The next big thing out of the Apple camp should be the iOS smartphone all the iOS faithful thought they were going to get back when Apple delivered the iPhone 4S, and with the next generation iPhone, currently being called the iPhone 5 there have been an abundance of rumours, and we have another one for your consideration today.

According to the guys over at Ubergizmo, the source of many an iPhone rumour, DigiTimes is reporting that Apple just might be working with both Sharp and Toshiba to bring in-cell touch panels to the iPhone 5, something that would apparently lead to a much slimmer and perhaps lighter smartphone.

The latest rumour comes via unnamed sources in the Apple supply chain of course, so doesn’t really mean it will happen., but for those that might like to know, in-cell touch panels apparently merge the touch screen layer and the LCD layer together, and would thus remove the requirement for a glass substrate that basically separates the LCD from the touch layer.

Apparently Sharp is to produce the in-cell touch panels at their 5.5G lines whilst Toshiba Mobile Display are to utilise their 6G lines to produce the in-cell touch panels, and according to those sources both companies are to ramp up production of in-cell panels in Q2 of 2012.

Of course Apple had some problem with Sharp in the past whereby Sharp’s didn’t quite meet the quality standards of Apple when it comes to displays, which caused delays. However of course as this is Apple gear we are talking about, nothing can be taken for granted and as such should be treated as rumour for now.