How much does Apple want to make sure the iPhone 6 is the best it can be? So much that it’s willing to make a last minute change just weeks before its launch that has apparently left its supply chain partners “scrambling.” According to a new report from Reuters, Apple this month sent a key iPhone 6 component “back to the drawing board” for a redesign after the company found that it didn’t make the device’s display bright enough to meet its exacting standards.
“Two supply chain sources said display panel production suffered a setback after the backlight that helps illuminate the screen had to be revised, putting screen assembly on hold for part of June and July,” Reuters explains. “One said Apple, aiming for the thinnest phone possible, initially wanted to cut back to a single layer of backlight film, instead of the standard two layers, for the 4.7-inch screen… But the new configuration was not bright enough and the backlight was sent back to the drawing board to fit in the extra layer, costing precious time and temporarily idling some screen assembly operations.”
The good news is that this doesn’t appear to have delayed Apple’s iPhone 6 launch plans, although Reuters‘ supply chain sources now say they’re working around the clock to fill their orders. We’ve heard stories of Apple making enormous demands of its supply chain partners in the past so this latest escapade really comes as no surprise.
