Sharp

Sharp exec confirms iPhone 8 will have curved OLED screen & all-glass design

Sharp President Tai Jeng-wu—who is also a high-profile executive at Foxconn, Sharp's parent company and Apple's favorite contract manufacturer—said publicly that Apple's next iPhone will use a curved screen based on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology akin to that on Samsung's Galaxy S7 smartphone, Nikkei reported Saturday.

As you know, Apple currently uses OLED screens on the Apple Watch and the new MacBook Pro's Touch Bar. All iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices to date have used traditional LCD screens.

Sharp to begin producing OLED screens for a future iPhone before 2018

In addition to LG Display and Samsung's mobile display arm, both of which are now pouring significant resources into ramping up OLED panel production ahead of Apple's switch from LCDs to OLEDs for iPhones, Japanese outlet Nikkei is reporting today that Sharp is expected to do the same before 2018.

Apple is widely expected to make a switch to OLED screens in time for a tenth anniversary iPhone, due in 2017.

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn buys Apple supplier Sharp in a $3.5 billion deal

It's finally official: the world's leading contract fabricator, Foxconn, which assembles iPhones and other products for Apple and other consumer electronics companies, has purchased the struggling Japanese giant Sharp, one of Apple's display panel suppliers, in a deal valued at a reported $3.5 billion.

As reported today by The Wall Street Journal, Foxconn believes this transaction will improve its position on the technology value chain and has plans to expand Sharp's production capacity and invest in the production of OLED screens that future iPhones are expected to adopt.

WSJ: iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn is delaying the signing of Sharp takeover agreement

As previously reported, Apple's favorite contract manufacturer Foxconn has made a $6.2 billion bid to acquire the ailing Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp, which has been in the business for a cool 103 years now. Although Sharp’s board has made the decision to accept the offer last Thursday, it seems the acquisition is not a done deal after all.

As reported Friday by The Wall Street Journal, Foxconn is reportedly delaying the signing of the takeover agreement after it had been “surprised” by new information Sharp had disclosed just a day before.

Foxconn to acquire Sharp for $6.2 billion

Apple partner Foxconn is set to acquire Sharp for roughly 700 billion yen (or $6.2 billion USD), reports Nikkei Asian Review. The outlet says that Sharp's board voted on Thursday morning to accept the offer, and plans to restructure its operations under the Hon Hai umbrella.

The deal, which has not been officially announced yet, comes after years of failed negotiations between the two companies. Foxconn has made several attempts to acquire the struggling electronics giant, or large pieces of it, with the latest offer of $5.3 billion coming in January.

Foxconn makes a $5.3 billion offer to buy ailing iPhone display supplier Sharp

The Wall Street Journal has it on good authority that Foxconn, the world's biggest contract fabricator that assembles products for Apple and other companies, is buying Sharp, an iPhone display supplier.

Sharp has been in financial crisis for several years and banks have bailed it out twice in three years.

Foxconn has reportedly offered approximately ¥625 billion, or about $5.3 billion, to acquire Sharp. Back in 2013, Foxconn was supposed to buy a large stake in Sharp, but the deal quickly collapsed over share price dispute.

Sharp and Foxconn rumored to build and assemble touch modules for iPad Pro

The plot is thickening following yesterday's analyst report that Apple's larger-screened iPad is entering mass production in September and October and recent sightings of an unreleased “iPad6,8” model with a screen resolution of 2,732-by-2,048 pixels in commercial app analytics data.

According to Asian trade publication DigiTimes, Japanese giant Sharp and Foxconn, the world's top product assembler, will be supplying touch modules for the larger iPad, tentatively dubbed by the press the iPad Pro.

Apple Watch screen maker LG Display dominates 90% of market as Sharp posts huge losses

One Apple supplier's misery is another Apple supplier's fortune. Two of Apple's key display suppliers — Sharp and LG Display — are not enjoying quite the same positive effects from working with the Cupertino firm. At one end of the spectrum is LG Display, an exclusive supplier of flexible OLED panels for the Apple Watch.

The company now dominates the smartwatch display market with a ninety percent market share thanks to its lucrative contract with Apple, as per Business Korea.

On the other is Japan-based Sharp, one of Apple's display suppliers that has barely managed to avoid collapse after posting an annual net loss of a whopping $1.9 billion, according to The Financial Times on Thursday.

Sharp in talks with Apple to regain control of iPhone panel plant

Sharp is looking to regain control of its Kameyama plant back from Apple. Nikkei is reporting this afternoon that the company has proposed a deal to the Cupertino firm worth nearly $300 million, in an effort to diversify its customer base.

The Kameyama Plant No. 1 began operations in 2004 as a facility for manufacturing large panels for flat-screen TVs. But after consecutive years of profit losses, it called on Apple to help foot the bill to transition the plant to smaller panels...

Apple adds Innolux as third iPhone 6 screen supplier, Samsung and Sharp lose orders

Although Samsung of South Korea should build Apple's in-house designed A8 processor for the next iPhone and has remained the top iPad display supplier, it looks like the conglomerate won't make it on the list of suppliers providing 4.7-inch display panels for the iPhone 6.

A new report by Taiwanese media alleges that Apple dropped both Samsung as Sharp as iPhone 6 display suppliers, instead adding Innolux as a third supplier of iPhone 6 screens..

Production of 4.7-inch iPhone 6 screens to start in May, 5.5-inch model delayed

Production on screens for the 4.7-inch version of Apple's next iPhone could start as early as May, according to a new report from Reuters. Citing supply chain sources, the outlet says that Japan Display and other manufacturers are readying their facilities and could begin churning out panels next month.

Unfortunately, for those looking forward to the oft-rumored 5.5-inch model, it sounds like production issues have forced Apple to delay the handset. Reuters says that manufacturers are running into difficulties with in-cell technology, and the larger displays may not go into production for several months...

Nikkei: Apple to launch 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhone as early as September

Japanese news outlet Nikkei threw its weight behind a popular rumor today, reporting that Apple's next-gen iPhone will come in both 4.7- and 5.5-inch models. The theory that the company is working on two new larger-sized handsets has been reiterated several times over the past 6 months.

Citing sources within Apple's supply chain, Nikkei says that manufacturers have already begun making components for the new smartphones, like fingerprint sensors and chips for liquid-crystal drivers, and Sharp, Japan Display and LG will begin mass-producing their panels as early as April...