Samsung Sole Supplier for Retina Display in New iPad?

[DaveN]

For my money, Samsung makes the best HDTVs on the market, so I'm fine with them making the display on my new iPad.

Ironically I find Samsung's HDTVs a disappointment. I bought one last year and the color was awful. Whites were a light pink. Yellow was a neon green. I called Samsung support and they suggested I call the local tech nerd and have a $250 in-home calibration on my $200 tv (it was a 22 inch tv). I passed on that idea and after a lot of fix attempts Samsung agreed the tv was defective and promised to email a ups return label. I waited three days and no label so I returned the tv to the store.

What I don't get is that the displays Samsung supplies to Apple are pretty good. Why can't Samsung make a decent 22 inch HDTV?

 

[Vtwo]

Asus Transformer Prime is way much better than any iPad out there.
1920x1200 display, 18hrs battery and QWERTY keyboard.. oh and USB ports.

At least fact check before you start posting specs... The Transformer Prime only has 1280 x 800... The upcoming Transformer Infinity 700 will have the 1920x1200 display... But no firm release date, no price... Also they claim the battery will be 9-10 hours but it actually uses the same battery as the Prime... Not sure how they will pull that off with the increase display resolution...

 

[xinu]

I beg to differ. While many posters do offer reasonable criticism of Apple and the products, others offer thinly-veiled negativity in the guise of objectivity, and there are those who simply troll without much consequences. Almost in any other specific-theme forum, a poster who hangs around just to post negative opinions on the said topic will be considered problematic yet you seem to suggest that is fine.

Fanboys creates this negativity with their disgusting behavior to justify EVERYTHING that Apple does, charges, restricts, designs.. Apple never makes mistakes, Apple makes money.

Yeah and lol the Fanboys do carry that money to Apple and I bet that 1% max of them owns any of AAPL stocks

Well fanboys the facts are that soon every component on iPad and iPhone is made by Samsung. And there will be day that Samsung pulls the plugs and Apple has some serious trouble at their hands.

 

[iSayuSay]

for a company that claims to own all their innovations, they sure use many parts from their "enemies"

#no bashing, just an observation

In all honesty, Apple is no different than HP, or Dell. It's just they have passionate Jony Ive on the house so they can magically turn a piece of slab aluminum into $560 AAPL a pop. And a bit of OS and software powerhouse which more than enough to make their products to become much more than just another computers from across the street.
Of course competent and brilliant executives at Apple helps much too.
Right people at the right place, right era and just right executions make all what Apple today. Much in contrary to RIMM where they are today, of course, everything is just going wrong for them

In short, Apple is just a soft/hardware designer company, they don't have dedicated hardware manufacturing facility. All of things executed by third parties.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

At least fact check before you start posting specs... The Transformer Prime only has 1280 x 800... The upcoming Transformer Infinity 700 will have the 1920x1200 display... But no firm release date, no price... Also they claim the battery will be 9-10 hours but it actually uses the same battery as the Prime... Not sure how they will pull that off with the increase display resolution...

increase resolution does not mean increase battery drain.

remember the LCD panel itself draws very little power. It is the back lighting that is the real power drain but powering the LCD panel is next to nothing.

As for ways they could easily get increase battery life is the chips in the device (cpu ram ect) use less power,
They could improve the effiency of the back lighting. The LCD panel power usage is going to less than the CPU more than likely.

 

[fertilized-egg]

Fanboys creates this negativity with their disgusting behavior to justify EVERYTHING that Apple does, charges, restricts, designs.. Apple never makes mistakes, Apple makes money.

That seems to be a very curious way of blaming someone. "Fanboys" do not create the negativity. It's the people who writes nothing but negative posts who create negativity.

Well fanboys the facts are that soon every component on iPad and iPhone is made by Samsung. And there will be day that Samsung pulls the plugs and Apple has some serious trouble at their hands.

Unfortunately for you, the facts say Qualcomm is currently the sole supplier of arguably the most important part for Apple - the current combo wireless radio chip used in iPhone and iPad that do both CDMA/GSM - and LG is the largest supplier of LCD for Apple, even the Flash memory is supplied by multiple sources. I won't even mention various other parts not made by Samsung, camera optics, touch panel, the backlight, sensors, etc. Oh and the aluminum body, which is a huge part of Apple's design language, isn't made by Samsung. Ditto for that glass upfront.

Samsung is a very powerful entity, no doubt, and it'll be silly to dismiss their importance. However it's also overrated many times on the internet mainly to dismiss Apple's success and discredit it.

Besides, where else Samsung Display and LSI will find a company that'll buy tens(possibly more than a hundred) of millions of LCD panels and chips?

 

[AppleScruff1]

Sometimes I do. It'll happen. There's just too many of them on MR these days. And most of them are AppleInsider's (and other Apple sites') banned members.

Interesting, considering what you post every day.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

I'd take an LG HDTV over a Samsung any day. Who wants active 3D with expensive glasses and batteries to replace? LG has the idea with passive 3D and now I see Samsung is copying that idea. LG will also be first with a large screen OLED in the 55" range. Just because Samsung is a larger company then LG it doesn't mean they out innovate them.

It's funny how some people around here can hate on Samsung when it comes to some of their products and want to see Samsung go down, yet say Samsung is the only way to go when you buy TVs or displays. That doesn't make sense to me. There are different divisions, but it is all the same company. You buy a Samsung TV and I can promise some of the profit finds it's way back to the mobile division.

So what's your point? It's not like Samsung kills animals for their für.
I heard of passive 3D TV. I read it works when you are sitting at the right angle. I gotta see it.

 

[ph00ny]

So what's your point? It's not like Samsung kills animals for their für.
I heard of passive 3D TV. I read it works when you are sitting at the right angle. I gotta see it.

i don't know what the big deal is either

passive 3D, OLED TVs.. they've all been out but not mainstream

 

[dethmaShine]

Samsung's to money hungry to boycott Apple, and same goes for Apple. These guys have such a love hate relationship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFUzt6getqA

 

[Renzatic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFUzt6getqA

So which one's the devil?

 

[dethmaShine]

So which one's the devil?

IMO, it's Samsung. Cause Apple's the one making the deal and moreover because I'm an Apple fanboy.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

i don't know what the big deal is either

passive 3D, OLED TVs.. they've all been out but not mainstream

There must be something holding these from becoming mainstream at this time.
And that could be a reason why Apple has not yet implemented these technologies into their products.

I haven't purchased a big flat panel 3D TV for that same reason. At this time, there's no defined trend on what's going to become mainstream

 

[terraphantm]

I'd take an LG HDTV over a Samsung any day. Who wants active 3D with expensive glasses and batteries to replace? LG has the idea with passive 3D and now I see Samsung is copying that idea. LG will also be first with a large screen OLED in the 55" range. Just because Samsung is a larger company then LG it doesn't mean they out innovate them.

It's funny how some people around here can hate on Samsung when it comes to some of their products and want to see Samsung go down, yet say Samsung is the only way to go when you buy TVs or displays. That doesn't make sense to me. There are different divisions, but it is all the same company. You buy a Samsung TV and I can promise some of the profit finds it's way back to the mobile division.

I prefer Panasonic to both. There aren't any 3D movies I like, so I don't really care about 3D... but IMO Panasonic's plasmas (particularly the VT models) have the best picture quality compared to the other TVs sold today. Too bad Pioneer left the Plasma business.

Once OLED is affordable, my opinion may change. But for now, I definitely prefer Plasma to LCD, and IMO Panasonic makes the best plasmas currently.

 

[Ramchi]

Samsung has a job to do. They're a supplier.

Just because Apple says it is "retina display"it does not become owner of the technology. Supplier has to produce components, which is also another product.

It is easy to say jump from Atlantic to Pacific as an idea but the credit goes to those who actually do it.

 

[Can't Stop]

Samsung is Apple supplier, you, on the other hand, are an Apple whore.

Troll got burned

 

[Ramchi]

I'd take an LG HDTV over a Samsung any day. Who wants active 3D with expensive glasses and batteries to replace? LG has the idea with passive 3D and now I see Samsung is copying that idea. LG will also be first with a large screen OLED in the 55" range. Just because Samsung is a larger company then LG it doesn't mean they out innovate them.

It's funny how some people around here can hate on Samsung when it comes to some of their products and want to see Samsung go down, yet say Samsung is the only way to go when you buy TVs or displays. That doesn't make sense to me. There are different divisions, but it is all the same company. You buy a Samsung TV and I can promise some of the profit finds it's way back to the mobile division.

I agree with this. Recently changed my Samsung LCD with LG 3D Cinema display(TV). Samsung display came just for 3 years and the panel died with strange colors. May be Apple demands different quality standards than what Samsung internally sets for their consumer products.


We need to see the display quality issues after 2-3 years of use.

 

[Can't Stop]

for a company that claims to own all their innovations, they sure use many parts from their "enemies"

#no bashing, just an observation

If you start keeping friends and enemies lists you will go out of business fast. It's a ******* business.

 

[Dbrown]

Apple has designed the Retina Display for the iPad. The 2 layer thing that separates the pixels from the signals, they have that patented. That's 7 years of locked down tech, which by that point, will be old news. Samsung is the only company that could prove that they can mass produce it, at this point. Patents show you how they did it, so Samsung now knows and are likely upset they didn't figure it out first, but they want in on the money, so why not make the components (plus, they're good at making components as in they have a low percentage of failed parts). In order for Samsung to have retina type display, they'll have to figure out a different way (even if it's ever so slightly different, as long as it doesn't infringe) or license from Apple (which returns some of that money back to Apple).

So those that think Samsung is supplying the Retina Display because they designed it are in for a wake up call. If they did, why wouldn't they put it in their tablets first? When Apple brought this tech to Samsung's manufacturing arm to make, the tablet arm was probably chastised for not thinking of it first.

LOL stop making stuff up. LCD manufacturing is a mature business and Samsung has been doing it for practically forever. Only a butthurt apple nerd would actually believe that a "retina" display is manufactured using a process that has never been used before, and is patented by apple, a company that has ZERO experience with LCD manufacturing.

 

[iTard]

It really sucks that they can't find a competing alternative. This is not bad for Apple, this is horrible for Sharp, LG and any other manufacturer that aimed to be a provider

And you have no one to blame but apple.

 

[iSayuSay]

I prefer Panasonic to both. There aren't any 3D movies I like, so I don't really care about 3D... but IMO Panasonic's plasmas (particularly the VT models) have the best picture quality compared to the other TVs sold today. Too bad Pioneer left the Plasma business.

Once OLED is affordable, my opinion may change. But for now, I definitely prefer Plasma to LCD, and IMO Panasonic makes the best plasmas currently.

Agreed. A cheapo plasma usually can even beat all mainstream led/lcd. I dont mind a thicker plasma as long as it produce superior pictures. What's with super thin LED. It's not going to save any space on your living room anyway

That and I also had a bad experience with Samsung led. It was broken and the display is showing off strange colors. I had to replace it when my financial wasnt too good... No more led lcd hdtv for me. Plasma ftw.
But on another story, I had a 12 years old CRT Samsung monitor that still going strong. So I guess generally lcd tv has some durability issues, not because Samsung makes dud products.

 

[MacinDoc]

Your assumption is wrong so your entire argument is off. Apple doesn't provide largest part of samsung's revenue. Apple is largest customer of Samsung. But it only means Apple buying parts from samsung contributes to about 3-6% of Samsung group's total revenue (the group including electronics, lcd, ship yard etc).

You misquoted me; I said that component manufacturing (LCDs, not just for the iPad, but for a number of the major monitor and TV manufacturers, as well, RAM, flash memory, HDDs, and flash memory, to name but a few), is the largest contributor to Samsung's revenue, not that supplying components to Apple is. However, I must admit that this statement is speculation only on my part, not based on any research (sorry, I'm kind of embarrassed to not have checked that out before stating it). But other buyers will be well aware of how Samsung acts toward Apple, so if Samsung tries to screw Apple, then it will make other potential buyers leery, not just now, but for years to come. Yes, messing with Apple could cost Apple $50 billion over one year, but after that, Apple would have established relationships with other manufacturing partners. Contrast that, for the sake of argument, with lost revenue (from Apple and other buyers) of $20 billion per year for ten years. In the end, both companies lose, and there is no business case for severely harming yourself in order to try to harm a competitor. Apple and Samsung need each other, and will continue to do business with one another, lawsuits notwithstanding, and I'm glad for it. Contrary to what at least one other poster has stated, I would cancel my iPad order if its display was made by any company other than Samsung at this point, because Apple has determined that only Samsung's displays currently meet Apple's standards for the Retina Display.

 

[KingJosh]

Really? You think design and innovation is just about what you can buy in a store?

Samsung have been designing and innovating in many areas (because they are a vast company) for decades. Manufacturing, commercial hardware, telecoms, engineering ... areas where Apple doesn't even attempt to work in.

And you act as if Apple have a 100% track record with successful design ideas. They don't.

How is your galaxy beam going?

 

[Lennholm]

Exactly.


They do a great job of communicating their lack of competitiveness and their unimaginative, half-baked attempts to keep pace all on their own. I just discuss what's already obvious.



Still waiting on competition that is actually *viable*, and that can actually out-Apple Apple. Because if you can't, you're dong it wrong.

What will it take? SIMPLE: another visionary company, that is more afraid of stagnation than risk, that takes pride in a supremely well-implemented vertical business model. Done.

So far, none on the horizon whatsoever.

That's just your opinion, but we all know your opinions are all based on the idea your mind keeps as the absolute truth; "Apple is perfect, every one else sucks"

 

[hot spare]

That's interesting: sharp could design the thing but they couldnt manufacture it.. I wonder if that basically means that the ip is owned by sharp and licensed to manufactures like samsung in a limited basis... If so, then we probably won't be seeing any retina galaxy tabs for a long time......

You assume a lot.

http://www.cnx-software.com/2011/10/26/samsung-demoes-a-wqxga-2560x1600-10-1-lcd-panel/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/samsung-and-lg-to-showcase-large-high-pixel-density-lcd-panels/

Your so-called Retina could be surpassed very soon. It's very well speculated that Samsung would launch 2560x1600 Tab this year.

They also have the SoC to natively support such high density display. Exynos 5250 supports and had been already shown running WQXGA display. It's starting mass production in Q2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug_WxBM_-0o