iPhone supplier invests in flexible screen production line

6:52 AM – by Unknown

iPhone supplier invests in flexible screen production line

LG Display, the supplier responsible for producing Apple's iPhone displays, has announced substantial investment in a flexible screen production line


Apple supplier LG Display has announced plans to invest in a flexible OLED production line, fueling rumours future iPhones will feature flexible screens.
LG Display said it will invest KRW1.05 trillion in the production line, which will be based at the Gumi Plant in Gyeongbuk Province, Korea, which is listed among Apple's suppliers.
The new line will produce more than 200 cuts 5.5-inch cuts from a single plastic substrate sheet - the same size as an iPhone 6 Plus display - according to LG. Mass production is not expected to begin until early 2017.
The new flexible plastic OLED displays will replace the traditional glass screens, and will now be extended across smartphone, automotive and wearable device displays, the company added. As well as iPhones, LG also supplies the display panels for the Apple Watch.
As well as allowing the display to bend, using plastic over glass makes a smartphone screen less likely to shatter when dropped. LG Display also produced the displays for the LG G2, G3 and G4, alongside the curved LG G Flex and G Flex 2. The G4 was praised for its Quad HD IPS Quantam Display, designed to increase brightness by 25pc and colour accuracy by 56pc compared to its predecessor.

The LG G Flex 2 (pictured) is slightly curved



The investment will help to advance the production of foldable displays, LG confirmed.
The next iPhone - believed to be called either the iPhone 6s or the iPhone 7 - is expected to be unveiled this September.
It was reported last month that Apple is planning to replace the iPhone's current LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with an OLED screen. The company has also filed numerous patents around the use of bendable displays and devices in recent years.
The Californian company was granted a similar patent for flexible displays in October last year, and another in February 2013. in November 2013, a source said two iPhone models were in development with curved glass screens, but given the sizing of the rumoured phones (4.7 inches and 5.5 inches respectively), it appears the source was referring to what became the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk