Sketchy Report Claims LG to Provide Flexible OLED Displays for Apple's iWatch

[MacRumors]

According to a report [Google Translate of cached version] from Korean publication Digital Daily that was published and then pulled (via G 4 Games), Apple has inked a deal with LG to provide flexible, plastic OLED displays for the company's iWatch product. LG is allegedly the sole supplier of the 1.52-inch panels for Apple's rumored smart watch device.

Image from Apple's "bracelet" with wraparound display patent​

LG is said to be starting mass production of these flexible panels starting in July 2014 with an initial target volume of 2 million units, and Apple chose these panels because they are thin, light, and provide adequate brightness with minimal power consumption, insiders claim. LG introduced the display technology in early 2013 and incorporated the panel in its curved LG G Flex smartphone, which was unveiled in October of last year.

Besides a flexible display, other rumors have suggest the iWatch will be launched in the second half of 2014 with wireless charging as a possible feature. OLED has been a commonly rumored technology for the iWatch, but other sources have pointed to different display sizes for the device, including the possibility of separate sizes in the 1.3-inch and 1.6-inch ranges for men and women.

Apple is said to be continuing to work through issues with battery life, display technology, and manufacturing on the iWatch, with the device said to feature biosensors and mapping features and run a "full" version of iOS.

The reason for the removal of today's report about the claimed deal with LG is unclear, and with no rumor track record for Digital Daily it is difficult to assess the reliability of the claims.

Article Link: Sketchy Report Claims LG to Provide Flexible OLED Displays for Apple's iWatch

 

[DrManhattan]

Makes sense. Samsung makes better displays, but they steal your technology. Pick your poison.

 

[taptic]

Gosh... really slim pickings these days if that's the only other supplier Apple could go to.

 

[KdParker]

Looking forward to the design possibilties that could come from flexible display.

Hopefully we will not have to wait until 2016 and beyond.

 

[3282868]

Nice. Now produce a paper thin, OLED "newspaper" that changes with headlines and can be rolled up, and I'm sold.

 

[TimeSquareDesi]

I can't wait for the next gen devices!

 

[osx11]

Nice. Now produce a paper thin, OLED "newspaper" that changes with headlines and can be rolled up, and I'm sold.

And then you have a really awkwardly-shaped role that's fragile and difficult to carry around?

 

[JaySoul]

Ooooh this is actually intriguing!

A flexible display mixing iOS and FuelBand-like technology sounds dope.

 

[downpour]

I'm probably not going to buy one of these, but I'm looking forward to seeing a new Apple product that looks futuristic and groundbreaking again.

 

[thekeyring]

If Apple went as far as they could with a minimal design, the iWatch could be as simple as a band you wear around your wrist that is all screen.

Instead of pages of apps, you have several icons/widgets and a 'live' clock face that you can scroll through. Just an idea, but it'll be interesting to see what they release.

 

[The Doctor11]

Makes sense lg has the lg flex phone.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Wireless charging may make sense... The Gear's charging system looks awkward. (Plug this tiny cable into this postage stamp sized device.)

One thing about this though... I can't see women wearing watches. The few watches that I've seen girls wear look nothing like the ones that guys wear or smart watches look like. It's be interesting to see if Apple manages a single design that both genders would wear. Plus, I remember as a child not liking watches because they never fit my wrist well. On the rare occasion I had a watch as a kid I wore it on my belt loop - watches didn't fit my wrists well until I was ~14.

It seems to me that smart watches, no matter how cool, could only be sold to ~1/3 of the human population, based on the fact that only adult male wrists are large enough for them on average.

 

[3282868]

And then you have a really awkwardly-shaped role that's fragile and difficult to carry around?

When the tech catches up, shouldn't be.

This is years off, of course.

 

[GeneralChang]

Nice. Now produce a paper thin, OLED "newspaper" that changes with headlines and can be rolled up, and I'm sold.

Holy cow, I think I’d start reading the paper again. That would be cool. Great thought.

 

[IJ Reilly]

You heard it here first (and second, and third...), it's going to be called the iWatch!

Ha, ha, ha. Sure.

 

[batchtaster]

Nice. Now produce a paper thin, OLED "newspaper" that changes with headlines and can be rolled up, and I'm sold.

Pffft…. if you're going to go that far, "just" put a little projector in the flexible watch that lets you read your holographic newspaper Minority Report-style. The initial cost and the repair/replacement cost for your 20-inch diagonal (minimum) flexible newspaper screen would be significant.

 

[3282868]

Pffft…. if you're going to go that far, "just" put a little projector in the flexible watch that lets you read your holographic newspaper Minority Report-style. The initial cost and the repair/replacement cost for your 20-inch diagonal (minimum) flexible newspaper screen would be significant.

lol You caught me, "Minority Report" was exactly what I was thinking.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

You heard it here first (and second, and third...), it's going to be called the iWatch!

Ha, ha, ha. Sure.

Why wouldn't it be? iMac, iBook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, iWork, iLife, iMovie, iBook, iCal, iTV (never mind the fact that the last two + the iBook were later renamed) - do you doubt that the first letter of the name will be 'i'? And Apple has rarely made up the main word of the product... Mac came from Macintosh and Cal from Calendar, so neither of those were really made up - just shortened. Pod is the only word they really made up (or at least seems unrelated to the product.) So "Watch" seems like a reasonable guess. "Time" or a unit of time (the "iSec"?) might also be reasonable, or possibly a reference to the fact it goes on your wrist. iWrist or iWear? iWatch seems most probable to me - everything else seems awkward.

 

[Tankmaze]

that looks very familiar to this

but flexible OLED definitely interesting, not sure the technology is ready though.

 

[nazaar]

Sketchy reports.... I'll say! That sketch is horrible!! I'm glad my hand doesn't look like that.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Why wouldn't it be? iMac, iBook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, iWork, iLife, iMovie, iBook, iCal, iTV (never mind the fact that the last two + the iBook were later renamed) - do you doubt that the first letter of the name will be 'i'? And Apple has rarely made up the main word of the product... Mac came from Macintosh and Cal from Calendar, so neither of those were really made up - just shortened. Pod is the only word they really made up (or at least seems unrelated to the product.) So "Watch" seems like a reasonable guess. "Time" or a unit of time (the "iSec"?) might also be reasonable, or possibly a reference to the fact it goes on your wrist. iWrist or iWear? iWatch seems most probable to me - everything else seems awkward.

Hmm, I didn't say any of that. But what I will say is that MR can't seem to decide editorially whether the iWatch name is just a placeholder (in which case it should always be in quotes, which it is only sometimes), or the actual name for the product. They went through the same exercise with the iPad, which MR was certain was going to be called the "iSlate" despite the obvious problems with that name that so many pointed out. (This is true, you could look it up.)

Similarly, iWatch is unlikely to be the product's real name. First, it is closely associated with ancient, single-purpose technology. Strike one. Second, it associated with a growing class of "smart watches," most of which are geeky and not very compelling functionally. Strike two. Third, it limits the imaginations of potential buyers of the product and developers alike about what the product can do. Strike three, you're out.

But it must be called the iWatch, because MR says so. And they are always right on the money.

 

[JaySoul]

that looks very familiar to this

Image

but flexible OLED definitely interesting, not sure the technology is ready though.

As an owner of a FuelBand, a score of 6500 is frickin' high.

 

[SmileyBlast!]

I'm probably not going to buy one of these, but I'm looking forward to seeing a new Apple product that looks futuristic and groundbreaking again.

It would be fun and nice to see Apple get the iWatch right even as Samsung failed with the Galaxy Gear.

Still if you already have an iPhone and you think that screen is too small, I don't really see how the iWatch will appeal.

I'm gonna have to wait and see.

 

[imageWIS]

Gosh... really slim pickings these days if that's the only other supplier Apple could go to.

That's what happens when you push the envelope.

 

[chumpy34]

If Apple went as far as they could with a minimal design, the iWatch could be as simple as a band you wear around your wrist that is all screen.

Instead of pages of apps, you have several icons/widgets and a 'live' clock face that you can scroll through. Just an idea, but it'll be interesting to see what they release.

I think you may be on to something. We have all thought this would be a traditional watch with smart features but I know Tim is a big fan of Nike's bands and he's a health nut too, so maybe the iWatch will be a bit more like a band than a watch but still have some crossover functions. Either way, I am jazzed for it and something new...