iPhone 6s Force Touch Panel Reportedly Enters Mass Production

Details about Apple's upcoming iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been leaked several times in the recent past, and the most recent reports had tipped several specifications and features, including Force Touch technology. Now, a new report claims that the Force Touch panels for the handsets have entered the mass production stage.

A report from Digitimes, claims that Apple suppliers had already started shipping the Force Touch panels in limited numbers in June, before the full-blown production began in July. Apple was last month also tipped to be preparing for the largest initial production run for its next iPhones by the end of the year, asking suppliers to manufacture 85 million to 90 million units of two new models with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays.

Furthermore, Taipei Times added that TPK Holding Co., which is said to be Apple's chief supplier for pressure-sensitive Force Touch panels, is expecting a widespread use of these sensors by later this year. "We believe that pressure sensors for force touchpanels will see widespread adoption across the mobile-device market this year," Taipei Times quoted Michael Chung, TPK Chief Executive Officer. The announcement was made while disclosing the company's Q2 revenue growth meeting.

The Force Touch technology was first introduced in the Apple Watch, followed by the new 12-inch MacBook. It can detect different touch pressures which can then be used to display more options to users than regular touch.

The report is in line with several other leaks in the past few months, with the most recent indicating the new iPhone models will be slightly longer (0.15mm) and thicker (0.2mm) to accommodate the Force Touch technology, and feature a stronger Series 7000 aluminium build.

So far, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are expected to feature the same 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays respectively as last year's models, but bring additions like 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM, a 12-megapixel rear camera instead of an 8-megapixel offering, and an upgraded front-facing FaceTime camera with 1080p recording apart from a front-facing flash, and a more efficient Qualcomm LTE modem.