Sharp will make next-generation, low-temperature poly-silicon displays for the iPhone 6, it has been claimed.
According to a published report in Japan, the company is to make the displays for the handset, which is anticipated in 2012, and will be smaller and lighter than previous versions.
However, given that the launch timing of the iPhone 5 is in some doubt, with many believing that it will launch in September after initially being pencilled in for a June launch, the report seems somewhat premature. Indeed, some analysts have argued that the iPhone 5 itself won’t actually launch until 2012.
The report claims that manufacturing of the LCDs will begin in spring next year, in a plant where Sharp currently puts LCD TVs together.
The news comes after reports emerged earlier this month that Apple had dropped Sharp as an LCD supplier for the iPhone, instead choosing to invest heavily in a new manufacturing plant with Toshiba.
The next-generation, low-temperature poly-silicon LCDs will be thinner and lighter than the screens used in previous iPhones, according to report, allowing Apple to reduce the size and weight of the handset.
If true, the report would suggest that OLED is not on the current roadmap for the iPhone, despite earlier indications that Apple was on the hunt for OLED engineers.
