Display

LG Display beats Samsung handily for Apple display orders

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 25, 2012

According to a new supply chain report, LG Display beat its arch-rival Samsung for display panel orders and has now become the primary supplier of screens that Apple uses to build virtually all of its recently refreshed products.

Specifically, LG Display is said to provide panels for the new iPad mini, fourth-generation iPad with Retina display, 13-inch MacBook Pro and both 21.5 and 27-inch revamped iMac models. This is of particular interest to would-be shoppers eyeing the iPad mini because "frustrated suppliers", per one analyst, previously had issues meeting Apple's exacting standards...

New Lightning HDMI and VGA adapters, 12W USB charger now on sale

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

Per rumors, Apple yesterday alongside the iPad mini, a revamped iMac, refreshed Mac mini and the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro also took the wraps off some new Lightning accessories that will be of note to people who want to show off their presentations, apps, games and more on devices that accept HDMI or VGA input.

Each adapter commands a steep $49 price and is available now from the online Apple Store, with shipping estimates already slipped to a 2-3 week backorder. Apple also put on sale a more powerful USB iPad charger that now provides twelve watts of power instead of ten, helping with faster charge times...

Conveniently, Sharp says IGZO devices set to surge

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2012

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...

Google’s October 29 agenda outed: Nexus 10 aiming squarely at the iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 12, 2017

Google's Android event is scheduled to take place on October 29 in New York, but the company's planned product launches have apparently been outed by The Next Web. In addition to a 32GB version of the seven-inch Nexus 7 tablet (which has already turned up in U.S. stores) and the long-expected cellular version of the device, Google is said to take Apple on the high-end with the introduction of a ten-inch Nexus tablet thought to incorporate a 2,560-by-1,600 pixel screen with a pixel density of 300 pixels per inch versus the iPad 3's Retina display which tops the 264 pixels per inch on its 9.7-inch 2,048-by-1,536 Retina display...

Display pro debunks a 1080p iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 19, 2012

The Android camp has long insisted on pushing massive screen sizes to the point where even Apple felt compelled to respond by making the iPhone's screen taller. Excluding Gorilla-sized devices such as the Galaxy Note phablet, smartphones typically have displays between four and five inches diagonally and settle with the native 720p resolution (1,280-by-720).

But as HTC's upcoming J Butterfly shows, device makers aren't standing still and are now pushing 1080p smartphone screens. President and CEO of DisplayMate Dr. Raymond Soneira knows a thing or two about displays and he thinks packing twice as much pixels onto essentially the same surface area is marginally beneficial as your eye can hardly tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on a typical smartphone display...

HTC has the world’s first five-inch 1080p phone

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 19, 2012

According to Apple, a display deserves the Retina moniker if its pixel density is so high that your eye is unable to discern the individual pixels. In the case of a smartphone, Retina means at least 300 pixels per inch. The Retina display on the iPhone 4/4S/5 has 326 pixels per inch.

Now, imagine a five-inch phone that packs 440 pixels per square inch, featuring the native full HD resolution of 1,920-by-1,080 pixels. That's exactly what the ailing handset maker HTC set out to create with a new upcoming phone dubbed the J Butterfly...

Expert laughs off Microsoft’s pre-emptive claim of Surface beating iPad 3 on screen sharpness

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 18, 2012

A Microsoft engineer in a Reddit thread made a bold claim that a 1,366-by-768 pixel resolution display on the Surface tablet is way sharper than the 2,048-by-1,536 pixel resolution Retina display on the iPad 3. The comment left some scratching their head, wondering if Microsoft found a way to bypass the laws of physics.

President of DisplayMate Technologies Raymond Soneira is an expert at these things: he previously dispelled Heatgate, recently rated the iPhone 5 as having the best display in a smartphone and now is back with a brief shootout concerning the Surface's ClearType sub-pixel rendering allegedly improving display clarity beyond what Apple's device offers...

The iPad mini doesn’t have a widescreen display?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

A pair of OEM leaks thought to depict the same display appear to strongly suggests that, despite the skinnier side bezels and a smaller form-factor, the iPad mini might still incorporate the display which has an aspect ratio of 4:3, just like prior iPads and iPhones (except for the iPhone 5, of course).

This means videos played on the smaller iPad will continue to be letterboxed, at least until an iPad mini with a taller display arrives (you heard that here first!). I guess Apple had to save something for future iterations. Also leaked today: another image of a battery said to belong to the iPad mini, with the label rating it at 16.7Whr and 3.72V...

Panasonic reportedly looking to find its way into Apple’s supply chain for the iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 16, 2012

Apple has traditionally used Samsung displays in products and lately has begun sourcing portable screens from other suppliers, namely LG Display, Japan Display and Sharp. If a new business report out of Japan is correct, Panasonic will exit the TV biz to focus on churning out displays for portable electronics, with a strong focus on Apple's iPad.

It actually makes sense. Due to price wars eating into the already razor-thin margins, LCD TV sets have become a highly unprofitable affair for Japan's consumer electronics makers - just ask Sharp.

Perhaps having sensed that Foxconn and Apple grew tired of saving Sharp and coping with yield issues plaguing its cutting-edge display plant in Osaka, Panasonic is now thought to have already sent sample LCD panels to Cupertino and Apple "seems to be satisfied"...

The iPad mini: are you ready for Scuffgate on a grand scale?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

October 10 has come and gone without an Apple invitation (Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt who called for it apologized), prompting watchers to wonder about a smaller and cheaper iPad Apple's rumored to be close to launching under the iPad mini moniker.

According to a supply chain report today, Apple is facing quality control issues with the device's display and chassis, suggesting that shipments are not smooth at the moment due to low yield rates. The report notes that the iPad mini will come in native and black-colored aluminum chassis said to be "more vulnerable to scratching". That doesn't sound good.

The manufacturing difficulties are being blamed on anodizing, a finish process where aluminum thrown into a pool of chemicals and then running an electrical current through the acid bath, which produces a skin-deep layer that can easily be peeled off. The anodized finish process on the black cases for the iPad mini is reportedly "more critical", resulting in lower yield rates...

The Woz calls for Gorilla-sized iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 10, 2012

For five years Apple's iPhones have had the same 3.5-inch screen when competition moved up to bigger canvases, measuring all the way up to five inches and beyond. With this year's iPhone, Apple increased the screen to four inches. The company even defends the move with ergonomics being the primary concern for making the screen taller but not wider. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak reflects on Apple's stubborn insistence on one-size-fits-all approach and wishes the iPhone came in at least two sizes...

Sharp: we removed bottleneck in supplies of iPhone 5 displays

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 28, 2012

The struggling Japanese electronics giant Sharp confirmed Friday that it is making "adequate volumes" of displays used for Apple's iPhone 5, Reuters reports. Sharp's statement arrives just as Apple has rolled out the device to 22 more countries this morning. The ongoing supply constraints continue to affect availability of the iPhone 5, which still shows 2-3 week shipping times on Apple's international online stores. Furthermore, some international carriers stopped taking iPhone 5 pre-orders due to low supplies...