Apple could release some iPhones without 3D touch to save money

Back in January, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed three potential new iPhone models Apple might release this year. One of them was a 6.1-inch iteration that would borrow elements from both the iPhone X and iPhone 8 models. Kuo previously noted that the 6.1-inch model wouldn’t have 3D Touch, and now we have more details about it.

According to Chinese website Feng, and as spotted by MacRumors, Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that Apple’s new 6.1-inch phone will have an updated display. That new display will supposedly raise costs to between $23 and $26, leading Kuo to predict that because Apple’s new display module is more expensive, it might give up 3D Touch features to balance costs.

According to Kuo, the new 6.1-inch iPhone will use something called Cover Glass Sensor (CGS) technology which will reportedly allow the display to be lighter and more impact resistant. According to the memo seen by Feng, the iPhone’s touch module will also be moved from the display panel to the surface glass. The new iPhone will also have a “thin-film sensor”, but it’s unclear what that exactly is and what it does.

The removal of 3D Touch doesn’t seem too farfetched given it’s quite polarizing — some users find it useful, while others find it useless. Apple has also been rumored to be developing new technology including touchless gesture controls and a curved display.

The memo predicts that Apple will use that new CGS display on all new iPhone models in 2019, and that 3D Touch may be scrapped from iPhones altogether in the future.