LG says started production of new screen, as Apple plans product launch
(Reuters) - Flat-screen maker LG Display has started mass production of a new and thinner display, widely speculated to be for use in Apple Inc's next iPhone, and the display's production schedule remains in line …
Context & Ripple Effects
The thinner-screen story has been building for over a year: a July 2011 report had Apple, Samsung and LG all working on a new LCD, and last month the Wall Street Journal detailed that the next iPhone would carry a thinner panel with better display quality. Today LG Display confirms mass production of exactly such a display, keeping its schedule in line with an Apple product launch that remains officially unconfirmed.
The confirmation also settles a supplier race: Japan's Sharp began mass production of IGZO panels in April amid rumors of Apple use, making LG's start the second credible candidate line for the same slot. The pickup is broad — eight outlets including Bloomberg, CNET and MacRumors ran the Reuters report the same day — reflecting how much weight the market puts on component leaks this close to a launch.
First-order effects
- LG Display locks in high-volume production ahead of a rumored September launch — Verizon staff vacation blackouts point to Friday, September 21 — giving it revenue visibility that depends entirely on an unconfirmed Apple product.
- Sharp's IGZO line now competes directly against LG's new panel for the same iPhone slot, turning display technology choice into a live sourcing decision rather than a settled one.
Second-order effects
- Samsung's position grows more awkward by the week: it is both a key Apple component supplier and the defendant in a patent trial whose jury began deliberating August 21, pushing Apple toward qualifying non-Samsung suppliers like LG and Sharp for future generations.
- Rival handset makers face a thinner-screen benchmark set by Apple's next device, forcing their own panel suppliers to accelerate comparable form-factor work or cede the design lead.
Third-order effects
- If Apple keeps qualifying multiple panel makers per generation — as the 2011 three-way LCD work and today's LG start suggest — display supply becomes a strategically managed input rather than a single-vendor dependency, shifting pricing power toward whichever fab hits yield first.
- Thinness and display quality harden into the primary hardware differentiation axis for premium smartphones, making panel R&D capacity a gating asset for any vendor claiming flagship status.
The trend: Smartphone competition is migrating down into the display supply chain, with Apple deliberately cultivating multiple panel suppliers so no single fab — or litigious partner — controls its next launch.