iPhones have a microscopic QR to monitor defective screens

The production of iPhones is complex, as is the distribution of its components inside. There are also a large number of quality and safety controls in place to make production as efficient as possible. The final objective is none other than to achieve cheaper productions while ensuring product quality. One of the ways that Apple has used since 2020 and has allowed them to save millions of euros. the implementation of microscopic QRs on screens to monitor defective panels and correct errors in production.

Microscopic QRs to follow the production of defective screens

Many times we have seen the inside of Apple devices with all their components: battery, chips, etc. Each of these components has a printed QR, normally with a laser, which allows us to collect information on its origin, manufacturing and more information that allows Apple to later carry out controls. The Information media has published a report in which it shows How Apple, starting in 2020, also began to place microscopic QR codes on iPhone screens.

While one of the microscopic QR codes can only be viewed with specialized Apple equipment, the other is located on the inside of the screen along the bezel. This impression was achieved thanks to technology implemented in the companies that manufacture the glass cover of the iPhone screens: Lens Technology and Biel Crystal.

Thanks to the existence of these QRs, Apple can know for sure How many glass covers are defective and which manufacturer they come from: Lens Technology or Biel Crystal. Apple’s efforts to obtain this data were based on the manufacturers’ constant refusal to transfer this information directly. In fact, some internal Apple reports indicate that Up to 3 out of 10 covers were discarded due to manufacturing errors. With this system the figures were reduced to 1 in 10 and this could have saved Apple millions of dollars.