Apple and LG Sign Five-Year Deal for Displays

[matticus008]

Interesting, now that we no what's actually inside of Apples expensive displays we can just go and buy a much cheaper display directly from LG with the same qulaity than Apple's displays

We always knew what was actually inside their displays. Apple has used LG and Samsung panels for many years in their Cinema Displays (and their notebooks, with some of those Samsung and LG modules sourced from AUO and Chimei). LG branded products available in the US, however, are generally not the same panels, and those that are are coupled with LG's generally mediocre onboard electronics.

Not displays. LG products in all and the company as a whole. If I would be expected to pay a premium for a product I would not want that product to contain cheap parts. LG does not design and build the latest and greatest. They build cheap consumer parts. The quality is not there with LG products.

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. LG's industrial fab makes some of the most expensive LCD panels on the planet. They do not sell these under their own brand, and thus LG-branded products form no basis of comparison. Your assessment of the company is likewise deeply flawed.

Asus has built several Apple machines over the past decade. Their own branded products, with the exception of the Eee and a few of their notebooks, have generally been of relatively poor quality. One has no bearing on the other. What happens in the industrial division is completely separate from what happens in the consumer products division, even if the latter supplies the former.

 

[alexbates]

Great, the cinema displays are ready for some kind of update. This must be it. I also hope we will see LG's in future MB's and MBP's.

 

[happydude]

man, if only i had $500 M. i'd invest in LG. or maybe not . . . should be a good move for apple. lg's got some great technology and monitors. i hope they'll get the OLED into monitors in the coming year(s)

 

[RoboCop001]

Displays. The final output. These are the voyages of the Apple-LG deal. It's 5 year mission: to explore bright, new panels. To seek out new colours and to conserve more power. To boldly shine where most monitors have shone before.

FFFFSSSSSSSHHHHH BOOM

Dooooooooooooo doooooooooooooooooooooooooo doooooo do do do dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.........

Starring
William Shatner

dooo dooooooo dooooooooooooooooooooo doooooo do do do dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo................

Leonard Nimoy

doooooo dooooooooooooooooooo do do do do do do doooooooo dooooooooooooooooooo

and DeForest Kelley
as
Dr. McCoy

doooooooodododo

Kirk "Scotty, I need those displays!"
Scotty "I'm givin it all she's got, captan!"
Kirk "I can't afford to delay another monitor, Scotty! I... need... those... now!"
Scotty "Aye captan, But you're asking for a bloody miracle!"
Spock "Perhaps we should investigate Samsung..."
Kirk "No! It has to be LG! I'm the captain, I want it to be LG! You, ensign Dennis, make everything more shiney! I want all the screens to be glossy!"
Ensign Dennis "But sir-"
Kirk "NOW!"

Bones "For god's sake man! Don't you see what you're doing here?? You're upsetting everyone over how damn bright and shiney everything is!"
Kirk "My god Bones.... what have I done?"

 

[freebooter]

Musings:

Good for me: I live in Korea.

I wonder if LG is having some liquidity trouble, what with high finance putting the screws to the world economy by withholding credit while, at the same time, forcing the world governments to pledge trillions of new, fiat currency for their "bailout".

Apple is wise to invest it's cash reserves before the USD crashes into the hyper-inflation that must come when even a fraction of the extorted trillions are released into the real economy.

Who will be buying new LG-paneled computers when the swindled middle class--now struggling just to meet basic, household expenses and the dozens of new taxes and fees--comes to realize they've been had by the very people they trusted to manage society's basic structures.

I guess Apple will still appeal to those supported by the bureaucratic/corporate/military/police-state elite.

Have a good one.

 

[Erwin-Br]

Now that is humor. I cracked up a little at that.

Apple sells design and "the little things". You'd have to find an LG display with speakers, a microphone, a webcam, and an LED backlight to match the next line of Apple displays, and you can bet that there won't be any aluminum LG displays out there...

Third-party is usually the way to go, true, but there will always be those that buy Apple displays... just because.

Sorry, but I have to laugh as well. If there's something I DON'T want on a professional screen, it is a webcam and speakers that sound like cans. What I would like is having various ways to connect my screen to other devices, and hey! That is EXACTLY what the Apple displays are lacking!!! Different display ports!!!

 

[grs]

I remember that episode. I think it was called "The Trouble With Trinitrons." Thanks for the memories . . .

 

[KVH]

Ruh Roh......

I hope LG has something "special" for Apple..... because LG LCD panels do NOT look that great IMHO. Might be a different world comparing a computer monitor to a HD tv. YMMV

 

[sushi]

Yikes. $500m up front.

Let's hope LG are as good of a partner as Intel have proven to be.

LG has decent panels and okay displays. They seem to be a flexible company that adapts to new technologies.

Others would probably argue that Sharp and others have better panels and displays.

Anyhow, nice for Apple to have the cash reserves.

 

[alphaod]

LG also makes S-IPS panels for laptops

 

[taintedwheat]

Why is it for LCD. Isn't Apple leaning more towards LED now ?

LED does not refer to the type of screen, but rather the method used to illuminate it. All of the of current "LED screens" Apple uses are still Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), but use Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to light them instead of older Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFLs) which are still used in the Cinema Displays.

 

[babyj]

I wonder if LG is having some liquidity trouble, what with high finance putting the screws to the world economy by withholding credit while, at the same time, forcing the world governments to pledge trillions of new, fiat currency for their "bailout".

I reckon this was a large part of the reason for the deal - LG were strapped for cash and offered Apple some lucrative terms in exchange for the cash advance. Besides, as others have pointed out Apple probably spend $500 million on displays every 6-12 months so its loose change in the grand scheme of things.

 

[twoodcc]

sounds like good news to me. seems like apple is making a good long-term deal

 

[dgdosen]

more densely packed pixels on your laptops, please...

 

[MattInOz]

I reckon this was a large part of the reason for the deal - LG were strapped for cash and offered Apple some lucrative terms in exchange for the cash advance. Besides, as others have pointed out Apple probably spend $500 million on displays every 6-12 months so its loose change in the grand scheme of things.

They may not even be that strapped. They may have just worked out that this is better way to fund a project at the moment. They do a deal like this with one or two big buyers, saves taking out a loan on ordinary terms.

 

[Maxington]

Looks like a strong relationship moving forward.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I hope LG has something "special" for Apple..... because LG LCD panels do NOT look that great IMHO. Might be a different world comparing a computer monitor to a HD tv. YMMV

That would be true for the older LG LCD displays, but the ones built in the last year or so are excellent units. I've seen their latest LG 42" 1080p TV's and 22" computer monitors impressed by their good color and very good sharpness.

My guess is that the US$500 will provide funding for LG to switch from florescent backlighting to LED backlighting, which will be necessary if the state of California threatens to tighten energy consumption standards for flat panel displays.

 

[morpheus256]

Great, the way I see it this is just one more excuse for Apple to keep the prices inflated excessively for the specifications they deliver.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081112.wgtlcd1112/BNStory/Technology

 

[doug in albq]

The substantial up-front payment makes me think this is something bigger than just Cinema Displays.........Is Apple about to put the Television into Apple TV?

http://dougitdesign.com/blog_1_12_09.html

 

[babyj]

They may not even be that strapped. They may have just worked out that this is better way to fund a project at the moment. They do a deal like this with one or two big buyers, saves taking out a loan on ordinary terms.

More likely the only way to fund anything. I'd have thought the chances of any company raising $500 million for working capital or new projects from other sources are pretty remote at present especially on anything vaguely resembling "ordinary terms".

Not sure the reasons why are that important, I'm sure Apple got their pound of flesh in exchange for the cash advance. No way Apple would hand over that kind of cash up front unless they were getting something out of it.

 

[afrowq]

cool, maybe LG phones will work with Isync in the near future.

 

[Yamcha]

Does this mean the displays will be cheaper???

 

[alexbates]

Does this mean the displays will be cheaper???

Probably about $100 less. Who makes the current LCD's in the Cinema displays. If Apple makes them themselves, I bet the LG LCD's will be much cheaper.

 

[freebooter]

I'll add to my previous comments that since the traditional investment markets have proven themselves to be utterly unreliable, inflated and, in many cases, dishonest operations, Apple is very prudent to commit some of its cash reserves to a deal for an actual product they can use, as opposed to gambling with illusory, ephemeral financial instruments.
I think we'll see Apple making more such supplier deals in the coming months.

 

[BTW]

Forget Cinema Displays. I believe Apple will be making a line of televisions with AppleTVs integrated into them. What's a TV today but a big display with a menu.