Apple to Adopt IGZO Displays for Future iPads and MacBooks?

macbook_air_13_2012Apple is planning to expand its adoption of IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) displays to reduce the energy consumption of its mobile devices, reports etnews.com (via Patently Apple).

According to industry insiders, having decided to apply the IGZO method to displays for MacBook, Apple is talking with LCD panel manufacturers, such as Sharp and LG Display.

IGZO is a semiconducting material that has forty times more electron mobility than the standard amorphous silicon that is used as the active layer of an LCD screen, allowing for higher resolution displays, better reaction times, and less power consumption.

The report suggests that in addition to expanding to IGZO displays for the MacBook, Apple is also planning to use them in the iPad. Apple is said to be relying on Sharp for the displays, and last year news surfaced that Sharp had already begun mass production of IGZO displays that could be used in future Apple products.

The site expects IGZO MacBooks to appear in the first half of 2014, but does not note when an IGZO iPad might make an appearance. Apple is expected to release a new, thinner fifth generation iPad later this year.

(Thanks, MobilesPie!)

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Make Sure to Update: iOS 18.1.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices. With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...

Top Rated Comments

Zwhaler Avatar
148 months ago
That would be a step towards better battery life than the competition, for sure. I think we'd all like to see better battery life out of these machines. Personally the only iDevice that has unacceptable battery life to me at this point is the iPhone.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Retrofire Avatar
148 months ago
Apple to Adopt IGZO Displays for Future iPads and MacBooks?
Other brands have already the efficient and superior IGZO-displays.

IGZO-retina display, Haswell CPU+IGP & Mavericks would be a “deadly” combination. ;-)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HowEver Avatar
148 months ago
When computers and tablets (and phones!) last all day, people will still complain... "I want my iPad to last 2 or 3 days on a charge!" etc.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nik Avatar
148 months ago
This could very well be the cause of the delay of the Retina MacBook Pros as I have pointed out a few weeks ago:

So there are some things that do not make any sense. Let me lay them out for you:

First of all, what would be the real reason for Apple to delay the release of the new Pro machines? This is the really interesting question here. The aforementioned reasons can not be the whole story behind this.

I'd like to point out a few additional reasons why Apple delayed the launch. All of the listed features [which were mentioned in the news post] could have been released at WWDC.

1. IGZO displays. These things just faded a little bit in the background rumor-wise - at first glance.
But wait a second: A reason why the release has been delayed is the low supply of display panels (see news post).
Apple has problems with getting the LCD technology which they had time to produce for more than a year now? That simply does not make any sense at all.
What makes considerably more sense is, that Apple will switch to IGZO Displays because they offer superiour quality and incredibly lower power consumption -> providing more battery life and allowing the 13" MBP to become thinner.
The 15.4" displays with IGZO technology are in production by Sharp for just a few weeks. I'd call this a bottleneck right now. It fits very well in the prediction by KGI.

2. Thunderbolt 2: Apple just gave a sneak peak of what they have been working on in terms of Mac Pro. One feature was very apparent: Support for 4K displays.
As of right now, the Retina MacBook Pros only support Thunderbolt 1, which does not offer the throughput which 4K displays require.
Thunderbolt 2 on the other hand will provide just that.
So, let me ask you: What would be the point in introducing a new Mac Pro with support for 4K displays and later on introducing a MacBook Pro without support for this technology? Apple would be foolish not to include this technology [Thunderbolt 2] in the new Retina MacBook Pro!
This is because Apple will very likely introduce a 4K cinema display as soon as the new MacPro goes on sale.
To provide such a display at a sufficient price Apple needs the effect of Economies of Scale.
Therefore they need as many potential customers for such a display as they can. The new Retina MacBook Pro has to incorporate 4K support with Thunderbolt 2 to do so! The downside: Thunderbolt 2 will not be ready until fall but Apple has to incorporate this tech due to the reasons I just mentioned. Before you ask: Yes, the new Retina MacBook Pro GPUs will offer support for 4K displays; in fact, if you bump up the current rMBP to the highest resulution (1920x1080) it already renders nearly 4K resolution (1920x1080 times two in every direction). So GPU-wise it is already possible, but the connector is not ready yet -> delay.

These are my two top reasons for the delay. Hit the like button if you agree. Flame away if you don't.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FoxMcCloud Avatar
148 months ago
Hasn't every Apple product with a screen supposed to be switching to IGZO panels for the last few years according to analyst rumors?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mad Mac Maniac Avatar
148 months ago
Looking forward to an all-day iPad.

Your iPad doesn't last all day already? I usually charge once a week. A couple times I've even gotten the pop up "You haven't backed up to iCloud in 2 weeks" and I realized that I hadn't plugged IN my iPad in two weeks... That's pretty phenominal.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)