplier in Taiwan's Novatek.
Diversifying suppliers for the thinner bottom bezel of the Apple iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will allow LG to make the screens cheaper while adhering to Apple's production standards. For Apple, this could mean keeping costs in check and offering the iPhone 16 Pro line at the same price as the iPhone 15 Pro, despite the larger screens.
LG, in particular, which only supplies half of Samsung's output for Apple, is looking for ways to cut manufacturing costs as it can't rely on economies of scale as Samsung does. It has found them, reports The Elec, by diversifying its display driver circuitry supplier. Instead of only relying on one IC maker, it has found a second supplier in Taiwan's Novatek.
Diversifying suppliers for the thinner bottom bezel of the Apple iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will allow LG to make the screens cheaper while adhering to Apple's production standards. For Apple, this could mean keeping costs in check and offering the iPhone 16 Pro line at the same price as the iPhone 15 Pro, despite the larger screens.
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