OLEDA report in the English version of Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun, relayed via Electronics Weekly, claims that local electronics giant Sharp, soon to be owned by longtime Apple supplier Foxconn, is planning to invest $1.84 billion into flexible OLED production over the next four years. This could promise some interesting developments for those who rock Apple for their e-reading needs. The original Nikkei report states that: “the prototype has a 3.4-inch screen – smaller than that of a typical smartphone – and utilizes the company’s IGZO (indium-gallium-zinc oxide) energy-saving panel technology.”

Previously, flexible OLED technology has mainly been associated with Korean companies like LG and, of course, Samsung. However, Apple has been placed in the frame for heavy flexible OLED demand by several reports, claiming that the Cupertino giant is about to become a late adopter of OLED screens. The EW report hints at fully flexible screens for consumers, though whether the upshot will be a bendy iPhone of course remains to be seen. It’s interesting, though perhaps coincidental, to note that the Sharp prototype’s screen size is close to the original iPhone’s 3.5 inches. Further reports claim that Foxconn is building out capacity in China to support the new manufacturing process, ready to slap an OLED screen on the iPhone 7. No one has yet claimed that that will be a bendyphone, but watch this (3.4-inch) space …

(Image above is from Sharp OLED technology.)

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