Samsung one step closer to commercializing ultrathin graphene screens for wearables

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 4, 2014

Samsung has been the world’s largest maker of LCD panels since 2002. By 2004, the conglomerate was the world’s top manufacturer of OLED panels accounting for a 40 percent market share worldwide and as of 2010 has a commanding 98 percent share of the global AMOLED market.

Small wonder that Apple used to source most of its screens for iOS devices from Samsung up until 2012, when Tim Cook & Co. began slowly shifting display orders away from the Galaxy maker amid the ongoing patent spat.

But Samsung is not standing still. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal Friday, the Galaxy maker has claimed significant progress on graphene, described as the next wonder material… Read More

 

Could Apple be using Japan Display’s new 5.5-inch Quad HD panel in the iPhone 6?

By Cody Lee on Mar 28, 2014

Apple is currently putting the finishing touches on its next-generation iPhone. And if the flurry of rumors and so-called insider reports are to be believed, the handset is going to feature an Ultra Retina display that will come in two sizes: 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch, among other improvements.

With that in mind, you can understand why this new 5.5-inch panel from Japan Display—a long time Apple supplier—is so interesting to us. Unveiled this week, the panel measures 5.5-inches and is of the Quad HD (aka WQHD) variety, with a resolution of 1,440 x 2,560 and a ppi of 538… Read More

 

Rumor: the next iPhones have sharper 4.7″ and 5.5″ Retina screens with sapphire protection

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 12, 2014

According to a new report by the South China Morning Post, Apple is reportedly gearing up to launch two new iPhones with bigger screens sporting sapphire crystal protection. The handsets are reportedly scheduled to launch in September 2014.

In corroborating previous rumors by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, sources claim the upcoming iPhones have 4.7 and 5.5-inch screens coated in sapphire, the expensive gemstone Apple uses to protect its Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5s and iSight camera lenses on iOS devices. And, the screens will be flat, not curved… Read More

 

iPhone 6 to feature ‘bezel-free’ display, rumor has it

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 11, 2014

Analysts and high-profile outlets like The Wall Street Journal are expecting not one, but two new iPhones this year, each outfitted with a display significantly larger than the current four-inch iPhone 5/5s/5c. The Japanese magazine Mac Fan claimed in a report last October that the iPhone 6 will be the first phablet on the market optimized for one-hand operation.

A month earlier, analyst Ming Chi-Kuo opined that Apple would want to honor its self-imposed “unwavering principle of one hand use”. But how does one make a five-inch iPhablet optimized for one-hand use? By dropping the side bezels, that’s how… Read More

 

Foxconn looking to open large display manufacturing plant in US

By Cody Lee on Jan 27, 2014

Foxconn is looking to beef up its presence in the US according to some recent comments made by Terry Gou. During an event marking the company’s 40th anniversary, the chairman said they were exploring the possibly of opening a large display plant in the country.

The manufacturing giant already has a handful of factories scattered across the US, but this particular facility would be capable of producing TV-sized display panels over 60-inches. And the move could save Foxconn’s American clients millions of dollars in shipping costs… Read More

 

iPhone with sapphire glass display allegedly in trial production

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 24, 2014

According to a new rumor by Taiwan’s Apple Daily, Apple’s favorite contract manufacturer, Foxconn, has ostensibly commenced trial production of the next iPhone, using sapphire as a display glass cover. The initial production run has been pegged at 100 units.

This doesn’t mean that the next iPhone will in fact ditch Corning’s Gorilla Glass for sapphire-strengthened display, mind you. Apple currently uses sapphire to protect iOS device cameras and Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5s from scratches and dings.

Earlier today, a video excerpt from ABC’s upcoming interview with CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives brought the official confirmation of Apple’s plan to exclusively produce sapphire crystal glass components at its new facility in Mesa, Arizona… Read More

 

Poll: what screen size should the iPhone 6 be?

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 21, 2014

Two years ago, our iPhones were all 3.5-inch. It was a time when jumbo-sized handsets had started to steal Apple’s thunder as a bunch of people responded enthusiastically to bigger smartphones from the Android camp, namely, Samsung.

Our non-scientific poll asked you back in May 2012 whether the then-unreleased iPhone 5 should rock a bigger screen. More than four out of each ten respondents voted for a four-inch display being the new gold standard for iPhones going forward.

But a lot has happened in the past eighteen months. Fast forward to today and all of a sudden what seemed preposterous in 2012 is commonly accepted in 2014.

The line between a smartphone and a phablet is now blurred to the point where a lot of Apple fans have taken notice of these oversized handsets and are now demanding that Apple responds to the trend accordingly.

The rumor-mill is adamant that Tim Cook will further diversify Apple’s mobile product portfolio in 2014 by commissioning a 12.9-inch iPad alongside larger-screened iPhones. Taking it all in, what screen size the next iPhone should be, do you think? Read More

 

Rumor: LG Display strikes deal with Apple to exclusively build 1.52-inch OLED iWatch screens

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 20, 2014

It was reported last October that LG Display was close to reaching an agreement with Apple to build tiny OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens for the rumored iWatch. As the original article by The Korea Herald asserted, LG Display would become the second iWatch display supplier, with Taiwan’s RiTDisplay acting as the primary supplier and Japan Display a likely candidate as well.

According to a new report Monday by Seoul-based online tech publication Digital Daily, Apple has now selected LG Display as a sole supplier of 1.52-inch panels for the iWatch… Read More

 

Apple Stores to start repairing iPhone 5c screens next week

By Cody Lee on Jan 17, 2014

Apple will begin conducting in-store screen repairs for the iPhone 5c next week, according to a report from 9to5Mac. The site says that under the new practice, the company will be able to repair most displays ‘within the hour.’

This means that Apple Stores will no longer have to replace an entire device due to a cracked screen. And the initiative will not only help Apple save money on repairs, but it’ll also save users from having to setup new devices… Read More

 

Apple now selling 4K Sharp displays in its European web stores

By Cody Lee on Dec 6, 2013

Apple has begun offering a 32-inch Sharp Ultra HD LED monitor in its European web stores. The 4K monitor, which retails for £3,499.00 (or roughly $5,700 USD), has been available since November, but this is the first we’ve heard of Apple selling it.

The display uses Sharp’s IGZO technology (Indium gallium zinc oxide) and has a resolution of 3840 x 2160. It offers a 1.07 billion color palette, an 800:1 contrast ratio, and comes with DisplayPort support (though it doesn’t include the Mini DP adapter)… Read More

 

New panels from AU Optronics may hint at upcoming 4K Apple displays

By Cody Lee on Nov 26, 2013

The new Mac Pro, which Apple first introduced at WWDC, is capable of driving up to 3 4K displays simultaneously. This is something the company has mentioned several times, leading to speculation that it has a 4K-flavored display on the way.

Although such a product hasn’t materialized yet, some new evidence has surfaced this week that could indicate it’s still on the way. Apparently, Apple supplier AUO is currently making 27-inch and 33-inch 4K thunderbolt-compatible display panels… Read More

 

Apple could enhance Touch ID with trackpad capabilities, embed sensor right into display

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 25, 2013

Last week, Patently Apple shed light on an Apple patent filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office which covers the various aspects of its Touch ID fingerprint scanner, a new feature exclusive to the iPhone 5s.

The invention is entitled Capacitive Sensor Packaging and details collapsing the full fingerprint maps into a hashed, encrypted data securely stored on the A7 chip’s Secure Enclave. It’s curious that the patent’s main inventor, Wayne Westerman, developed Multi-Touch technology at Fingerworks, a startup Apple snapped up in 2005.

In another massive 612-page patent application Apple filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization in May 2013, the iPhone maker indicates it’s been researching mobile screens with Touch ID embedded, along with trackpad capabilities allowing for panning of on-screen content by moving your finger over the Touch ID Home button… Read More

 

Retina iPad mini has inferior color gamut to iPad Air

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 18, 2013

Apple’s latest iPad mini with Retina display went unexpectedly on sale last Friday. As is the case with any Apple product launch, this one, too, came with its share of teething issues.

Some early adopters may have bought a device with Sharp-made IGZO screen which apparently exhibits slight image retention issue, for example.

I was deep into AnanandTech’s exhaustive Retina iPad mini review the other day and stumbled upon a section which describes the device’s Retina display as actually showing fewer colors compared to the iPad Air. Not that an untrained eye will notice any difference, but I’ve decided to post this anyway for purely academic purposes… Read More

 

Some early adopters complaining about screen burn-in on their Retina iPad mini

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 15, 2013

An unknown portion of the first batch of Retina iPad minis coming out of assembly line is apparently plagued with the screen retention problem, reports from disgruntled users claim. Every Apple product launch is marred with teething issues, though this one is more than skin-deep. As we reported, Korea’s ETNews blamed the issues last week on production woes with Sharp-made IGZO Retina panels.

Manufacturing issues have apparently prompted Apple to negotiate with Samsung Display for the supply of 7.9-inch Retina screens starting next year, as Samsung’s display-making unit “was the first to solve the technological problem”. At the heart of the issue is malfunctioning of Sharp’s thin-film transistor screen technology… Read More

 

Apple expected to increase holiday-quarter iPad screen purchases from Samsung

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 11, 2013

Samsung of South Korea may have gotten itself into hot water with Apple over patents and design issues, but its semiconductor unit continues to churn out unabated the Apple-designed engine which powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod devices. As for Retina screens, Apple originally sourced mobile displays from non-Samsung suppliers such as Sharp and LG Display.

Last we heard, recent yield and quality issues have reportedly prompted the iPhone maker to turn to its frenemy for help. Korea’s ETNews last Friday claimed Apple has asked Samsung for help as Sharp struggles to solve burn-in issues with IGZO panels for the iPad Air.

At the heart of the production issues is Japanese giant’s malfunctioning of the thin-film transistor display technology. Corroborating the report, a display research firm on Monday said Apple’s purchase of Samsung-made panels for the iPad is about to skyrocket in the fourth quarter… Read More

 

Screen burn-ins apparently causing delayed Retina iPad mini launch

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 8, 2013

Apple’s web page advertises the new iPad mini with Retina display as coming in late November. In Apple’s parlance, that’s probably November 29, a Friday. Apple’s penchant for making new products available shortly following the announcement was not on display at the October 22 media event as the company said the new iPad mini would not launch alongside the iPad Air.

We already heard that Apple was looking to both LG Display and Samsung as the primary iPad mini screen supplier Sharp has been experiencing issues producing high-resolution 7.9-inch IGZO panels, causing limited supplies at launch. A new report alleges Sharp’s LCD panels are actually suffering from burn-in problems, prompting Apple once again to seek help from arch-rival Samsung… Read More

 

Samsung talks future: folding screens and 4K smartphones coming in 2015

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 6, 2013

One of the thrills of writing about technology is that more often than not one gets to blog about the next big thing always lurking just around the corner. Fans of technology have been living in the future forever and today Samsung spoke to the technophiles, sharing some of the upcoming technologies its mobile display unit is aiming to bring to market in 2014 and 2015.

We’ll be living in the post-Retina world next year as Samsung preps to double the pixel count on smartphone and tablet screens, we’re being told. And by 2015, your mobile devices will have full 4K resolution displays – that’s a whopping 3,840-by-2,160 pixels normally found on Ultra HD TV sets, or four times the pixels of the full HD (1,920-by-1,080) Blu-ray movies.

By comparison, the iPad’s Retina display maxes out at 2,048-by-1,536 pixels. But that’s just scratching the surface… Read More

 

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX tops iPad Air in display shootout

By Cody Lee on Nov 5, 2013

With the recent releases of both the iPad Air and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX, the folks over at DisplayMate thought it was time to pit the two new tablets against each other (and against Google’s Nexus 10 tablet) in one of its signature display shootouts.

DisplayMate, a highly-regarded authority on display technology, likes to measure various aspects of device displays such as screen reflectance and absolute color accuracy, to see who is using the best panels. And according to its latest test, Amazon is… Read More

 

Rumor: LG nears OLED iWatch deal, Google smartwatch due ‘within months’

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 29, 2013

LG Display, a prominent Apple supplier that provides LCD panels for the iPad, MacBook and iMac devices, is apparently close to striking a deal to supply a portion of flexible OLED screens for Apple’s rumored iWatch wearable device. Furthermore, Apple is understood to have discussed the possibility of a similar deal with its biggest supplier Samsung, but talks apparently fell apart.

In addition to LG Display, the rumor also mentions Taiwan’s RiTDisplay as another possible iWatch screen supplier… Read More

 

iPhone 6 may adopt IGZO screens as Sharp finally commercializes tech

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 21, 2013

Apple has long wanted to make a switch from the traditional LCD IPS display technology utilized on iOS devices to Sharp’s cutting-edge IGZO technology.

Unfortunately, Apple’s been unable to offer an IGZO iPhone because the struggling Japanese giant had been facing tremendous technical hurdles preventing mass production of these sophisticated panels.

According to the latest supply chain chatter, Sharp has now successfully commercialized production of IGZO panels for smartphones and will begin manufacturing them at its Kameyama Plant Number 2 before the end of 2013… Read More

 
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