Testing on Apple’s ‘iMac Touch’ Begins with Arrival of Capacitive Screens from Sintek - Report

Rumor has it that Apple is gearing up to materialize one of its recently emerged patent applications involving a touch-screen iMac, according to a report citing industry sources, which notes that Sintek Photronics reportedly sent samples of projected capacitive touch panels over to Cupertino “to be incorporated in the latest iMac all-in-one (AIO) PC,” DigiTimes reports.

The source, generally responsible for dishing out gossip between Apple’s component suppliers, seems to indicate that Sintek Photronics has landed a deal with Apple to have some capacitive touch panels tested in iMac computers.

Citing “industry sources,” the site notes that Sintek, which is equipped with 5.3G generation production lines, has a good chance of becoming a supplier of the new touch-based Macs, since current capacity for 20-inch and above projected capacitive touch panels is limited, while the technology involved in making these is “quite complex.”

The iMac would thus depart from the current form factor, which today involves 21.5-inch and 27-inch screens.

The report goes to explain how projected capacitive touch panels are typically produced, the process involving touch sensors being placed over the panel, while the sensors are then covered with glass.

According to the DigiTimes, the conventional method is costly, complex, and affects display brightness.

Leaving aside the details provided by its sources, the site includes its own forecast regarding the unconfirmed product, saying it is rumored to have “a good vertical and horizontal viewing angle,” thanks to the IPS technology Apple already employs in various products, as well as a one-glass solution, which should reduce thickness and weight, by integrating the touch sensor and cover glass in one piece.

As noted above, it was recently revealed that Apple applied for a patent covering a hybrid iMac interface, as well as special hardware allowing the computer to be used in both traditional mode, and in touch mode.

In the patent filings, Apple proposed that this iMac would boast a special hinge allowing the user to adjust their view for either traditional mouse-and-keyboard input, or for touch-based input, at which point the computer may also switch from the Mac OS X we know today to a different OS version, perhaps even an advanced form of iOS.