Apple reportedly fixes battery issue with 5.5-inch iPhone 6
A new manufacturer has allegedly cooked up a battery thin enough for the body of the rumored biggest-screen-yet iPhone.
Apple may have solved at least one challenge facing its much-rumored 5.5-inch iPhone 6.
Unable to coax the right type of battery for the phone out of certain suppliers, Apple reportedly has discovered a white knight in the form of a company known as Simplo. Calling itself the "world leading battery pack designer," Simplo has purportedly done something no other manufacturers could do: create a battery thin and light enough for the biggest-screen-yet iPhone 6, according to the G for Games site, citing a report from Taiwan's Economic Daily News.
Rumors popped up in April claiming that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 was facing production delays due to bottlenecks in the battery design. Apple reportedly wants to equip the large phone with a thin body. But that goal has created obstacles for manufacturers that would need to design a battery no more than 2 millimeters thick. Smartphone batteries typically are 2.8mm to 2.9mm thick.
Simplo allegedly got past the battery bottleneck by creating one with the necessary specs to meet Apple's stringent requirements. But the other manufacturers aren't necessarily out of the loop. With the design problem purportedly solved, Apple can tap into all of its available suppliers to make sure enough batteries are produced to meet demand.
So does this mean that production of the new, big-screened iPhone won't fall behind schedule? Not necessarily. The battery design is but one issue reportedly holding back the 5.5-inch iPhone.
In an investor's note released early this week, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he believes Apple is up against other technical obstacles in producing the 5.5-incher. One challenge relates to the in-cell touch display panel. The metal casing is facing certain issues. And the much-rumored 5.5-inch sapphire glass cover for the display may not be able to pass a drop test.
As such, Kuo thinks the bigger-screened iPhone 6 may not debut until 2015 or at least will face limited availability until the various issues can be hashed out.
(Via AppleInsider)