Display

iPad 5: lighter and thinner thanks to tweaked display assembly

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 12, 2013

Several supply chain checks are now pointing to Apple's fifth-generation iPad being lighter and thinner over its predecessor, the iPad 4. According to one display expert, Apple will achieve the thinner appearance in a lighter device thanks to advancements in the display department. For starters, in reducing the size of LED backlighting and improving its efficiency, Apple engineers will be able to reduce the overall weight of the device. The company may also use a new kind of touch sensor, he speculated Friday...

Apple looking for an engineer to help investigate flexible display tech

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

According to a job listing posted on its website April 1, Apple is looking for a Senior Optical Engineer to lead the investigation on emerging display technologies, including high efficiency LCD panels and flexible displays.

The latter seems to confirm speculation that Apple is interested in incorporating flexible display tech into future iOS devices—something that's been hinted at in patent filings, and brought up in recent iWatch rumors...

Analyst: budget iPhone won’t have Retina display

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 22, 2013

Apple's rumored less-expensive iPhone aimed at emerging markets won't just shave costs by having a polycarbonate body instead of Unibody aluminum design, it is bound to have a standard-resolution screen rather than Apple's Retina display, like other iDevices. That's at least what one analyst wrote in a note to clients Friday, based on the often unreliable supply chain checks.

He's also calling for a June or July launch for both the budget iPhone and the iPhone 5S (a specs upgrade to the iPhone 5), which is the time frame that was mentioned previously in a few other recent reports...

Apple won’t use Samsung screens for iPad 5 and iPad mini 2

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 20, 2013

In another hint of Apple distancing itself from Samsung by procuring crucial gadget components from alternative suppliers, we hear the Cupertino firm may have already dropped Samsung entirely as the maker of next-gen panels for a fifth-generation iPad and a second-generation iPad mini.

Both devices are rumored to arrive later this year, allegedly sporting the high-resolution Retina display technology and sharing a light aluminum chassis with thinner appearance and chamfered edges...

Foxconn boss cancels talks with Sharp over Samsung investment

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 19, 2013

Earlier this month we told you that Apple's frenemy Samsung confirmed a plan to pour a cool $112 million into buying a three percent stake in Sharp. Making matters complicated, Sharp, an Apple supplier, has been trying to negotiate another investment from Apple's favorite manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry, known in the Western world as Foxconn. Last year, as you know, Foxconn was trying to acquire an eleven percent stake in Sharp.

There have been indications that Foxconn wanted to re-negotiate after Sharp’s share price tumbled, but most recent reports assert the deal has all but fallen apart. We're now hearing that Foxconn CEO Terry Gou has cancelled talks with Sharp after learning that his potential partner has gone to bed with Samsung, even more so now that Sharp is expected to supply more LCD panels to Samsung than to Apple...

Gullible analyst says no iTV this year because Apple finds 4K display too costly

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 12, 2013

An analyst with a terrible track record wrote in a note to clients issued Tuesday that Apple won't release a standalone HD TV set in 2013 after all. As much as Apple wanted to, the report has it, the company has allegedly found ultra high-resolution 4K panels to be prohibitively expensive.

You should take this particular analyst's observations with a healthy dose of skepticism: the same guy called for an Apple-branded HD TV announcement at last year's WWDC, later mulling full iTV production for August 2012. He repeatedly said iTV was "imminent" (calling it the iPanel), having also missed with an Apple TV related media event (and a bunch of other things that never came to be)...

Samsung buys 3% of Apple screen supplier Sharp

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 6, 2013

Apple is Samsung's largest buyer of components, accounting for 8.8 percent of Samsung’s revenue. The two firms are also bitter enemies when it comes to litigation as they remain entangled in a complicated web of more than 20 lawsuits spanning continents.

As if that weren't bad enough, now comes the definite confirmation that the Galaxy maker pledged to spend $112 million to buy a three percent stake in Sharp, which has been struggling to stay afloat amid losses and low manufacturing yields.

The investment, a strategic move on the part of the South Korean conglomerate, is meant to give Samsung a steady supply of LCD panels from diversified sources. Apple, too, was rumored to have spent to the tune of $2 billion to prevent Sharp from going under.

Additionally, the iPhone maker is thought to have tried to save the Japanese giant through its preferred contract manufacturer Foxconn, which last year wanted to buy eleven percent of Sharp. The deadline for that transaction closes later this month, but the deal may have already hit the wall after Sharp's share price tumbled...

LG saw 90% drop in iPad panel shipments in January

Cody Lee ∙ February 26, 2013

A new report out of China claims that LG Display saw shipments of its 9.7-inch iPad display panels drop 90% in January, from 6 million units in December all the way down to 600,000. The drop-off is said to be a main factor in LG's poor performance in the month.

The reason for the order cuts? Well according to supply chain sources, it's a combination of a few things including the fact that January was the first post-holiday month, the growing popularity of the iPad mini, and a general shift in the market to lower-priced tablets...

Apple orders Retina iPad mini screens from Japan Display and LG Display

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 25, 2013

Apple, according to a new supply chain report out of Asia, has placed orders with LG Display and Japan Display for high-resolution Retina screens for a second-generation iPad mini. Japan Display is a merger of the mobile display operations of Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba, in conjunction with the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. Now, LG Display and AU Optronics both currently supply 1,024-by-768 panels for the iPad mini, and iDB last week heard the latter has already started mass producing Retina panels for the second-generation iPad mini.

With LG Display and Japan Display now reportedly having been added to the mix - and with leaks like this purported back shell - all signs point to Apple lining up its suppliers ahead of manufacturing, usually a tell-tale sign that the official announcement is around the corner. And if the iPad mini 2 is in fact looming, we're probably looking at a summer launch at WWDC...

AU Optronics reportedly started mass producing iPad mini 2 Retina panels

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Two days ago, sources reported AU Optronics, which alongside LG Display supplies Apple with 1,024-by-768 display panels for the iPad mini, recently began work on new screens for the next-generation iPad mini. And with yields allegedly now meeting Apple's exacting standards, Taiwan media Friday claimed AU Optronics started mass producing 2,048-by-1,536 324ppi Retina screens for the device, which is said to use the dual-core A5X chip and quad-core graphics to drive the display...

Google launches its Retina Chromebook, the Pixel

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 20, 2017

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-XTpdDDXiU

Following a credible leak recently - and just hours after The Wall Street Journal reported that "Google is developing touchscreen devices using Chrome Operating System" - the Internet giant on Wednesday introduced its premium Chromebook with a Retina-class display. Tentatively named Chromebook Pixel, it features a 12.85-inch 2,560-by-1,700 screen that Google proclaims “the highest pixel density (239 pixels per inch) of any laptop screen on the market today.”

By comparison, the 13-inch MacBook Pro has a 2560-by-1600 220 pixels per inch screen and the 15-incher has an even crisper 2880-by-1800 display at 220 pixels per inch. The Pixel's 400 nit display also has a 178-degree viewing angle and is driven by the same crappy Intel HD Graphics 4000 platform as the MacBook Air. Other specs of the 3.35lbs computer include a 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 chip with 4G of RAM, mini DisplayPort, two USB ports, a 2-in-1 card reader and 32 gigabytes of built-in flash storage.

But unlike Apple's notebooks, Google's responds to touch, potentially opening door to the Gorilla arm syndrome which, according to Apple, rules out multitouch on notebook screens...

iPad 5 to switch to iPad mini display tech for thinner assembly

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 19, 2013

According to new reports by Taiwanese media outlets, Apple is said to be lining up suppliers for a fifth-generation 9.7-inch iPad. The gizmo is said to adopt a revamped touchscreen technology, basically the same "GF2" display tech found on the 7.9-inch iPad mini. The iPad mini's display assembly is notably thinner compared to its bigger brother that sports the glass-on-glass design so the reports jive nicely with previous rumors pointing to the iPad 5 borrowing a few design ideas from the iPad mini, namely a thinner and lighter appearance...