iPhone 7 Release Date News: Device To Save Space By Using Fan-Out Packaging Technology

Many rumored details have come out about Apple's iPhone 7 device, and one that seems to follow every report is that the company will give the device a sleeker design by moving the antenna bands from the back and adding them to the top and bottom of the smartphone.

A new report from Korean site ETNews has shared some technical details about the iPhone 7, which provides insight on how the company will save space internally and shave off a millimeter from the devices size so it can be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s models.

Apple is reportedly planning to use a new fan-out packaging technology for the antenna switching module and radio frequency chip in the iPhone 7, which is the feature that allows the iPhone to switch between LTE and GSM and CDMA. As MacRumors reports, fan-out packaging technology allows for a greater number of I/O terminals while also cutting down on the chip size.

ETNews gives a detailed description of how fan-out technology works saying:

"Fan Out technology is a technology that increases number of I/O (Input/Output) terminals within a package by pulling out wiring of I/O terminals to outside from a semiconductor chip (Die), which is a previous step before packaging. As area of a chip had become narrower as manufacturing processes had become finer, it was difficult to increase number of I/O terminals. Because industries do not want to increase size of a chip just for I/O terminals, they have been paying attention to Fan Out Packaging technology recently. It is most cost effective from production cost perspective if number of I/O terminals increases within a package while still decreasing size of a chip."

This all sounds very technical, but ultimately what it means is Apple will be able to fit more components into a single package while minimizing signal loss. The company will also be cutting down on the potential for interference in wireless communication by using the packaging method, along with single-chip EMI shields.

Other rumored details that seem to fit into every report about the forthcoming device include the lack of a headphone jack and the slimming of the Lightning port.

Apple's iPhone 7 device is expected to launch later this year, sometime in the fall.