Rumored Apple and Sony Alliance Grows Stronger on New iPhone 5 Report

Is Sony producing the next-gen touch panels for Apple's next-gen iPhone?

If the mounting reports are any indication, the answer is a resounding yes. Earlier this week, a Taiwanese publication reported that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) had enlisted in the help of Sony (NYSE: SNE) to build the iPhone 5. Sony was commissioned to produce in-cell touch panels for the highly anticipated smartphone.

Now DigiTimes (via Forbes) has released a very similar report, claiming that Sony has been added to Apple's list of in-cell touch panel suppliers, which includes several other manufacturers.

"LG Display, Toshiba Mobile Display (TMD) and Sharp have been previously tapped as the three suppliers of in-cell touch panels for the new iPhone," reports DigiTimes, whose sources claim that the iPhone 5 should launch in September or October. "LG Display has ramped up its yield rate to 70-80%, and TMD is expected to enter mass production as scheduled, said the sources, adding that Sharp has been slow with regard to improving its yield rate, giving Sony a chance to also enter the supply chain."

Further, DigiTimes said that its sources have indicated that Sony "shipped 50,000 units of 4-inch in-cell touch panels to HTC for product development in the second half of 2011." At that time, "Sony claimed that the yield rate for the in-cell panel production had reached 70%," DigiTimes wrote. "Sony will begin volume production of in-cell touch panels for the new iPhone at the end of May, revealed the sources."

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