OLED has been "... the display technology of the future ..." for some decades now.
This is far from a sure thing.
Anyway is looks like Apple is slowly absorbing Sharp as Sharp is linking up with Foxcon and will be producing displays almost exclusively for Apple in the near future including the rumoured 60 and 70 inch TV sets.
The patent Apple showed recently for an LCD panel with an OLED backlight is even more interesting than this technology and could easily beat out the next generation of pure OLED screens also. I don't see any reason to think that OLED will take over from the clearly still superior LCD for at least a couple of generations.
Baring any new OLED breakthroughs, it looks more like OLED might not be "the technology of the future," for at least another 5 or 6 years more still.
Hehe, Yeah I see your point but the manufacturers were actually gearing up for OLED production a few years back but most of the activities were put on-hold due to a little event called the economic crisis. I know because I work in the display industry.
But manufacturers are starting to ramp up production plans now and the first 8G OLED plants will be ready in 2012. Both LG and Samsung have confirmed that they plan to launch OLED-TVs in 2012 and according to my knowledge we can expect 55 inch OLED-TVs from both at CES 2012.
Many Chinese manufacturers have also started ramping up OLED plants and the Japan Display - a new joint venture by Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi and the soon-to-be world's largest small-to-medium size LCD manufacturer - is accelerating theit OLED plans.
The patent Apple showed recently for an LCD panel with an OLED backlight is even more interesting than this technology and could easily beat out the next generation of pure OLED screens also. I don't see any reason to think that OLED will take over from the clearly still superior LCD for at least a couple of generations.
Baring any new OLED breakthroughs, it looks more like OLED might not be "the technology of the future," for at least another 5 or 6 years more still.
Ohh and about the OLED backlighting technology; this is not really going to improve Picture quality. It can improve light homogeneity and reduce power consumption but the LCD panel is still responsble for the actual image and liquid crystals have a range of bad characteristics.
LCD is not a superior display technology in any way. It is just an developed technology since it has been around for a long time. Recently we have seen a major improvement in pixel density but most other picture characteristics still leaves room for improvement, including response time and black depth.
I am not saying Super AMOLED with pentile is better. It's not and it has to be killed as soon as possible but OLED panels with RGB pixel structure have the potential to change the display sector.
To those who said Apple will never adopt OLED ( there are quite a few of you here too).
You are now eating your own words.
Of course they will. People who claim such things need to read up on the direction in the display industry. Apple is not dictating the display technology in any way. They mostly just secure new technologies through their impressive pre-payment and managerial abilities. Apple was actually one of the first manufacturers to really appreciate the potential of the OLED technology and how it could improve and allow future products but any industry is divided into two: 1. R&D and 2. Mass prioduction. If you have a vision based on the R&D phase it means nothing if the mass production phase is not initialized. As said before, Apple has already invested a huge sum of money in LG.Display's OLED research, and no LG.Display is not controlled by LG's consumer electronics department - neither is Samsung SMD (display panel maker).
If the industry moves to OLED - and it does - Apple moves along. Some people need to get down from their pedestal in here - or at least spend some time learning a few things.
I think a-IGZO only replaces a-Si. The choice of liquid crystal switching mechanism is still a free choice. So, I suppose they can keep using the IPS mechanism if they like. In other words, the quality of display will not decrease. It can only increase because the IGZO will not block as much light as the a-Si does. The screen will be brighter with the same back light.
Which means lower power usage to produce the same brightness, which means longer battery life. Definitely a win for mobile devices.
Of course they will. People who claim such things need to read up on the direction in the display industry. Apple is not dictating the display technology in any way. They mostly just secure new technologies through their impressive pre-payment and managerial abilities. Apple was actually one of the first manufacturers to really appreciate the potential of the OLED technology and how it could improve and allow future products but any industry is divided into two: 1. R&D and 2. Mass prioduction. If you have a vision based on the R&D phase it means nothing if the mass production phase is not initialized. As said before, Apple has already invested a huge sum of money in LG.Display's OLED research, and no LG.Display is not controlled by LG's consumer electronics department - neither is Samsung SMD (display panel maker).
If the industry moves to OLED - and it does - Apple moves along. Some people need to get down from their pedestal in here - or at least spend some time learning a few things.
There's a silent feeling here (based on my observations) that Apple ONLY leads...and lives in a void...and never is inspired by/influenced by anything outside of Apple.
This is, of course, false, as all tech is inspired by all tech and it has been that way since the beginning of time.
Displays could improve a bit. But right now the iPhone IPS panel is near perfect. The only direction to go is pure blacks.
At first, OLED displays are only expected to appear in Apple's smaller portable devices like the iPhone and iPad. Though Misek expects that Apple will release a full-fledged television set in mid-2012, he said OLED technology will likely not be ready for larger sized displays until 2015.[c
Ohh and about the OLED backlighting technology; this is not really going to improve Picture quality. It can improve light homogeneity and reduce power consumption but the LCD panel is still responsble for the actual image and liquid crystals have a range of bad characteristics.
LCD is not a superior display technology in any way. It is just an developed technology since it has been around for a long time. Recently we have seen a major improvement in pixel density but most other picture characteristics still leaves room for improvement, including response time and black depth.
I am not saying Super AMOLED with pentile is better. It's not and it has to be killed as soon as possible but OLED panels with RGB pixel structure have the potential to change the display sector.
I think you are mischaracterising my position.
I didn't say or imply that OLED backlighting alone will improve picture quality although it could easily do something to increase the contrast ratio and significantly lower power requirements as well as thickness again. In any case that's an emerging technology and thus hard to describe at this point, including whatever benefits it might have.
I also didn't say that LCD was inherently superior display technology. I said only that it's currently better than OLED overall and that OLED is still hoping for that future where they can compete with LCD quality-wise. So far, Apple's LCD panels have always been better than equivalent OLED's in the market. Looking at what's coming down the pipe technology wise, I don't see anything that would indicate this isn't going to continue to be so for at least the next five years and the next two iterations of Apple's screens.
Maybe some day OLED screens will solve the problems they have with colour reproduction, visibility in sunlight and fading. Each iteration of them seems to go some way towards solving these inherent problems.
LCD's on the hand, (which have problems achieving the superlative contrast ratios of OLED and sometimes have bad viewing angles, and consume far more power), have made far greater progress towards solving those problems. That's why Apple's various LCD's always produce better results than the equivalent OLED's, because they are working hard on the various drawbacks inherent to the technology and so far are succeeding rather well at mitigating them.
OLED ... not so much (so far)
I have nothing against OLED as a technology, if more progress was made towards mitigating it's inherent drawbacks, I would probably buy it in a heartbeat, and Apple probably would too. Apple screens are almost always the best in class and over time, almost always have been.
The day OLED is ready to replace LCD, you will know it because Apple will be using it.
To those who said Apple will never adopt OLED ( there are quite a few of you here too).
You are now eating your own words.
Good luck getting them to admit that they were wrong. They will just change their story and spin it to say "Apple was planning to do it all along". The same with:
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third parties to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really sweet.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not add multitasking to the iPhone. Nobody cares about multitasking.
[...] Going forward, Misek said he also believes Apple and Sharp will jointly develop OLED panels for the iPhone and iPad, and those displays could appear in devices in the next two years. Sharp is said to have a new technology that "prints" an OLED panel onto a film that is then deposited onto glass. [...]
That's how you do it. Develop your own technology, for your own products. By creating their own advanced IGZO LCD technology now and OLED technology in the near future, Apple gives themselves several advantages over the "competition." Better battery life thanks to lower power consumption than other LCD / OLED technologies. Guaranteed supply, since Apple has pre-paid Sharp for those IGZO LCD and advanced OLED panels. And potentially lower cost since Sharp has apparently learned to increase OLED yield.
Best of all, the deal with Sharp means that Apple can start to cut untrustworthy suppliers out of the loop. Samsung comes to mind here.
I always worry about these new low-power display technologies. They seem take something important need for good picture reproduction when they are first introduced.
Sharp has been making LCD's longer than anybody. Further, unlike Samsung, Sharp actually builds everyone of its LCDs. Sharp and Apple also have something in common, both have sued Samsung for ripping off IP. Sharp also does some interesting things. For instance, it uses a fourth color pixel to make crisper pictures, and in its LED LCDs it largely uses full array back lightening. Companies like Samsung prefer the cheaper edge backlighting that often times causes a color bleed along the edges when showing really dark images. Sharp's flat screens also have a very Apple like feel to then. It places the screen behind bezeled glass, and the stand is very visually appealing.
I am very excited about the prospect of Apple using Sharp displays, and I have speculated for a while this would happen. I think the rumors will pan out. Apple likely is investing heavily in Sharp to buy its supply at a discounted price much like it did with Samsung early on.
I really don't recall anybody saying Apple will never adopt the technology. Perhaps they meant never with the current state of the technology. OLED has advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages was it couldn't be mass produced on the level that Apple would need it to be produced, and the cost was higher then LCD. OLED also is more acceptable to water damage, and it has a significantly shorter lifespan. That is a problem if you want to hold on to a TV or smart phone for more then a couple of years.
That doesn't mean these disadvantages can't be diminished. It is kind of like the whole LG debates. Apple is undoubtedly going to incorporate LG into a future phone. Currently, however, Apple would have had to make design compromises to use it. For instance, add an extra chip to its phones increasing thickness, weight, and battery consumption. The beginning of next year this problem is expected to be solved with the next generation of LG. So, just because Apple isn't interested in something immediately doesn't mean it isn't in the future.
The same is true with OLED. The technology changes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Haggar
Good luck getting them to admit that they were wrong. They will just change their story and spin it to say "Apple was planning to do it all along". The same with:
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third parties to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really sweet.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not add multitasking to the iPhone. Nobody cares about multitasking.
Sharp has been making LCD's longer than anybody. Further, unlike Samsung, Sharp actually builds everyone of its LCDs. Sharp and Apple also have something in common, both have sued Samsung for ripping off IP. Sharp also does some interesting things. For instance, it uses a fourth color pixel to make crisper pictures, and in its LED LCDs it largely uses full array back lightening. Companies like Samsung prefer the cheaper edge backlighting that often times causes a color bleed along the edges when showing really dark images. Sharp's flat screens also have a very Apple like feel to then. It places the screen behind bezeled glass, and the stand is very visually appealing.
I am very excited about the prospect of Apple using Sharp displays, and I have speculated for a while this would happen. I think the rumors will pan out. Apple likely is investing heavily in Sharp to buy its supply at a discounted price much like it did with Samsung early on.
The extra, stupid, yellow pixel is just a marketing ploy. Since these forums seem to equate sales with the quality of a product, why does Sharp lag so behind Samsung. Why do reviews across many sites seem to praise Samsung put flushes Sharp way down the toilet?
Good luck getting them to admit that they were wrong. They will just change their story and spin it to say "Apple was planning to do it all along". The same with:
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third parties to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really sweet.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not add multitasking to the iPhone. Nobody cares about multitasking.
This. People seem to be extremely against OLED/AMOLED/SUPERAMOLED/SUPERAMOLEDPLUS/SUPERAMOLEDHD/SUPERAMOLEXFINITYTOTHEMAXTIMESTENTOTHECARROTS and don't see the great color repreduction benefits. Apple announces it, "I can't have phone without infinite blacks".
The problem with OLED is with the technology itself, White colour uses much more power. And yet there are no pure tech advancement in the pipeline to help with that. Apple has a patents with WLED backlight for OLED. But as far as i am concern that is a patents only and wouldn't work very well in real world for variety of reasons.
And since battery is the slowest improving technology, we are going to stick around with LCD for much longer then anyone may expect.
And Sharpe already has 2nd generation of IGZO LCD in the pipleine that inch yet closer to OLED spec.
I didn't say or imply that OLED backlighting alone will improve picture quality although it could easily do something to increase the contrast ratio and significantly lower power requirements as well as thickness again. In any case that's an emerging technology and thus hard to describe at this point, including whatever benefits it might have.
I also didn't say that LCD was inherently superior display technology. I said only that it's currently better than OLED overall and that OLED is still hoping for that future where they can compete with LCD quality-wise. So far, Apple's LCD panels have always been better than equivalent OLED's in the market. Looking at what's coming down the pipe technology wise, I don't see anything that would indicate this isn't going to continue to be so for at least the next five years and the next two iterations of Apple's screens.
Maybe some day OLED screens will solve the problems they have with colour reproduction, visibility in sunlight and fading. Each iteration of them seems to go some way towards solving these inherent problems.
LCD's on the hand, (which have problems achieving the superlative contrast ratios of OLED and sometimes have bad viewing angles, and consume far more power), have made far greater progress towards solving those problems. That's why Apple's various LCD's always produce better results than the equivalent OLED's, because they are working hard on the various drawbacks inherent to the technology and so far are succeeding rather well at mitigating them.
OLED ... not so much (so far)
I have nothing against OLED as a technology, if more progress was made towards mitigating it's inherent drawbacks, I would probably buy it in a heartbeat, and Apple probably would too. Apple screens are almost always the best in class and over time, almost always have been.
The day OLED is ready to replace LCD, you will know it because Apple will be using it.
I see that we agree on more than I thought at first, especially on your last line.
But we have to remember that OLED is not just an alternative to LCD; it is a completely new technology with new benefits and most importantly of all, new applications. The display industry has largely been driven by incorporating displays into new applications and devices and that is why the LCD technology has been so successful up until the economic crisis. LCD is a much more versatile technology than plasma and that is why it has been so successful. OLED can lead to a new breakthroughs and I'm not just talking about thinner, lighter, lower-power devices, but completely different devices. Check out this 0.05 mm OLED panel for example: http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php...&id=1321953693
Apple has been following OLED for a long time, and we have recently started seeing new Apple patent applications announced that dates a few years back with OLED advancements. I'm sure that Apple will incorporate OLED "soon" but I think that their relationship with Samsung might have delayed their plans a bit. If they hope to produce OLED panels with Sharp I think they will probably license some OLED related technologies. Currently Samsung SMD has been developing RGB OLEDs and PenTile OLEDs, and LG.Display has been developing RGB OLEDs and color-filter OLEDs (white OLEDs with color filters). The only long-term and worthwhile technology is the RGB OLED variant. Color-filter OLEDs could work in the short-term but I don?t think Apple will use it, and I certainly don?t hope Apple will use PenTile (that is the OLED variants that should have stayed in the labs where it belongs) - but hey, I?m sure Apple won?t do that to us.
The one thing that worries me the most is the fact that Apple has become so huge that any new product needs an extreme amount of components. And screens are not easy to produce. This basically means that the industry needs to adapt before Apple can switch completely to a new display technology and that?s a real challenge for Tim Cook.
Sharp has been making LCD's longer than anybody. Further, unlike Samsung, Sharp actually builds everyone of its LCDs. Sharp and Apple also have something in common, both have sued Samsung for ripping off IP. Sharp also does some interesting things. For instance, it uses a fourth color pixel to make crisper pictures, and in its LED LCDs it largely uses full array back lightening. Companies like Samsung prefer the cheaper edge backlighting that often times causes a color bleed along the edges when showing really dark images. Sharp's flat screens also have a very Apple like feel to then. It places the screen behind bezeled glass, and the stand is very visually appealing.
I am very excited about the prospect of Apple using Sharp displays, and I have speculated for a while this would happen. I think the rumors will pan out. Apple likely is investing heavily in Sharp to buy its supply at a discounted price much like it did with Samsung early on.
I agree, I think this the biggest news for Apple fans and investors at the moment. I think we can be certain there are some pretty tight contractual arrangements too. We won't see Sharp trying to rip off Apple the way Samsung, Google, Microsoft etc. did after joint ventures and close relationships.
Comments
OLED has been "... the display technology of the future ..." for some decades now.
This is far from a sure thing.
Anyway is looks like Apple is slowly absorbing Sharp as Sharp is linking up with Foxcon and will be producing displays almost exclusively for Apple in the near future including the rumoured 60 and 70 inch TV sets.
The patent Apple showed recently for an LCD panel with an OLED backlight is even more interesting than this technology and could easily beat out the next generation of pure OLED screens also. I don't see any reason to think that OLED will take over from the clearly still superior LCD for at least a couple of generations.
Baring any new OLED breakthroughs, it looks more like OLED might not be "the technology of the future," for at least another 5 or 6 years more still.
Hehe, Yeah I see your point but the manufacturers were actually gearing up for OLED production a few years back but most of the activities were put on-hold due to a little event called the economic crisis. I know because I work in the display industry.
But manufacturers are starting to ramp up production plans now and the first 8G OLED plants will be ready in 2012. Both LG and Samsung have confirmed that they plan to launch OLED-TVs in 2012 and according to my knowledge we can expect 55 inch OLED-TVs from both at CES 2012.
Many Chinese manufacturers have also started ramping up OLED plants and the Japan Display - a new joint venture by Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi and the soon-to-be world's largest small-to-medium size LCD manufacturer - is accelerating theit OLED plans.
The patent Apple showed recently for an LCD panel with an OLED backlight is even more interesting than this technology and could easily beat out the next generation of pure OLED screens also. I don't see any reason to think that OLED will take over from the clearly still superior LCD for at least a couple of generations.
Baring any new OLED breakthroughs, it looks more like OLED might not be "the technology of the future," for at least another 5 or 6 years more still.
Ohh and about the OLED backlighting technology; this is not really going to improve Picture quality. It can improve light homogeneity and reduce power consumption but the LCD panel is still responsble for the actual image and liquid crystals have a range of bad characteristics.
LCD is not a superior display technology in any way. It is just an developed technology since it has been around for a long time. Recently we have seen a major improvement in pixel density but most other picture characteristics still leaves room for improvement, including response time and black depth.
I am not saying Super AMOLED with pentile is better. It's not and it has to be killed as soon as possible but OLED panels with RGB pixel structure have the potential to change the display sector.
Or as I keep pointing out to a friend of mine who has an obsession with it, OLED is the display technology of the future and it always will be.
Yep, just like fusion powered power stations have been 50 years away for the last 50 years.
You are now eating your own words.
To those who said Apple will never adopt OLED ( there are quite a few of you here too).
You are now eating your own words.
Of course they will. People who claim such things need to read up on the direction in the display industry. Apple is not dictating the display technology in any way. They mostly just secure new technologies through their impressive pre-payment and managerial abilities. Apple was actually one of the first manufacturers to really appreciate the potential of the OLED technology and how it could improve and allow future products but any industry is divided into two: 1. R&D and 2. Mass prioduction. If you have a vision based on the R&D phase it means nothing if the mass production phase is not initialized. As said before, Apple has already invested a huge sum of money in LG.Display's OLED research, and no LG.Display is not controlled by LG's consumer electronics department - neither is Samsung SMD (display panel maker).
If the industry moves to OLED - and it does - Apple moves along. Some people need to get down from their pedestal in here - or at least spend some time learning a few things.
I think a-IGZO only replaces a-Si. The choice of liquid crystal switching mechanism is still a free choice. So, I suppose they can keep using the IPS mechanism if they like. In other words, the quality of display will not decrease. It can only increase because the IGZO will not block as much light as the a-Si does. The screen will be brighter with the same back light.
Which means lower power usage to produce the same brightness, which means longer battery life. Definitely a win for mobile devices.
Of course they will. People who claim such things need to read up on the direction in the display industry. Apple is not dictating the display technology in any way. They mostly just secure new technologies through their impressive pre-payment and managerial abilities. Apple was actually one of the first manufacturers to really appreciate the potential of the OLED technology and how it could improve and allow future products but any industry is divided into two: 1. R&D and 2. Mass prioduction. If you have a vision based on the R&D phase it means nothing if the mass production phase is not initialized. As said before, Apple has already invested a huge sum of money in LG.Display's OLED research, and no LG.Display is not controlled by LG's consumer electronics department - neither is Samsung SMD (display panel maker).
If the industry moves to OLED - and it does - Apple moves along. Some people need to get down from their pedestal in here - or at least spend some time learning a few things.
There's a silent feeling here (based on my observations) that Apple ONLY leads...and lives in a void...and never is inspired by/influenced by anything outside of Apple.
This is, of course, false, as all tech is inspired by all tech and it has been that way since the beginning of time.
Displays could improve a bit. But right now the iPhone IPS panel is near perfect. The only direction to go is pure blacks.
At first, OLED displays are only expected to appear in Apple's smaller portable devices like the iPhone and iPad. Though Misek expects that Apple will release a full-fledged television set in mid-2012, he said OLED technology will likely not be ready for larger sized displays until 2015.[c
Contradict much?
Ohh and about the OLED backlighting technology; this is not really going to improve Picture quality. It can improve light homogeneity and reduce power consumption but the LCD panel is still responsble for the actual image and liquid crystals have a range of bad characteristics.
LCD is not a superior display technology in any way. It is just an developed technology since it has been around for a long time. Recently we have seen a major improvement in pixel density but most other picture characteristics still leaves room for improvement, including response time and black depth.
I am not saying Super AMOLED with pentile is better. It's not and it has to be killed as soon as possible but OLED panels with RGB pixel structure have the potential to change the display sector.
I think you are mischaracterising my position.
I didn't say or imply that OLED backlighting alone will improve picture quality although it could easily do something to increase the contrast ratio and significantly lower power requirements as well as thickness again. In any case that's an emerging technology and thus hard to describe at this point, including whatever benefits it might have.
I also didn't say that LCD was inherently superior display technology. I said only that it's currently better than OLED overall and that OLED is still hoping for that future where they can compete with LCD quality-wise. So far, Apple's LCD panels have always been better than equivalent OLED's in the market. Looking at what's coming down the pipe technology wise, I don't see anything that would indicate this isn't going to continue to be so for at least the next five years and the next two iterations of Apple's screens.
Maybe some day OLED screens will solve the problems they have with colour reproduction, visibility in sunlight and fading. Each iteration of them seems to go some way towards solving these inherent problems.
LCD's on the hand, (which have problems achieving the superlative contrast ratios of OLED and sometimes have bad viewing angles, and consume far more power), have made far greater progress towards solving those problems. That's why Apple's various LCD's always produce better results than the equivalent OLED's, because they are working hard on the various drawbacks inherent to the technology and so far are succeeding rather well at mitigating them.
OLED ... not so much (so far)
I have nothing against OLED as a technology, if more progress was made towards mitigating it's inherent drawbacks, I would probably buy it in a heartbeat, and Apple probably would too. Apple screens are almost always the best in class and over time, almost always have been.
The day OLED is ready to replace LCD, you will know it because Apple will be using it.
To those who said Apple will never adopt OLED ( there are quite a few of you here too).
You are now eating your own words.
Good luck getting them to admit that they were wrong. They will just change their story and spin it to say "Apple was planning to do it all along". The same with:
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third parties to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really sweet.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not add multitasking to the iPhone. Nobody cares about multitasking.
[...] Going forward, Misek said he also believes Apple and Sharp will jointly develop OLED panels for the iPhone and iPad, and those displays could appear in devices in the next two years. Sharp is said to have a new technology that "prints" an OLED panel onto a film that is then deposited onto glass. [...]
That's how you do it. Develop your own technology, for your own products. By creating their own advanced IGZO LCD technology now and OLED technology in the near future, Apple gives themselves several advantages over the "competition." Better battery life thanks to lower power consumption than other LCD / OLED technologies. Guaranteed supply, since Apple has pre-paid Sharp for those IGZO LCD and advanced OLED panels. And potentially lower cost since Sharp has apparently learned to increase OLED yield.
Best of all, the deal with Sharp means that Apple can start to cut untrustworthy suppliers out of the loop. Samsung comes to mind here.
To those who said Apple will never adopt OLED ( there are quite a few of you here too).
You are now eating your own words.
Are Sharp IGZO LCD panels OLED? Not necessarily.
I always worry about these new low-power display technologies. They seem take something important need for good picture reproduction when they are first introduced.
Sharp has been making LCD's longer than anybody. Further, unlike Samsung, Sharp actually builds everyone of its LCDs. Sharp and Apple also have something in common, both have sued Samsung for ripping off IP. Sharp also does some interesting things. For instance, it uses a fourth color pixel to make crisper pictures, and in its LED LCDs it largely uses full array back lightening. Companies like Samsung prefer the cheaper edge backlighting that often times causes a color bleed along the edges when showing really dark images. Sharp's flat screens also have a very Apple like feel to then. It places the screen behind bezeled glass, and the stand is very visually appealing.
I am very excited about the prospect of Apple using Sharp displays, and I have speculated for a while this would happen. I think the rumors will pan out. Apple likely is investing heavily in Sharp to buy its supply at a discounted price much like it did with Samsung early on.
That doesn't mean these disadvantages can't be diminished. It is kind of like the whole LG debates. Apple is undoubtedly going to incorporate LG into a future phone. Currently, however, Apple would have had to make design compromises to use it. For instance, add an extra chip to its phones increasing thickness, weight, and battery consumption. The beginning of next year this problem is expected to be solved with the next generation of LG. So, just because Apple isn't interested in something immediately doesn't mean it isn't in the future.
The same is true with OLED. The technology changes.
Good luck getting them to admit that they were wrong. They will just change their story and spin it to say "Apple was planning to do it all along". The same with:
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third parties to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really sweet.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not add multitasking to the iPhone. Nobody cares about multitasking.
Sharp has been making LCD's longer than anybody. Further, unlike Samsung, Sharp actually builds everyone of its LCDs. Sharp and Apple also have something in common, both have sued Samsung for ripping off IP. Sharp also does some interesting things. For instance, it uses a fourth color pixel to make crisper pictures, and in its LED LCDs it largely uses full array back lightening. Companies like Samsung prefer the cheaper edge backlighting that often times causes a color bleed along the edges when showing really dark images. Sharp's flat screens also have a very Apple like feel to then. It places the screen behind bezeled glass, and the stand is very visually appealing.
I am very excited about the prospect of Apple using Sharp displays, and I have speculated for a while this would happen. I think the rumors will pan out. Apple likely is investing heavily in Sharp to buy its supply at a discounted price much like it did with Samsung early on.
The extra, stupid, yellow pixel is just a marketing ploy. Since these forums seem to equate sales with the quality of a product, why does Sharp lag so behind Samsung. Why do reviews across many sites seem to praise Samsung put flushes Sharp way down the toilet?
Good luck getting them to admit that they were wrong. They will just change their story and spin it to say "Apple was planning to do it all along". The same with:
Apple will not make a video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on an iPod.
Apple should not allow third parties to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about native iPhone applications. Web apps are really sweet.
Apple will not add copy and paste to the iPhone. Nobody cares about copy and paste.
Apple will not add multitasking to the iPhone. Nobody cares about multitasking.
This. People seem to be extremely against OLED/AMOLED/SUPERAMOLED/SUPERAMOLEDPLUS/SUPERAMOLEDHD/SUPERAMOLEXFINITYTOTHEMAXTIMESTENTOTHECARROTS and don't see the great color repreduction benefits. Apple announces it, "I can't have phone without infinite blacks".
And since battery is the slowest improving technology, we are going to stick around with LCD for much longer then anyone may expect.
And Sharpe already has 2nd generation of IGZO LCD in the pipleine that inch yet closer to OLED spec.
I think you are mischaracterising my position.
I didn't say or imply that OLED backlighting alone will improve picture quality although it could easily do something to increase the contrast ratio and significantly lower power requirements as well as thickness again. In any case that's an emerging technology and thus hard to describe at this point, including whatever benefits it might have.
I also didn't say that LCD was inherently superior display technology. I said only that it's currently better than OLED overall and that OLED is still hoping for that future where they can compete with LCD quality-wise. So far, Apple's LCD panels have always been better than equivalent OLED's in the market. Looking at what's coming down the pipe technology wise, I don't see anything that would indicate this isn't going to continue to be so for at least the next five years and the next two iterations of Apple's screens.
Maybe some day OLED screens will solve the problems they have with colour reproduction, visibility in sunlight and fading. Each iteration of them seems to go some way towards solving these inherent problems.
LCD's on the hand, (which have problems achieving the superlative contrast ratios of OLED and sometimes have bad viewing angles, and consume far more power), have made far greater progress towards solving those problems. That's why Apple's various LCD's always produce better results than the equivalent OLED's, because they are working hard on the various drawbacks inherent to the technology and so far are succeeding rather well at mitigating them.
OLED ... not so much (so far)
I have nothing against OLED as a technology, if more progress was made towards mitigating it's inherent drawbacks, I would probably buy it in a heartbeat, and Apple probably would too. Apple screens are almost always the best in class and over time, almost always have been.
The day OLED is ready to replace LCD, you will know it because Apple will be using it.
I see that we agree on more than I thought at first, especially on your last line.
But we have to remember that OLED is not just an alternative to LCD; it is a completely new technology with new benefits and most importantly of all, new applications. The display industry has largely been driven by incorporating displays into new applications and devices and that is why the LCD technology has been so successful up until the economic crisis. LCD is a much more versatile technology than plasma and that is why it has been so successful. OLED can lead to a new breakthroughs and I'm not just talking about thinner, lighter, lower-power devices, but completely different devices. Check out this 0.05 mm OLED panel for example: http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php...&id=1321953693
Apple has been following OLED for a long time, and we have recently started seeing new Apple patent applications announced that dates a few years back with OLED advancements. I'm sure that Apple will incorporate OLED "soon" but I think that their relationship with Samsung might have delayed their plans a bit. If they hope to produce OLED panels with Sharp I think they will probably license some OLED related technologies. Currently Samsung SMD has been developing RGB OLEDs and PenTile OLEDs, and LG.Display has been developing RGB OLEDs and color-filter OLEDs (white OLEDs with color filters). The only long-term and worthwhile technology is the RGB OLED variant. Color-filter OLEDs could work in the short-term but I don?t think Apple will use it, and I certainly don?t hope Apple will use PenTile (that is the OLED variants that should have stayed in the labs where it belongs) - but hey, I?m sure Apple won?t do that to us.
The one thing that worries me the most is the fact that Apple has become so huge that any new product needs an extreme amount of components. And screens are not easy to produce. This basically means that the industry needs to adapt before Apple can switch completely to a new display technology and that?s a real challenge for Tim Cook.
Sharp has been making LCD's longer than anybody. Further, unlike Samsung, Sharp actually builds everyone of its LCDs. Sharp and Apple also have something in common, both have sued Samsung for ripping off IP. Sharp also does some interesting things. For instance, it uses a fourth color pixel to make crisper pictures, and in its LED LCDs it largely uses full array back lightening. Companies like Samsung prefer the cheaper edge backlighting that often times causes a color bleed along the edges when showing really dark images. Sharp's flat screens also have a very Apple like feel to then. It places the screen behind bezeled glass, and the stand is very visually appealing.
I am very excited about the prospect of Apple using Sharp displays, and I have speculated for a while this would happen. I think the rumors will pan out. Apple likely is investing heavily in Sharp to buy its supply at a discounted price much like it did with Samsung early on.
I agree, I think this the biggest news for Apple fans and investors at the moment. I think we can be certain there are some pretty tight contractual arrangements too. We won't see Sharp trying to rip off Apple the way Samsung, Google, Microsoft etc. did after joint ventures and close relationships.