On the eve of Apple’s iPad mini event, the Japanese giant Sharp has announced it expects shipments of devices incorporating its cutting-edge low-power IGZO (Indium gallium zinc oxide) display technology to surge. IGZO incorporates a thin-film transistor that allows for thinner devices while reducing power consumption and increasing image quality. NPD DisplaySearch claimed last month Apple would refresh display tech on the iPad 3 and another story back in July asserted that a 7.85-inch mini iPad would use an IGZO display made by Sharp…
Interesting that the notoriously unreliable DigiTimes first broke this rumor in December of last year.
Today’s update, via MacWorld:
Japan’s Sharp said Tuesday that mobile devices using its new IGZO display technology, which can triple battery life while offering higher touch sensitivity, are about to surge.
The company decline to provide specific details, but Sharp executive Masami Ohbatake told reporters in Tokyo that the two devices already announced with the technology would soon be joined by many more.
What’s so special about IGZO is that it requires far less power than the traditional LCD technology while providing more vivid colors, deeper blacks and sharper image overall. Unlike LCDs which need a constant power stream, IGZO technology only uses extra power when the user presses the screen.
Another nice-to-have of IGZO tech: increased touch accuracy.
The iPad mini won’t be the first tablet to feature IGZO technology – that’d be Sharp’s own seven-inch Aquos Pad SHT 21, announced a week ago for the Japanese market only.
Sharp is an Apple supplier. The struggling Japanese company is in the process of being acquired by Foxconn and currently supplies screens for the iPhone 5.
Do you think the iPad mini will be the first mainstream consumer tablet to feature IGZO tech?