LG producing Apple’s ‘next best thing’ displays

As the world awaits the release of Apple’s ‘next best thing’- iPhone 5, it appears to have roped in rival manufacturer LG to produce their iPhone 5 displays.

While Apple battles out patent claims with Samsung in court, LG Display has begun mass production of a super thin 4-inch display, with much speculation that it will be for Apple’s iPhone 5.

Apart from LG, two Japanese liquid-crystal-display manufacturers, namely, Sharp Corp. and Japan Display Inc., a new company that combined three Japanese electronics makers’ display units, are involved in the mass production of panels for iPhone 5.

The new screen is reportedly 4 inches corner to corner, making it wider than the traditional 3.5-inch iPhone display, a move towards the larger screens seen on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

On Wednesday, LG Display’s chief executive Han Sang-beom said, “We just began mass production and we don’t expect any disruption in supplies. The in-cell technology is the industry’s latest development. (But) we will be able to supply the panels without fail.”

With the in-cell panels technology, the next generation iPhone’s screen is expected to be thinner than the preceding versions of the smartphone. The new display technology inserts touch sensors directly into the liquid crystal display that helps decrease the thickness of the component, thereby eliminating the touch-screen layer found in the existing iPhones.

Apple is expected to make an official announcement regarding iPhone 5 on September 12, and the timing of LG Display putting these screens into production seems like no coincidence.

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