Apple will look to Japan Display (JDI) as its main panel maker in 2016, according to media reports in Japan citing industry sources.
Sharp was originally considered a major contender to provide displays to Apple in 2016 but has since been disregarded due to the panel maker's decisions over the last few years to give order priority to China-based vendors. The sources said that over the years Sharp was concerned about Apple orders varying drastically depending on the season, and that it aimed to differentiate its customer base with an emphasis in China. The Japan maker's move led Apple to begin renegotiating with other makers to solidify display supply and JDI was chosen as a major contender for its high-end displays such as In-Cell.
Apple will strengthen its cooperation with JDI for higher-end displays, and is expected to continue doing so into 2016 as plans for the new iPhone have already been laid out, the sources said.
Sharp meanwhile has suffered due to increased production and capacity at China panel makers, and continues to struggle with its overall LCD operations as a result. The panel maker is expected to play a minimal role in Apple's supply chain in 2016 and is also seeing its role in the China market decrease severely.
Heading into 2017 may be a completely different scenario, as Apple is reportedly interested in AMOLED displays, the sources noted. Digitimes recently received information from supply chain sources that Apple has been concerned over production bottlenecks related to In-Cell panels that have prevented the company from increasing the resolution for iPhone devices. The media report from Japan meanwhile reiterated similar concerns but noted Apple is still concerned about AMOLED's lifespan.
Despite that Apple may shift to AMOLED technology, it is still highly unlikely Sharp will make any investments into producing AMOLED panels, as it currently does not have any production equipment and is also incurring losses, which are expected to continue throughout 2015.
Apple is expected to continue exploring other possible solutions such as switching back to G/G technology in order to support higher-end displays but these panels are currently in the early development stage, the supply chain makers added.
The Japan media report did not mention any new developments regarding industry rumors stating Foxconn Electronics will purchase Sharp's LCD business or whether Apple would be included in the purchase.
No comments:
Post a Comment