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Supply Constraints Said to Prevent Apple From Adopting OLED for iPad

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Last week, DigiTimes reported that suppliers for the backlight unit on the next-generation iPad had been named, quashing rumors that Apple might finally turn to OLED technology for its portable devices.

In a brief commentary on the the overall OLED industry published today, DigiTimes specifically points to supply constraints as one of the primary reasons Apple has yet to shift to the technology.
With backlight unit (BLU) makers set to be suppliers for the second generation of iPad, AMOLED will still be unable to enter Apple's supply chain. Panel makers have noted that a major reason for Apple to overlook AMOLED for iPads is insufficient supplies.
Click to expand...
A major challenge for OLED vendors is that manufacturing capacity isn't the only factor holding them back from producing panels for an OLED-based iPad, as the current technology isn't even appropriate for mass production of panels in that size, particularly at competitive price points.
Moreover, the current AMOLED technology is not suitable for volume production of 7- to 11-inch tablet PC panels, and the mass production cost will not be able to compete with TFT-LCD panels.
Click to expand...
DigiTimes has been one of the most prominent sources suggesting that Apple has been looking at OLED technology, reporting that sources indicated Apple was considering an OLED display for the second-generation iPad even as it questioned the economic feasibility of the rumor, and also claiming that Apple had investigated using an OLED screen on the iPhone 4.

Article Link: Supply Constraints Said to Prevent Apple From Adopting OLED for iPad
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/12/17/supply-constraints-said-to-prevent-apple-from-adopting-oled-for-ipad/
dlewis23

dlewis23

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Oct 23, 2007
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Supply isn't the only issue. Having a 9.7in OLED screen would also jack up the price of the iPad which is something Apple can't get away with doing.

A IPS LCD will be more then fine for now. Just give it a little higher resolution.
 
swarmster

swarmster

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Jun 1, 2004
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MacRumors said:



Panel makers have noted that a major reason for Apple to overlook AMOLED for iPads is insufficient supplies.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Yeah..."The only reason Apple isn't buying tens of millions of our panels is because we just can't make enough! It's certainly has nothing to do with quality/usability concerns. Soon we'll be swimming in orders, promise!"

There's a reliable industry contact for you. Also wondering whether DigiTimes has some stock in OLED manufacturers. Always curious when the second-runner with a number of issues is discussed as if it's the obvious next step, especially around business reporters.
 
HLdan

HLdan

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Aug 22, 2007
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dlewis23 said:
Supply isn't the only issue. Having a 9.7in OLED screen would also jack up the price of the iPad which is something Apple can't get away with doing.

A IPS LCD will be more then fine for now. Just give it a little higher resolution.
Click to expand...

You don't know Apple very well, nor do you know their customer base. You're talking about a company that can name their price and their customers will pay it. I don't think the OLED screen cost would prevent Apple from using it in the next iPad.
 
M

Mister Snitch

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Jul 29, 2008
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Anybody have a good, recent link on the state-of-the-art of active-matrix organic LEDs? I've seen some stuff, but it was years ago. I'm wondering if all the fuss is worth it, and if (why?) we should be rooting for this to happen someday.
 
dlewis23

dlewis23

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HLdan said:
You don't know Apple very well, nor do you know their customer base. You're talking about a company that can name their price and their customers will pay it. I don't think the OLED screen cost would prevent Apple from using it in the next iPad.
Click to expand...

Thats not true at all, I know Apple pretty well. No company can take a product that sells for $499 and then jack the price up to $999 a year later and expect to sell more.

After supply cost does become the next issue with OLED. Its not so much of a problem with a 4 in screen but when you go bigger things tend to cost more. In the case of screens it can cost a lot more.

If Apple really wants to sell more iPads I would say they need to lower the price by at least $50 to $449.

It's not easy for everyone to drop $500 on a iPad.
 
H

hcho3

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May 13, 2010
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dlewis23 said:
Thats not true at all, I know Apple pretty well. No company can take a product that sells for $499 and then jack the price up to $999 a year later and expect to sell more.

After supply cost does become the next issue with OLED. Its not so much of a problem with a 4 in screen but when you go bigger things tend to cost more. In the case of screens it can cost a lot more.

If Apple really wants to sell more iPads I would say they need to lower the price by at least $50 to $449.

It's not easy for everyone to drop $500 on a iPad.
Click to expand...

U clearly don't know apple as long as u think apple will cut the price on iPad. Apple doesn't believe in making things cheaper for consumers. iPad isn't for everyone.
 
dagamer34

dagamer34

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May 1, 2007
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HLdan said:
You don't know Apple very well, nor do you know their customer base. You're talking about a company that can name their price and their customers will pay it. I don't think the OLED screen cost would prevent Apple from using it in the next iPad.
Click to expand...

Might I remind you that last year, a 11" OLED screen from Sony cost you $2600. I don't see how you are going to stick that into a $500 device
 
dlewis23

dlewis23

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hcho3 said:
U clearly don't know apple as long as u think apple will cut the price on iPad. Apple doesn't believe in making things cheaper for consumers. iPad isn't for everyone.
Click to expand...

I never said they will cut the price.
 
M

Mister Snitch

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Jul 29, 2008
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dlewis23 said:
If Apple really wants to sell more iPads I would say they need to lower the price by at least $50 to $449.

It's not easy for everyone to drop $500 on a iPad.
Click to expand...

Right now, I don't think Apple needs to do anything to goose iPad sales. But your point is well taken, and at some point the price will almost certainly come down. Apple wants the iPad to be a compelling alternative for budget-conscious people who are considering buying (or replacing) a computer. Price is a big factor, and the iPad is the only Apple product that could go head-to-head with the lowest-end PCs.
 
dlewis23

dlewis23

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dagamer34 said:
Might I remind you that last year, a 11" OLED screen from Sony cost you $2600. I don't see how you are going to stick that into a $500 device
Click to expand...

Today a 7.6 in OLED Picture Frame costs $999. OLED isn't happening in a iPad anytime soon.
 
Wide opeN

Wide opeN

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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I honestly dont think Apple is impressed with OLED technology.

They surely HAVEN'T gone out if their way to use it.
 
C

cvaldes

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MacRumors said:
DigiTimes has been one of the most prominent sources suggesting that Apple has been looking at OLED technology, reporting that sources indicated Apple was considering an OLED display for the second-generation iPad even as it questioned the economic feasibility of the rumor, and also claiming that Apple had investigated using an OLED screen on the iPhone 4.
Click to expand...
I'm certain that Apple acquires samples of a wide variety of parts during their proto and EVT stages. There are likely hundreds of combinations of parts in the initial design phases. By the time they reach EVT, they have probably weeded out some parts due to supply and/or cost issues.

It is likely that Apple has been testing out AMOLED for a couple of years and each time coming up with the same conclusion that the parts are too hard to get and too pricey. Nothing new here.
 
C

cvaldes

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Dec 14, 2006
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HLdan said:
You don't know Apple very well, nor do you know their customer base. You're talking about a company that can name their price and their customers will pay it. I don't think the OLED screen cost would prevent Apple from using it in the next iPad.
Click to expand...
No, Apple doesn't do that. They will generally keep the same price, but add more functionality to newer models. As a matter of fact, some of the prices will drift down in time (e.g., look at the iPod pruduct line as well as the iPhone).

Apple is not going to take a pricey (like $1000) AMOLED part and shove it in a $500 iPad and tell customers to pay $1799 for it.

Ain't gonna happen.

Most likely Apple will make incremental improvements to the existing design and maintain the same pricing. That's what they've done in the past.
 
Poll Smoker

Poll Smoker

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Jul 20, 2007
684
1
HLdan said:
You don't know Apple very well, nor do you know their customer base. You're talking about a company that can name their price and their customers will pay it. I don't think the OLED screen cost would prevent Apple from using it in the next iPad.
Click to expand...

Have you ever made a post that wasn't completely ****ing retarded?
 
L

Lennholm

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Wide opeN said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I honestly dont think Apple is impressed with OLED technology.

They surely HAVEN'T gone out if their way to use it.
Click to expand...

This is something you and I don't have a clue about. Even if Apple HAD gone out of their way to use it and it didn't work out, all we will be hearing when the new device with regular old IPS technology is released will be: "We determined that OLED isn't suitable for this device"
 
D

DrFreeman

macrumors member
Apr 9, 2010
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Correct me if I am wrong AMOLED screens do not work well if used out in the open.

That is the reason that phones employing AMOLED are launched in a dark room!


AMOLED gives excellent contrast but in a dark room!
 
J

JeffDM

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2006
709
10
dlewis23 said:
Today a 7.6 in OLED Picture Frame costs $999. OLED isn't happening in a iPad anytime soon.
Click to expand...

I hadn't heard of one of those, but that's just prohibitive. The first Sony OLED TV was around $2000 for an 11" screen.

I don't see how OLED is going to be worth an extra $500 to $1000 to very many people.

Most OLED-based products offered now is 4" and under, the number of available products above that is quite small.

cvaldes said:
No, Apple doesn't do that. They will generally keep the same price, but add more functionality to newer models. As a matter of fact, some of the prices will drift down in time (e.g., look at the iPod pruduct line as well as the iPhone).

Apple is not going to take a pricey (like $1000) AMOLED part and shove it in a $500 iPad and tell customers to pay $1799 for it.

Ain't gonna happen.

Most likely Apple will make incremental improvements to the existing design and maintain the same pricing. That's what they've done in the past.
Click to expand...

I was impressed that they offered IPS. That was one of the reasons why I bought one, there are very few consumer products available with an IPS or similar (PVA?) screen. I'm sure OLED is nice, but I haven't seen any indication that any supplier can make tens of millions a year of any size, much less in the 10" range. If Apple picks up a part for use in their products, they probably need to be able to count on producing more than 20 million a year.
 
N

Niko03

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2008
188
0
cvaldes said:
I'm certain that Apple acquires samples of a wide variety of parts during their proto and EVT stages. There are likely hundreds of combinations of parts in the initial design phases. By the time they reach EVT, they have probably weeded out some parts due to supply and/or cost issues.

It is likely that Apple has been testing out AMOLED for a couple of years and each time coming up with the same conclusion that the parts are too hard to get and too pricey. Nothing new here.
Click to expand...

+1 - Exactly!

Of course Apple considers AMOLED, as well as countless other parts, technologies, production methods, etc.

AMOLED has never made the cut.
 
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