Apple Inc's next iPhone will use a new technology that makes the smartphone's screen thinner, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. This is currently being manufactured by Asian component makers, Sharp Corp, Japan Display Inc and South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd who are mass producing the panels for the iPhone using so-called in-cell technology, WSJ said citing sources.

The adoption of in-cell technology means Taiwan's Wintek Corp and TPK Holding Co Ltd, which supplied the touch-panel layer of the iPhone 4S screen, did not get orders for the next iPhone, the paper said citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The technology integrates touch sensors into the LCD, making it unnecessary to have a separate touch-screen layer. The absence of the layer makes the screen thinner and the quality of displayed images would improve, said DisplaySearch analyst Hiroshi Hayase, the Journal reported.

Apple could not immediately be reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.