Apple sets up a secret laboratory in Taiwan and is reported as for thinner and lighter new type display development

ByRick Tsao

Apple's iPhone and iPad are characterized by thinner terminal thickness each time a new model appears but Apple is also planning to install an organic EL display on the next iPhone / iPad with a new display We have established a secret laboratory in the northern part of Taiwan for technical development.

Apple Opens Secret Laboratory in Taiwan to Develop New Screens - Bloomberg Business
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-15/apple-said-to-open-secret-lab-in-taiwan-to-develop-displays

Apple's new laboratory is located in the area of ​​Longtan District, 50 km away from Taipei. There are many local biotechnology-related factories in the surrounding area, but Apple's logo mark etc is not listed on the outside wall of the building. According to Bloomberg 's interview with a person familiar with the laboratory, more than 50 engineers are working at the laboratory and employees for new display manufacturing are also working. Bloomberg speculates that the new display will be used for mobile terminals such as the next iPhone and iPad.


The facility was originally used by the semiconductor manufacturer's Qualcomm, Apple adopted former Qualcomm employees to the laboratory staff, Taiwanese liquid crystal panel manufacturing companyAU OptronicsIt is said that he is pulling out a technician from. Apple is looking for more technicians for display development and Taiwanese laboratoryJob InformationIs posted on LinkedIn. However, Kristin Huguet, a public relations officer at Cupertino's Apple headquarters, declined to comment on the Taiwanese laboratory and no detailed information on the laboratory has been published.

In the laboratory, a new thinner and lighter type than the liquid crystal display used for the current iPhone is being developed, and further research is being carried out for the purpose of improving the battery efficiency and brightening the display brightness It is seen as if it is not. In addition, it is speculated that it is also worth looking to shift the display of Apple products to a thinner "organic EL display" without backlighting.


By transferring the development base of LCD screen to Taiwan, Apple also has the advantage that terminal development can be carried out by lowering dependency on other companies such as Samsung, LG, Sharp, Japan Display etc. Apple already begins manufacturing displays for AU Optronics and Innolux, Taiwan's small and medium-sized enterprises, and Innolux has increased its share of display production to 2.6% at the end of 2015. Meanwhile, Japan Display has decreased to 3.9%, the lowest record ever, and Sharp has declined to a share of 1.6%.

In addition, Japan Display will start manufacturing organic EL displays for smartphones in the spring of 2018ReportedLady LG invests over 1 trillion yen of organic EL display equipment for the new iPhoneDecisionIt is a place to worry about the movement around the display manufacture of the new iPhone in the future.