Apple iPhone 6 is go! Manufacturing about to start on handset

Handset expected to go on sale in September with updated iOS software
Rumours of a 4.7 and 5.5inch screen version
Thin version could be called iPhone Air

PUBLISHED: 14:24 EST, 1 April 2014 | UPDATED: 14:57 EST, 1 April 2014

Apple suppliers around the world are about to crank up their production lines for the big screen set to find its way into the iPhone 6, it has been claimed.

Japan Display Inc, Sharp Corp and South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd have all been tapped to make the screens.

They will begin mass producing displays as within weeks for the next iPhone, expected to be launched this autumn, with a 4.7-inch screen likely to be produced first while a 5.5-inch version could be delayed.

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Recent concept images by designer Martin Hajek, pictured, and Italian artists Enrico Penello and Ran Avni feature a curved screen with 'bumps' at the top and bottom, along with an illuminated Touch ID sensor used to recognise fingerprints, first introduced on the iPhone 5S

Representatives for the three suppliers and for Apple declined to comment.

Both iPhone 6 screens will be larger than the 4.0-inch panels on Apple's existing iPhone 5S and 5C models.

Larger iPhones, the subject of months of speculation, would mark yet another incremental tweak to the popular smartphone line and an attempt to catch up to rivals like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

CEO Tim Cook, while promising only 'new product categories' for 2014, has played his cards close to his chest.

Apple's shares have languished below $600 since November 2012, in part because of worries about smartphone market saturation and its ability to stay at the forefront of tech innovation.

Both iPhone 6 screens are expected to use in-cell touch panel technology - built into the screen and allowing for thinner construction than with standard touch panel films - that was introduced with the iPhone 5, the sources said.

But due to difficulties with in-cell production technology for the larger 5.5-inch size, one of the sources said, a decision was made to begin mass production with the 4.7-inch version alone.

Production of 5.5-inch screens is expected to start several months later, with the possibility of a shift to a film sensor instead of in-cell technology for that size, the source said.

Japan Display will be the first supplier to start production, at its flagship plant at Mobara, east of Tokyo, as early as May, the sources said. The others are due to begin output around June.

Images posted to Chinese social network Weibo earlier this week are thought to have been leaked by an anonymous insider working at Apple supplier Foxconn.

Although the images are blurry, they appear to show a rounded design and a protruding camera, similar to those seen on the iPod touch.

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The images, pictured left and right, were posted on Chinese social network Weibo earlier this week and are thought to have been leaked by an anonymous insider working at Apple supplier Foxconn. Although the images are blurry, they appear to show a rounded design and protruding camera, similar to that seen on the iPod touch

APPLE'S IPHONE AIR RUMOURS

Apple's iPhone 6 is rumoured to come in a slim 'Air' version.

Up until August last year, Huawei was the record-holder for the thinnest phone in the world with its Ascend P6, at 6.18mm.

This was then replaced by the Vivo X3 at just 5.75mm.

By comparison, Apple's current iPhone 5S has a depth of 7.6mm, while the iPad Air is slightly thinner at 7.5mm.

Samsung's Galaxy S4 is 7.9mm thick, while the HTC One is 9.3mm.

Alternatively, the models shown in the pictures could be the next generation of Apple's MP3 player.

Reports are claiming Apple is gearing up to go into mass production of the screen on its next flagship phone as early as next month.

The first image shows what appears to be a blueprint of the iPhone 6, while the other two images of prototype models are shown in silver with rounded edges - similar to those seen on last year's iPad Air tablet.

Speculation is rife that Apple could follow up this super-thin tablet with an equally slim phone, dubbed iPhone Air, and the new images appear to corroborate this.

Earlier this month, Japanese magazine MacFan published drawings of what purported to be a 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch iPhone 6C.

Earlier this month, Japanese magazine MacFan published drawings of what seemed to be a 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch iPhone 6C, pictured. The drawings feature a flat, bezel-free device with rectangle-shaped volume controls like those found on the current iPhone 5C, as well as a camera with a single LED-flash on the rear

The drawings feature a flat, bezel-free device with rectangle-shaped volume controls like those found on the current iPhone 5C, as well as a camera with a single LED-flash on the rear.

Recent concept images were then created using the schematics detailed in MacFan's release, by designer Martin Hajek, and Italian artists Enrico Penello and Ran Avni.

These concepts feature a curved screen with 'bumps' at the top and bottom, along with an illuminated Touch ID sensor used to recognise fingerprints, first introduced on the iPhone 5S.

The protruding camera and rounded edges of the purported iPhone 6 prototypes are similar to those seen on the current iPod touch model, pictured

Is THIS what the iPhone 6 will look like?

The latest mockups come after Taiwanese sources said the camera in the iPhone 6 will get a boost to 10MP megapixels, from its current 8MP version, along with a new lens offering better picture quality.

It is also expected to boast a new filter, allowing for clearer pictures.

If Apple follows its usual release schedule, the new models will be unveiled in September this year, although experts are expecting the tech giant to launch at least one model in June.

Apple's new devices are expected to use the in-cell touch panel technology - which embeds sensors more tightly into the screen - seen on previous models to make the next device as thin as possible.

But reports suggest difficulties with this technology in larger displays has caused Apple to delay production of the 5.5-inch versions.

Concept for iPhone 6 could be thinnest model ever

Last November, designer Martin Hajek created a concept that demonstrated it was possible to increase the screen size of the iPhone 6, without drastically increasing the size of the handset. In his image, pictured, the screen is stretched to reach left and right edges