Rumor: 12.9" iPad is latest Apple device claimed to feature next-gen IGZO display
Apple's upcoming 12.9-inch iPad -- commonly referred to as the "iPad Pro" -- will make use of an oxide LCD, most popularly known as Sharp's IGZO display technology, a new report from the company's supply chain claims.
Citing supply chain sources, the hit-or-miss DigiTimes reported on Thursday that Apple has been testing a variety of technologies, including a-Si and TFT. Oxide, though, was reportedly chosen just recently because it offers the best balance in terms of cost versus performance, and it permits fast response times and high image quality while reducing power consumption.
DigiTimes and its supply chain sources are known for having an unreliable track record in predicting Apple's future product plans, but the publication does on occasion accurately indicate what direction the iPad maker is headed.
Sharp, LG Display, and Samsung Display are said to have sent production samples to Apple. Sharp is poised to be the primary supplier, due to its expertise in oxide, as the company is well-known for its IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) panels. Apple is however thought to want a secondary supplier to ensure production is uninterrupted, and LG is speculated to be the leading candidate for that role.
The sources say that suppliers should be locked in soon, and begin producing a limited number of panels around May, entering into mass production in July and August. The people also state that the new iPad won't go into production until sometime in the third quarter, which echoes a another report from this week that indicated the tablet won't enter production until September.
It's also been suggested that Apple still hasn't finalized the design of the iPad Pro, and could add new features geared toward enterprise users. Specifically, it's been said the product could upgrade to USB 3.0, or even add ports for connecting a keyboard and mouse, although that would break with the single-port design philosophy used since the first-generation iPad.
Apple has been rumored to adopt Sharp's IGZO technology in its products for years, though to date it has opted for LCDs with in-plane switching. The panels offer advantages over traditional LCDs, but are also more expensive.
An oxide semiconductor, IGZO is about 10 times faster in electron mobility than an amorphous silicon semiconductor. This allows the technology to consume far less power in operation. IGZO also requires smaller wiring, which also contributes to its lower power consumption.
Citing supply chain sources, the hit-or-miss DigiTimes reported on Thursday that Apple has been testing a variety of technologies, including a-Si and TFT. Oxide, though, was reportedly chosen just recently because it offers the best balance in terms of cost versus performance, and it permits fast response times and high image quality while reducing power consumption.
DigiTimes and its supply chain sources are known for having an unreliable track record in predicting Apple's future product plans, but the publication does on occasion accurately indicate what direction the iPad maker is headed.
Sharp, LG Display, and Samsung Display are said to have sent production samples to Apple. Sharp is poised to be the primary supplier, due to its expertise in oxide, as the company is well-known for its IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) panels. Apple is however thought to want a secondary supplier to ensure production is uninterrupted, and LG is speculated to be the leading candidate for that role.
The sources say that suppliers should be locked in soon, and begin producing a limited number of panels around May, entering into mass production in July and August. The people also state that the new iPad won't go into production until sometime in the third quarter, which echoes a another report from this week that indicated the tablet won't enter production until September.
It's also been suggested that Apple still hasn't finalized the design of the iPad Pro, and could add new features geared toward enterprise users. Specifically, it's been said the product could upgrade to USB 3.0, or even add ports for connecting a keyboard and mouse, although that would break with the single-port design philosophy used since the first-generation iPad.
Apple has been rumored to adopt Sharp's IGZO technology in its products for years, though to date it has opted for LCDs with in-plane switching. The panels offer advantages over traditional LCDs, but are also more expensive.
An oxide semiconductor, IGZO is about 10 times faster in electron mobility than an amorphous silicon semiconductor. This allows the technology to consume far less power in operation. IGZO also requires smaller wiring, which also contributes to its lower power consumption.
Comments
As long as they get away from Sammy.
I would like to see Apple make their own displays.
It will also improve many sites in Safari, transform watching video and make games even more eye-candyish. Productivity apps will become easier to use, thanks to the greater area when using the keyboard.
I hope it has four speakers, one on each side.
One more thing: reading and composing music will become much easier. Plonk it on a piano, iPhone on the floor watching your foot, and you can play without needing to turn the page by hand.
Why? The pixels are already too small to distinguish with the unaided eye. Adding more in the same space just requires more power with no benefit ( unless you intend to frequently look at your screen through a jewelers loop).
"DigiTimes and its supply chain sources are known for having an unreliable track record in predicting Apple's future product plans" So, why do you bother to report this? Waste of time.
Literally, the only thing I actually use my Mac for anymore is the occasional DVD/CD rip (very seldom) and when I need multiple windows and better input.
This rumored iPad Pro (along with similarly rumored iOS productivity improvements) may be the final bridge I need to go completely iPad.
[IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/56181/width/350/height/700[/IMG]
That's not quite accurate. Vision isn't cut and dry so the Retina qualification they stated is referencing 20/20 vision for the given distances. There surely are people that have much better vision than the inaccurate designation of 20/20 vision as perfect. But for most people, you're right, it's more than enough as is. At some the level of pixel density from any distance will be too small for any human to discern with the unaided eye, but not at the current Retina levels we have in our devices.
PS: I recently had Lasik. My eyes weren't that bad but I wanted them to be better. I have a 60" (actual 59.5") 1080p television with my eyes about 8' (96") from the display when sitting on the couch. That's a PPI of 37.02. With the equation: 3438 * (1/ppi) = d, with d being the minimum distance to get the Retina effect with 20/20 vision I need to sit a little over 93" away. With a distance of 96" I am there. Now, with a still image on screen I can't discern pixels, but when playing a pixel-for-pixel 1080p video I can sometimes discern them with certain motions and/or color combinations, which wasn't possible before the procedure.
(Subconscious expectation from my Lasik procedure)
Yet oxide backplanes have made it into two impressive Apple products that we know of. The reason that iPad Air is so thin, and the reason that the 5K iMac has the same power and cooling layout as the previous iMac, and the reason that the 12.9" iPad will be so physically and visually impressive—Suddenly Newton's stupid pink unicorns.
As far as I know, horse bacon is shunned by all civilized people.
1) What products?
2) Are you saying that it's IGZO?
3) Are there other competing technologies that Apple can use?
It was 2013.
You were making a different iPhone.
It sounded really keen.
And I wrote, “Next one’ll have a new screen,” yeah yeah,
It was like a dream, It wasn’t what I mean(t)
Oh, no, IGZO, IGZO,
I never knew what they’d make that night,
I never cared what was wrong or right,
I only wanted my minute in the spot
So I dragged crap out of the pot and reported on it
I never thought that they would listen to me,
Taking as truth my lies and fallacy,
I only wanted to get that week’s paycheck
So I could spend it on some dreck from Samsung
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah (yeah)…
Because posting IGZO rumors into the forums is like throwing fresh meat into an alligator pond.
Yes, but have you TRIED unicorn bacon?
Calling a unicorn a horse is like calling IGZO a Passive STN display. Surely you understand that analogy, Flaneur.
^^^ Yes, but how retina? Like 4k retina? That's what I want to see. Can anyone work out the pixel density and a likely resolution?
2304x3072 pixels at 297.67 PPI. If the screen had a 12.8" diagonal rather than the rumoured 12.9" one, it would be exactly 300 PPI, which is what you get on most printed magazines. This iPad would make a great magazine replacement, something the current iPad Air 2 is not quite large enough for IMHO.
A 12.9" display will really make the iPad an optimal device for magazines and comics, which presently tend to be handicapped due to the small font size.
It will also improve many sites in Safari, transform watching video and make games even more eye-candyish. Productivity apps will become easier to use, thanks to the greater area when using the keyboard.
I hope it has four speakers, one on each side.
One more thing: reading and composing music will become much easier. Plonk it on a piano, iPhone on the floor watching your foot, and you can play without needing to turn the page by hand.
That's what I think too, and is why I've held off purchasing an iPad so far. I mainly want one to replace the tonnage of heavy paper magazines I currently schlep around with me and store at home in paper towers!
Considering how Apple financed Sharp through bad times they pretty much own Sharp now. If not Sharp the plant that the displays are built in. In fact in some of the trades it has been suggested that the management at Sharp has been trying to regain control of the plant.
How is this even a rumor?
It would be news if the iPad Pro did not use an IGZO display, since the Air and Air 2 both use an IGZO display.
This rumor is just dumb, and beyond obvious. This is like predicting that the new BMW car is going to have four tires.