Apple’s widely rumored to unveil the iPhone 6 in two sizes this year. The first will be a 4.7 inch model to be unveiled in September, the larger, 5.5 inch model is rumored to be delayed due to yield issues.
According to a new post on Chinese social network Weibo, the reason for the delay of the 5.5-inch iPhone is due to the increasing cost of sapphire, a material Apple will reportedly use in the device’s display to improve durability and scratch resistance. The information reportedly comes from Apple’s supply chain sources.
The post notes that a sapphire display might cost 1743 yuan, or $280, which is much higher than the iPhone 5s’ 4-inch display that costs Apple $44. Rumors have suggested that Apple might increase the price of the iPhone 6 by $100, and this could be one of the reasons why. From the report:
These latest reports suggest that the sapphire screen costs around 1743 yuan (or $280), which would raise the final cost of the device to about 8000 yuan (or $1285) – at least in China. At the moment, the 16 GB iPhone 5S costs 5288 yuan in China ($850), whereas the beefier 64 GB variant is retailed at the price of 6888 yuan (or $1106)Apple buys sapphire from third-party suppliers, but is also starting production of the material in its joint manufacturing plant in Arizona, that at full capacity could product 200 million iPhone displays.
Apart from sapphire, Apple’s reportedly facing several other issues in the production of the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6. These issues include suppliers not able to meet battery yield rates, and difficulty with in-cell touch technology.
If Apple isn’t able to sort out the sapphire pricing issue, would you be willing to pay more for the 5.5-inch iPhone 6? Let us know in the comments.
[via GforGames]
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