Apple to Use IGZO Displays to Achieve a Thinner Lower-Power iPad 3?

[MacRumors]

The latest Digitimes report claims that Apple will be utilizing IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) flat panels instead of IPS (in-plane switching panels) in its "next-generation mobile display products" such as the iPad 3.

Starting with the new iPads, Apple will utilize IGZO panels from Sharp in order to upgrade the display resolution of the new tablets to full HD level, the sources indicated.

Given Digitimes' misstep just yesterday about Apple's plans for Macworld, it might be hard to take their new report at face value.

However, this is not the first time that we've heard that Apple will be pursuing this new technology for the iPad 3. A research note from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek back in November made very similar claims:

Also, we believe that Apple and Sharp together have a modified IGZO (indium, gallium, zinc) technology to achieve 330 dpi, which is sufficient for an HD display while not using IPS nor having to include dual-bar LED backlighting. In our view, this should lead to several design advantages, namely the device can be thinner, battery life should be longer, and the overall experience for users should be meaningfully improved.

Sharp announced plans in April to commercialize these new IGZO panels for mass production later this year. The advantages of the new technology that should allow for lower power consumption and higher resolution displays. DisplayBlog recaps the advantages of this new technology:

The benefits of IGZO are plenty: lower cost of manufacturing, up to 30x higher electron mobility than a-Si (amorphous silicon), increased aperture ratio for improved light transmittance, higher resolution in terms of ppi, etc. IGZO would allow for significant cost reductions compared to LTPS (Low Temperature Poly-Silicon) based high resolution LCDs like the rumored 9.7-inch 2048×1536 IPS LCD for the iPad 3.

It sounds as if this new technology will allow Apple to avoid adding a second light bar system to the more traditional IPS display that is presently used in the iPad. It may also allow Apple to avoid making the iPad 3 thicker than the current iPad, and should consume less power.

Article Link: Apple to Use IGZO Displays to Achieve a Thinner Lower-Power iPad 3?

 

[6749974]

First.

No seriously, first! I will be the first in line. For a graphic designer such as myself, high-resolution changes everything!

Edit: Dammit!

 

[wordoflife]

sounds fancy

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

This would be nice for the new Apple TVs too

 

[David085]

Will be waiting for the iPad 3 can't wait excited

 

[divinox]

regurgitated rumors for dinner. yum!

 

[troop231]

Credit card ready

 

[daneoni]

As long as there isn't light bleed or jaundice, i'll gladly hand over my debit card.

 

[soco]

I was just saying to my friend the other day, "I wish I had a new acronym for screen technology to use."

Good times.
Ihavenofriends

 

[kobyh15]

May jump on board the tablet train if all of these iPad 3 rumors turn out to be true.

 

[jca666us]

Interesting

Since the display is the biggest power hog in the iPad, we could very easily see an iPad 3 with an even more impressive battery life.

Although some of the power saved will probably be eaten up by the Apple a6 - be it faster CPU, or built-in ram.

If the display is thinner that might allow a larger battery to be put in and keep the same size as the iPad 2

 

[thenerdal]

I wish Apple went with OLED. But Sharp does make high quality displays.

 

[AmbiguousNinja]

On table: iPad 3

 

[slrandall]

I'll be honest, I read 4 words into the article before stopping. Digitimes has no credibility whatsoever anymore. They just throw out random guesses.

However, if true, this would be pretty cool. The displays on iDevices are already really good, so even better would be awesome.

 

[bbbb4b]

Definitely sounds great if it turns out to be true.

Now... Can anybody tell me what DisplayBlogs is referring to in the last sentence in their article?
quote:
And this might explain why there has been a dip in display quality in the iPhone 4S.

I really don't know what they are talking about.

 

[neutrino23]

This is not my field l but from what I can gather IGZO technology and IPS are not exclusive of each other. IGZO refers to the materials used to build the display and IPS refers to the geometry of the devices. Like talking about making an electromagnet of iron wire or copper wire. Copper is a much better conductor, but you still need to coil it in a loop to generate a magnetic field.

Hopefully someone with real knowledge of this subject will correct me.

 

[SeaFox]

This would be nice for the new Apple TVs too

Uh, how?

• TV's operate at fixed resolutions to match their content. Home theater enthusiasts want 1:1 pixel display, so they don't want a "retina" TV.
• Below a couple inches thickness measurements is not important in a TV set (no LED buyers, it's not), as at that point the stand will be the "deepest" part of the set.
• Power consumption is not very important in an item that runs off household electrical power instead of batteries.

 

[nagromme]

I believe some of these IGZO sources are probably legitimate, and that Apple has indeed been considering IGZO.

That’s not the same as saying IGZO is definitely the final plan for 2012 iPads. Apple probably knows that answer by now, but I’m not convinced anyone else does.

 

[Peace]

Since the display is the biggest power hog in the iPad, we could very easily see an iPad 3 with an even more impressive battery life.

Although some of the power saved will probably be eaten up by the Apple a6 - be it faster CPU, or built-in ram.

If the display is thinner that might allow a larger battery to be put in and keep the same size as the iPad 2

There might be a trade-off due to true 1080HD video eating up more of the SOC power.

I'm gonna guess even with the bigger battery and lower power consumption of the display the battery life won't be a huge leap.

 

[Alchematron]

This is gonna rock!

 

[Xero910]

Why would anyone really expect the iPad 3 to thicker or require 2x LED bars? All these other rumours are most likely describing prototype models.

 

[sammich]

Uh, how?

• TV's operate at fixed resolutions to match their content. Home theater enthusiasts want 1:1 pixel display, so they don't want a "retina" TV.
• Below a couple inches thickness measurements is not important in a TV set (no LED buyers, it's not), as at that point the stand will be the "deepest" part of the set.
• Power consumption is not very important in an item that runs off household electrical power instead of batteries.

1) I'm not sure what you're saying here. But a lot of the content you see on TV isn't 'fixed', it's any combo of 1080i/1080p/720i/720p and everything between and below. LCDs have only one native resolution, and any fixed multiple below that (ie: half resolution (ie 540p for 1080p), or quarter res)

2) Well, the thickness of panels is more or less immaterial to their performance (apples to apples, ie LED to LED backlit), but to disregard it's importance in sale-ability is wrong. The thinnest TV's, which are the LED ones currently are less than an inch thick, but have much better image quality compared to their thicker counterparts, CCFL backlit panels (I can't comment on Plasmas). Also, you can wall mount those razor thin panels, so they barely stick out at all.

3) By all means then, you can stick with your older generation CCFL panels, they use >2x the power of a similar sized panel (we have energy ratings here, dunno about other countries). That's not a saving to be dismissed lightly. And where have you been anyway, the whole world is trying to save electricity these days.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Does anyone know if this type of display gets affected by low atmospheric pressure like plasma displays, or any similar sensitivity to extreme environments?

The great news, a thinner display leaves more room for a higher capacity battery. And this may confirm the earlier rumor of having a double capacity battery.

The iPad 2 is thin enough; I'm afraid it may easily crack if made thinner.

I like the shape of the iPad 1 better than the more rounded shape of the iPad 2.
A strong and scratch resistant material would be nice.

 

[dokujaryu]

Mmm. I was considering getting an Android 4 or Windows tablet... but this display sounds amazing. We'll see what makes it to market.

 

[dashiel]

See now this seems like a credible rumor, not saying it is, but one thing Apple has excelled at since the first iPod is identifying new(ish) technology first. From buying up a years worth of the micro hard drives used in the iPod to pre-paying Flash memory to convincing Corning to restart the Gorilla Glass process Apple has a real back for this sort of thing.

The only thing I can say about IGZO is - what’s the catch? Lower production costs, lower power consumption, higher resolution seems to good to be true.