SanDisk, Toshiba announce high-capacity 256Gb 3D NAND memory chip, may find a place in iPhone 7

Toshiba and its partner SanDisk have unveiled a 256 gigabit (32GB) X3 48-layer 3D NAND flash memory chips. The two memory manufacturers have already started pilot production of these 256 Gb flash chips in their fabrication plant in Yokkaichi, Japan and sample shipments will begin in September this year. This will be the first such 256Gb, 48-Layer BiCS Flash in the world.

In March this year, the two companies had unveiled their first 48-layer 3D V-NAND flash chips that had a capacity of 128 Gb or 16GB. The new 256Gb flash chip uses the 3-bit-per-cell TLC (triple-level cell) technology and is based on the cutting-edge 48-layer stacking process that greatly enhances the capacity, reliability, endurance and speed. The new chip can be used in various applications such as smartphones, tablets, memory cards, consumer SSD and enterprise SSD for data centers.

“This is the world’s first 256Gb X3 chip, developed using our industry-leading 48-layer BiCS technology and demonstrating SanDisk’s continued leadership in X3 technology,” said Siva Sivaram, SanDisk’s executive VP for memory technology in a statement. “We will use this chip to deliver compelling storage solutions for our customers”.

Toshiba and Sandisk have provided flash memory for iPhone 6 among others and the arrival of Cupertino giant’s iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s plus is still about a month away. Although the press release doesn’t mention any clients, the development of this new high-speed high-performance 256Gb flash memory could be good news for the next gen iPhone 7. The 3D BiCS (Bit Cost Scaling) Flash memory will provide more reliability in writing and erasing data compared to the traditional 2D memory. The writing speed will also be vastly improved and will be ideal for devices like the iPhone 7.

Mass production of the 256Gb BiCS Flash will be carried out in Toshiba’s new Fab 2 at Yokkaichi production site and will be commercially available sometime in 2016.

SanDisk, Toshiba announce high-capacity 256Gb 3D NAND memory chip, may find a place in iPhone 7

The latest iPhone 7 concept video shows a handset with very thin bezels

With many sources these days saying that the iPhone 6s will not have any major change in the design and will come with the addition of Force Touch tech and built with a tougher aluminum alloy. Thus many designers across the globe have started analyzing about how would be the design patterns for the new iPhone 7 and here we have the first concept video of the handset.

The iPhone 7 is expected to have a higher resolution display, with the incorporation of Force Touch tech, that would allow the touch screen to recognize the different pressure levels applied by your fingerprints and would thus help in distinguishing a continuous press from a light tap. This feature is currently present in the Apple Watch. The iPhone 7 is also expected to see a lift in its camera department with a special 12MP RGBW sensor for better color reproduction. There is also an rumor that we might get to see a dual-lens setup in the next iPhone 7.

A concept designer SCAVidsHD says that the next iPhone 7 is likely to have a MacBook exterior and will host a single rear camera of 16MP resolution with the OIS technology and a 8MP secondary camera to its front. The iPhone 7 will likely have a 5.5inch display like the iPhone 6s and the bezels at the sides will be squeezed a lot. The device would be running the iOS 10 that would be announced next month. For the time being enjoy the concept video below.

The latest iPhone 7 concept video shows a handset with very thin bezels

iPhone 7 likely to have a dual-lens camera setup if the suppliers improve yield

The concept of dual-lens camera has been seen in two major flagships till date – the HTC One M8 and the Huawei Honor 6 Plus. A recent report coming from the Taiwanese media says that CEO of Altek- Xiauru Wen has been quoted claiming that the Cupertino giant Apple has been investigating about the dual lens camera setup since past three years. Altek is the company that currently manufactures the dual lens camera modules for HTC and Huawei.

Wen says that before bringing this technology to the people, the Cupertino tech giant wants to make completely sure that they have the powerful technology to support it. The company is however said to have developed different apps that can work for the dual-lens camera system. However, it would be interesting to see how Apple uses this technology to the customers benefit apart from just the sales point-of-view. Additionally, one more thing that is stopping Apple is the concern the company faces regarding the suppliers yield to meet the demand.

The reports also claims that Apple has been caught is some technical issue known as the optical axis deviation wherein some of the units took the blurred images. Moreover, it also says that Lorgan that provides 80% of the camera lenses which Apple has in its recent iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has also announced to double its productivity capacity. This has raised the speculations that the tech giant is likely to have a dual-lens setup in its next iPhone but it seems to be bit difficult for the iPhone 6s expected this year.

The latest released concept video has also highlighted the dual-lens feature for the next iPhone 7.

source: Business Weekly Taiwan

iPhone 7 likely to have a dual-lens camera setup if the suppliers improve yield

The beautiful iPhone 7 concept video features new home button, glowing Apple Logo and dual camera

We have recently seen some stunning concept renders of iPhone 7 created by designer Martin Hajek. He has imagined several new design features in the upcoming Apple phone and the pictures were posted on the German website computerbild.de.

Computerbild has now come out with a beautiful video showing these concept renders and giving us an idea about how Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 smartphone could look like. The renders look quite realistic. However, it is better to keep in mind that this is only a concept and the actual iPhone 7 could turn out to be something quite different.

This is a two-minute video highlighting the new design features in iPhone 7 as envisioned by the designer. These include a home button with Touch ID sensor that has been built into the display instead of being lodged below it. Apple has already got a patent for incorporating Touch ID sensors into the displays.

The concept video also shows the device having a dual-lens camera at the back that would give depth to the field. There is already a rumor that Apple is working on a new dual-lens camera.

The third interesting feature shown in the video is the glowing Apple logo at the back. Well, we are not sure if the new iPhone would bear a glowing logo because the Cupertino giant has already killed this feature in its new Retina MacBook.

Anyway, the iPhone shown in the concept video looks like a dream phone that anyone would like to own. Have a look for yourselves:

 

The beautiful iPhone 7 concept video features new home button, glowing Apple Logo and dual camera

The next Apple iPhone 6s/7 to come with 3D pressure sensor and dual-lens camera

Unarguably, Apple has managed to create ripples in the tech industry with its iPhone 6 that has reached some peak sales and has turned out to be one of the most hit smartphones for 2014. However, this hasn’t stopped the Cupertino giant from working on new innovative features and the company executives are said to be working a lot for the next flagship iPhone 6S/7. According to the recent tip coming from Taiwan the next Apple iPhone model would be quite similar to the existing iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus from the design perspective with same screen sized models.

The source from Taiwan tips that the company is currently working upon a new redesigned camera module that would feature dual lens design quite similar to the HTC One M8 and the recently announced Huawei Honor 6 Plus. This would add a “zoom function” and sensors capable of drawing in more light. An shift to the optical zoom technology as seen in the Zenfone Zoom would be hard to believe. Moreover, if Apple adopts the same slimmer design aspects of the existing iPhone 6, incorporating an optical zoom lens would be difficult. However, another alternative approach to the optical zoom is the lossless zoom which could be expected.

In addition to the dual-lens, the company is also said to bring a 3D pressure sensor that would working in co-ordination with the Health App which would be featured in the upcoming Apple Watch too. 3D sensor means that the touch sensor would get a depth of Z-axis in addition to the X and Y axis which would look after the measurement of pulse and blood pressure. Well would certainly like to hear an official word from the company soon on these unique features.

source: Money.udn.com

Image Courtesy: Apple Insider

The next Apple iPhone 6s/7 to come with 3D pressure sensor and dual-lens camera

Next in Line: Apple iPhone 7, What You May Get!

Recently, Apple introduced its latest additions into its Smartphone series, Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. But rumors about the next addition, Apple iPhone 7, are already on the internet. On Sunday, a report was published which mentioned that the display screen of iPhone 7 would be bigger in size compared to the 5.5 inch screen of iPhone 6 Plus. However, this time the Smartphone giant has decided to make the display screen with sapphire glass which is one of the hardest materials after diamond.

The body of the iPhone 7 would be made with liquid metal to make it stronger, as reported. The phone might come with the Touch ID sensor with a 14 megapixel rear camera. Report informed that Apple might double the phone’s capacity next year to 256GB (latest models offers 128GB) and a quad-core A8 processor could be used. There are also rumors that the iPhone 7 might include a built-in projector, a feature that is present in Samsung Galaxy Beam.

With all of these demanding features included in the phone, the question arises about the phone’s battery. The report revealed that the iPhone 7 may use a new technology based battery that would be able to keep the phone running for longer period. The phone is rumored to be more expensive than previous models and is expected to be released somewhere between July and September of 2015. Although, the report reveals a lot about iPhone 7 but it is still too early to come to any conclusion.

Next in Line: Apple iPhone 7, What You May Get!