Talk of a delayed launch for the upcoming iPhone Ultra now seems to have faded away, with all recent reports pointing to Apple’s foldable being unveiled during the September keynote.
The latest supply-chain report says that earlier issues with the 3D-printed hinge module have now been resolved, with the device now entering the next stage of production …
It had previously been reported that Apple was concerned about the durability of the hinge, in addition to wanted it to be completely seamless – and that issues with the mechanism might have led to delayed production.
A new report in The Elec today provides more details of these issues and says that they have now been solved.
The hinges of the foldable iPhone are supplied by Taiwan’s Shinjuxing and the American amphenol. They supply 3D printing hinge modules. The hinge determines the opening and closing feeling, folds, and durability when folding and unfolding the screen […]
It is said that there was a problem with hinges in the actual development process. A Taiwanese industry official said, “After millions of durability tests, there was a slight noise from the hinge,” and “In some assembly processes, the tolerance was greater than expected, and the defect rate increased somewhat.” He added, “Currently, most of these problems have been solved.”
The device is now said to have entered test production, the final check that everything goes smoothly on the actual production lines before mass production begins.
Quality issues would have been particularly concerning for Apple given that the company has waited so long before entering the foldables market, reportedly because it wanted to ensure that issues experienced with competing models would not affect the iPhone Ultra.
There have been a number of reports of potential delays to the launch, some of them even suggesting dates as late as December of this year or early next year. However, there now appears a clear consensus that Apple’s most expensive iPhone will be announced in September and go on sale shortly afterwards.
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