Renesas Electronics

Synaptics acquiring iPhone display chipmaker Renesas SP Drivers for $475 million

Cody Lee ∙ June 11, 2014

As expected, touchscreen chipmaker has announced that it will be buying Renesas SP Drivers, the sole supplier of display chips for the iPhone. The deal is said to be worth $475 million—around the same price Apple was rumored to bid for the company earlier this year.

For those unfamiliar with Renesas, it's a joint venture between Powerchip and Sharp that specializes in building LCD drivers for small and mid-sized LCD panels. These chips determine a display's quality, and typically account for around 10% of a device's battery usage...

Synaptics beats Apple to the punch on Renesas SP Drivers acquisition

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple has failed to follow through with its rumored acquisition of the chipmaker Renesas Electronics' mobile display chip division, Renesas SP Drivers. Reuters reported Tuesday that the iPhone maker has definitely lost its bid to acquire Renesas to Synaptics, a company that builds touchpads and touchscreens for an array of mobile and desktop devices.

The development is especially newsworthy given that Synaptics was once an Apple supplier (the company is not listed on Apple's list of 2014 suppliers). Basically, this means that the powerful consumer electronics powerhouse has gotten outbid by one of its former suppliers...

Rumor: Apple buying Renesas SP Drivers to improve iPhone battery life and image sharpness

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The Japanese business site Nikkei is reporting that Apple is in discussions with chipmaker Renesas Electronics concerning taking over their division that builds mobile display chips, Renesas SP Drivers.

The deal should enable Tim Cook & Co. to bring another technological piece under their roof and help Apple's engineers "improve image sharpness and battery life" on iPhones.

Renesas Electronics is included on the official list of Apple's suppliers. Apple is known for investing in its partners and suppliers when it makes sense. For instance, the company holds a ten percent stake in UK's fabless semiconductor maker Imagination Technologies which provides blueprints for GPUs used in iOS devices...