Put this one in your rumor-hats, folks. Taiwanese newspaper DigiTimes reports the new iPhone is likely to be released in the 3rd quarter and will include in-touch panels, supplied by Sharp and Toshiba, according to “sources” within Apple’s supply chain. In response to these rumors, one of Apple’s current touch screen suppliers, TPK Holdings said that it is working on “touch on lens” solutions which would use a single layer of glass.

This rumor isn’t implausible. Either of these technical tweaks would allow the next iPhone to be even slimmer, or would allow Apple to squeeze in a little extra battery space. That said it is just a rumor, again, credited to vague “sources.” The change from TPK Holdings and Wintek’s current-get capacitive digitizers to in-panel touch screen wouldn’t be a drastic change for the user.

The most relevent information for consumers is that this rumor places the release date for the next iPhone between July 1st and September 30th.

Do you think the iPhone is in need of a thinner glass screen? Let us know in the comments section below.