iPad 5, iPad Mini 2 to Use Same Touch Panel Technology
The iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 will employ the same touch panel technology.
Apple suppliers have confirmed that the company is using the same technology in order to make reductions to the weight and size of the tablets, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The technology made the original iPad mini thin and it is currently being produced by Asian suppliers for the full-sized next-gen model.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
What people interpret to be a normal screen is actually multiple layers that consist of touch sensors between the liquid-crystal display and the outermost cover glass. The iPad mini uses a film-based touch panel that is thinner and lighter than the glass-based touch panel found on the fourth-generation iPad.
Due to the iPad mini's success, Apple will employ this same technology on the full-sized model. The iPad 5 and iPad mini are also expected to resemble each other closely in terms of their look.
New pictures of parts used for the new iPad have surfaced last week and are said to the actual front panel and digitizer for the device. The part resembles some of the past leak,s showing that it will have narrower bezels making it similar to the iPad mini model.
It also features flex cables running along one of the long edges of the panel and ending in connectors in roughly the same location on the current iPad. The connectors themselves are a bit different from what is found on the current model.
Apple has been making some technological changes to achieve a smaller form factor for the new device. This could be the reason why these parts feature different connectors.
The parts supplier also explained the iPad 5 Screen/Digitizer. It has the same display area as the iPad Retina, the edges of the frame are narrower using the same style as the iPad Mini, the ITO is the same as the mini, it has 2 connectors instead of 1, and they have been changed to FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits) from FFC (Flat Flexible Cable).
