IPhone mobile phone antenna layout

Since the introduction of Liu Haiping and the screen share of iPhone X, the layout of the IPhone mobile phone antenna is undoubtedly a test.

As for how to ensure signal quality in a limited clearance area, Apple first used LCP (liquid crystal polymer) antennas to improve the high-frequency and high-speed performance of the antenna and reduce space occupation.

Disassembled, the iPhone X used two sets of LCP antennas, and the iPhone 8/8 Plus used one set.

Although LCP is of good quality, the problem is that the process is complicated and the cost is high. It is about 4~5 dollars in a single group, which is 20 times that of a traditional PI antenna.

The latest intelligence from well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that next year's new iPhone, Apple will transition from LCP antenna to improved PI (polyimide) antenna.

The reason is quite "exposed", and the LCP suppliers are scarce, resulting in Apple not having a strong bargaining power.

Of course, Apple found that from a technical point of view, the LCP antenna yield is not high, and it is necessary to sacrifice antenna performance to significantly improve the yield. The modified version of the PI antenna does not lose LCP in terms of performance by adjusting the compound formulation.

Guo Minghao expects that the 2019 iPhone will use four sets of PI antennas with two sets of LCP antennas. The current iPhone XR/XS has six sets of LCP antennas inside.

Among them, there are 5 suppliers of MPI antennas, and LCP antennas are entirely from Japanese suppliers. Currently, there are conditions for mass production of LCP including Japan Toray, Sumitomo and Polyplastics.

Since next year will be the first year of 5G mobile phones, I don’t know how the changes in the antenna of the iPhone will change in terms of signals.