Major Apple supplier LG Display is reportedly investing a whopping $13.5 billion over the next three years in order to boost output of OLED panels for TVs and smartphones, which Apple is widely expected to adopt for this year's premium iPhone 8 model.
A new rumor Friday from the Korea Economic Daily, citing an unnamed source in the chemical industry, alleges that Apple has chosen LG subsidiary LG Chem as an exclusive supplier of L-shaped two-cell batteries for next year's iPhone model, tentatively named “iPhone 9”.
Apple is reportedly in talks with LG Display about investing anywhere between $1.75 billion and $2.62 billion into the South Korean firm's new “E6” plant with a target monthly capacity of about 30,000 units of sixth-generation OLED panels.
According to The Korea Herald newspaper on Monday, the upcoming facility would be “exclusively dedicated to Apple orders” and should come online as early as 2019. A source said that the funding from Apple should help LG Display reduce risks from the lower margin.
The two companies have tentatively agreed on the investment plans, but details on the timing and size of the investment have yet to be finalized. The final decision is expected to be made following LG Display's board meeting later this month.
LG previously discussed an $870 million Google investment into its OLED plant.
An anonymous source said:
Samsung Display is the only display maker that meets Apple’s strict quality criteria for now. LG Display is said to be meeting about 70 percent level of the requirements, while Chinese display makers are still struggling to catch up with that of LG.
LG Display’s OLED supply for iPhone was delayed because the company failed to purchase Canon Tokki’s vacuum machine, the most advanced OLED production equipment whose supply is extremely limited. Recently, LG secured two units of the machine to speed up production.
With the new equipment installations expected in December 2017 and February 2018, LG Display’s production capacity is expected to double to 60,000 OLED panel units per month.
LG’s other new OLED plant, called “E5”, will focus on orders from LG Electronics and Chinese clients. Samsung Display is expected to be the sole supplier of OLED panels for iPhone 8 this year. LG Display currently builds flexible OLED panels for Apple Watch on an exclusive basis.
Samsung Display is reportedly building the world's biggest OLED manufacturing facility dedicated to orders from Apple and Samsung Electronics.
iPhone 8 concept via Benjamin Geskin.
Here's another proof Apple should have thought twice before exiting the standalone display business—the company was forced to suspend sales of LG's new 5K monitor that launched last fall along with the new MacBook Pro following a flurry of complaints from users, ranging from screen flickering to interference with nearby routers to problems with Thunderbolt, Business Insider reported Monday morning.
Apple Stores have stopped carrying the $974 LG UltraFine 5K Display for now. It continues to be available through Apple.com, with a shipping time of 5-6 weeks and no options for pickup in Apple Stores. Maybe now would be the perfect time to revive the phased-out Apple Thunderbolt Display?
LG Electronics is teasing an upcoming G6 flagship smartphone in a new 45-second teaser video posted to its YouTube channel yesterday.
Listing some of the things people apparently want in an ideal smartphone, the clip seems to tease a minimum-bezel 5.7-inch waterproof phone (you'll recall that Apple's iPhone 8 is rumored to feature increased IP68-rated water resistance).
Although it does not specifically mention G6, the clip asks you to “imagine how your wishes will come to life” before hinting it’ll all happen in February, when G6 is expected to be formally announced at Mobile World Congress.
LG's UltraFine 5K Display, the external ultra high-resolution display Apple didn't want to make, is now available to order through Apple.com. The display can be ordered with Apple's in-store pickup option (availability of in-store pickup may vary from one store to another). First orders were scheduled to deliver on December 27 or 28, with in-store pickup availability on December 29. However, estimated delivery times quickly slipped to 2-4 weeks.
LG's display-making arm is said to be gearing up to kick off volume production of foldable displays for future iPhones, said Korean news outlet ETNews. In addition to Apple, LG Display should supply foldable displays to Google and Microsoft in 2018. LG-developed foldable display prototypes were of sufficient quality for the company to secure global manufacturers as its partners.
A future iPhone could enhance the iPhone 7 Plus's depth-of-field Portrait photography mode with all-new “3D photographing” features, according to a new report Thursday from The Korea Economic Daily. The outlet is reporting that the Cupertino firm has teamed up with LG Innotek on a next-generation dual-camera module with 3D photography features, likely to be used in select 2017 iPhone models.
In addition to discounting USB-C adapters and peripherals, it appears Apple is also offering 25% off the new 4K and 5K LG displays for a limited time. On the company's website, you can see that both models have seen significant reductions in price with a "special pricing" note.
During its 'hello again' event on Thursday, Apple showed off a new 27-inch 5K LG UltraFine display. SVP Phil Schiller described it as the "ultimate docking station" because it has multiple Thunderbolt 3 ports, and can even charge the new MacBook Pro.
Schiller also noted that Apple teamed up with LG to build the display specifically for the new Pro, so it's unclear what the future is of Apple-branded displays. There have been rumors it's building one, but it may have decided the numbers aren't there.
LG Display, one of the Asian companies that provide screens for Apple products, yesterday announced plans to spend an additional 1.99 trillion won, or about $1.75 billion, on its sixth-generation “P9” flexible OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) production line in Paju. More OLED facilities are coming soon in Paju and Gumi, LG said.
LG Display will jack up investment on next-generation mobile screens based on Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) technology as its top customer Apple Inc. prepares to adopt these ultra-thin, power-saving screens for iPhones “as early as 2017,” Bloomberg reported Wednesday.