Japan Display is planning to raise $517 million through third-party share allocations and asset sales so it will have the funds to supply LCD screens for new iPhones, reports Nikkei.

Last year, Japan Display lost business because of Apple's shift to OLED, so the company sought partnerships to begin producing OLED displays, but with Apple planning to continue to use LCDs for some devices, Japan Display is in need of working capital to purchase inventory and to begin production on the LCDs Apple now needs.

iphone x vs iphone 8 and 8 plus
Rumors have suggested Apple is planning on introducing two OLED iPhones (5.8 and 6.5 inches) and one 6.1-inch LCD iPhone next year, with the LCD device to be positioned as a low-cost option alongside the two more expensive OLED devices.

With Japan Display again planning to invest in LCDs, it could be in trouble in the future should Apple opt to abandon LCD technology for OLED technology entirely, says Nikkei.

Expecting the U.S. tech company to keep shifting toward OLEDs, the supplier began exploring capital partnerships to obtain the massive funds necessary to invest in producing the advanced tech.

However, the iPhone X has proven a flop, and Apple appears to be sticking with LCDs for some models due out this fall, leaving Japan Display in need of working capital to secure inventory and production capacity to supply those screens.

Previous rumors have suggested Apple is interested in Japan Display's Full Active LCDs, which are said to match or exceed some of the advantages of OLED at a lower cost.

Full Active panels have a smaller bezel around the screen than traditional LCDs and they have enough flex that they can be used in curved or angled designs.

All three of Apple's rumored 2018 iPhones are expected to adopt full-screen designs with minimal bezels, much like the iPhone X. The Home button will be eliminated in each, with Apple adopting Face ID across its 2018 iPhone lineup.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

yanksfan114 Avatar
91 months ago
"However, the iPhone X has proven a flop"

Lol what?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5105973 Avatar
91 months ago
The iPhone X officially flopped? By what measure? Its notchy design spawned an entire generation of Android clones, much to my dismay as someone who also appreciates Android hardware for its differences from iPhones.

I had an X and I don’t think Apple got the best OLED displays Samsung is capable of making. I don’t know if it was Apple’s specifications at fault or something Samsung did, but the pwm flicker did my eyes in. And I saw some ugly variances in display color temperature and quality among different X’s. Owning the refined S9+, I know OLED quality doesn’t have to be that varied anymore. Every S9+ I’ve seen so far has been uniformly excellent and without the weird flaws I noticed when the S8’s were first released. Nor does OLED have to cause migraines and eye strain.

I don’t plan to get one, but I do hope the next generation of IPhones get some spectacular displays that truly show off the best that their respective technologies are capable of.

And even though I personally didn’t get along with it, nor the cost, I find it hard to believe the X flopped. I think people are just holding onto their phones longer. A lot of people I talked to don’t want to give up their 6 and 6s models because it means giving up the headphone jack. Those are excellent phones and with new batteries in them, many owners I chatted with seem quite happy.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
91 months ago
All I read was the home button will be iliminated, it’s just my opinion and it’s a strange one to have I guess but if I can’t get an iPhone with a home button then my iPhone 8 better last me a while. I love the home button and Touch ID
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chfilm Avatar
91 months ago
It’s sad that the iPhone X doesn’t receive the appreciation by buyers that it deserves. It’s a truly amazing iPhone!
But then again I’m glad that it flopped, hopefully forcing Apple to bring that ridiculous price down again!!!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PickUrPoison Avatar
91 months ago


* Apple had to slow down production of the X after sales didn't meet expectations. They scaled back their orders for OLED displays from Samsung after previously making Samsung expand their OLED production capabilities.

We’ve read the rumors. But they’re completely at odds with the facts.

On November 2, 2017, Apple provided guidance for FY18Q1 (Oct-Dec 2017) of between $84-87 billion. They announced this past February that they beat that estimate, posting record sales of $88.3 billion.

That doesn’t sound like a company that is incapable of estimating their demand and needs to scale back orders. That’s a company that nailed their sales projections and knows exactly how many displays they need.

There’s always a production cut in the second quarter, since sales are much, much higher in the Oct-Dec quarter vs the Jan-Mar quarter. That’s true every year, and is well known. Completely expected; iPhone sales are highly seasonal. In FY2017 for example, Apple’s FY1Q iPhone revenue dropped from $54 billion to $33 billion in FY2Q.

So what’s important is the magnitude of the production cuts. It could very well be that they’re lower than last year, i.e. X sales might actually be holding up better than did iPhone 7 sales.

In February, Apple guided for $60-62 billion for their Q2 (Jan-Mar) revenue. This is 13-17% higher than the year ago quarter of $53 billion, which in no way supports the Nikkei narrative of an iPhone X “flop”. (The record $88.3 billion Q1 revenue was 13% higher than the same quarter revenue last year, $78.3 billion.)

Tl;dr: No unanticipated production cuts, both last quarter’s 13% revenue increase and this quarter’s projected 13-17% revenue increase clearly indicate Apple is expert at predicting their demand. And disproves any “flop” narrative.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mtneer Avatar
91 months ago
This seems so counterintuitive. If OLED is going to be the technology of the future, why on earth is Japan Display investing $500+ million in previous generation LCD technology lines? If they had been Apple's LCD supplier in the past, they ought to have the technology and capacity to keep LCD production going. In fact I would have expected them to invest this money in OLED research.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
ipad pro 2024

Gurman: New iPad Pro and MacBook Pro Models With M5 Chips to Launch Later This Year

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:06 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPad Pro models with the M5 chip will "launch this year," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new iPad Pro models have progressed to an "advanced testing" stage, and he expects mass production of the devices to begin in the second half of this year. If that timeframe is met, the new iPad Pro models could launch...