Image Credit: Maurice Tsai / Bloomberg
According to a report out of Bloomberg, Apple has opened a secret production laboratory in northern Tawain to focus on developing new display technologies. The report claims that the lab, located in Longtan, has at least 50 engineers and various other employees working to develop iPhone and iPad displays.
Apple Watch benefits from deeper blacks and greater energy efficiency thanks to OLED technology
Apple is expected to begin shifting iPhones from LCD displays to improved OLED screens starting in 2018, according to Nikkei Asian Review. Currently the display technology is only used by Apple to produce Apple Watch displays while iPhones and iPads use older LCD technology. OLED benefits from greater contrast levels and much deeper blacks as the display only illuminates to present color. This offers energy efficiency that leads to improved battery life compared lighting up the entire display each time.
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Mitsuru Homma, CEO of Japan Display has suggested that Apple is planning for a big launch of the next iPhone. Speaking to Reuters today, the executive said that the display panel manufacturer’s “biggest client” keeps asking for more units ahead of next week’s September 9th event.
The move doesn’t come as a big surprise—Apple does want to have enough units to sell when the phone launches next month—but interestingly, Homma notes that despite many companies seeing declines in smartphone sales in many large markets, Apple seems totally unfazed.
Homma also possibly hinted at the presence of Force Touch in the new displays, commenting that there was “difficult technology” involved in creating them.
The upcoming “iPhone 6S” will support a number of new features, including a Force Touch-capable display and improved cameras. Photos of the display panel and other parts have already leaked, and one enterprising YouTube user even claims to have collected and assembled the parts into a semi-working device. While the phone was previously rumored to be available in pink, more recent reports make it seem likely that this will instead be an Apple Watch-like rose gold.
Finally, rumors that we might also see a return to the 4-inch display size of the iPhone 5s in a low-end model of the phone were recently debunked.
Reuters reports that Japan Display Inc, an Apple parts supplier, just announced plans to build a new $1.4 billion LCD plant that will reportedly help it become a primary supplier of smartphone displays to Apple.
The report also claims that Apple has invested in the plant, but didn’t disclose any financial details related to the investment:
The company did not name Apple, in line with its policy of not identifying clients. A person familiar with the matter said Apple would also invest an unspecified amount in the plant, which would further the Japanese screen maker’s aim of becoming the primary supplier of high-tech screens for iPhones.
The news follows reports last month that Apple was considering such an investment in the new factory somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.7 billion.
The new plant will reportedly start production in 2016 and increase Japan Display’s LCD capacity by 20 percent.
A new report claims that Apple is in talks with Japan Display to help finance an LCD display factory in Ishikawa next year. The exact details of the agreement are still in flux, but Apple is said to be considering an investment of somewhere around 200 billion yen (or just under $1.7 billion).
The factory would churn out the same types of low-temperature polycrystalline silicon displays that are currently used in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Japanese news sources also say the factory could eventually be repurposed to build OLED panels like those found in the Apple Watch—and possibly in future iPhones. The factory’s output wouldn’t be exclusive to Apple’s devices, however, as the deal currently allows JDI to sell its wares to competitors.
iPhone assembler Foxconn is apparently hoping to move beyond its relatively low-margin work into more profitable high-end component manufacturing in order to take a bigger slice of revenue from Apple, reports the WSJ.
Apple Inc.’s major assembler Foxconn is in preliminary discussions with a provincial government in northern China for an investment in a new factory that would make high-end screens for iPhones and other mobile devices, people familiar with the talks say.
Foxconn already manufactures some iPhone components, but currently only low-margin ones like metal casings and cables …
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As the fall approaches, the Economic Daily news has issued a new report with the latest chatter it is hearing about some of Apple’s upcoming iOS device launches. Here’s what the paper is reporting about the “iWatch:”
Concept iTV via AmongTech
The Korea Herald reports that IBK Securities analysts believe Apple has requested sample display panels from a Korean manufacturer for potential use in a future Apple TV.
According to the report, Apple is testing 65-inch OLED panels for mass production of an ‘iTV’ next year. However, it should be noted the report is lacking in detail — only referring to the manufacturer as an ‘unnamed’ local display maker.
“Around 2 million Apple‘s iTVs with 65- and 77-inch liquid crystal displays were expected to hit the market in the second half of this year. However, Apple employees visited this local company in October 2013 to delay the plans to next year,” said a source close to the matter on Saturday. “Following the visit, the display maker’s stock prices plunged.”
Reuters is reporting that the displays for the next-generation iPhone could go into mass production as soon as May, with Japan Display, LG, and Sharp all said to be working on them. Previous reports indicated that the iPhone 6 would be available in two different sizes: 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches. According to today’s new report, however, the larger model could see delays of several months due to manufacturing difficulties.
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 6 later this year.
The updated smartphone will run a new version of the company’s iconic iOS software that—as reported by 9to5Mac—will feature a new focus on health and fitness; better iCloud tools for developers; Preview and TextEdit companion applications; changes to Messages and Game Center; and improvements to the Maps application, including public transit directions and better 3D support.
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Japan Display—one of Apple’s iPhone display suppliers—announced a new 5.5-inch mobile phone display this week that could provide a hint at what we’ll see in the next iPhone. The display. The display sports a resolution of 1,440x 2,560 (or quad-HD) and a pixel density of 538ppi—well above “Retina” quality.
The display will go into mass production very soon, lining up with reports that the next iPhone display would also be entering this phase in the next month or so in order to achieve a September launch. The new Japan Display model matches up with the iPhone 6 rumors in size, resolution, and production schedule.