We are talking about Apple’s most selling wearable from the market, and the Series 4 models with advanced health features and a continuous upgrade of the device to the Series 5 this year. According to a new report about the device, Apple has closed a deal with Japan Display Inc. for the supply of OLED screens for the Apple Watch. Moreover, this deal will give Japan Display an advance in the OLED displays market. OLED displays are thinner and have more flexibility than LCD screen; that’s what made them catch power.
Because of the switch made by Apple from LCD to OLED, Japan Display LCD business has decreased. The OLED market is currently dominated by Samsung Electronics- Samsung Display unit and LG display. Apple’s exclusive supplier of OLED screens for iPhones is Samsung Display unit, and for the majority of the Apple Watch devices, the supplier is LG Display.
However, Hiroshi Hayase, the senior director at IHS Markit, says that even if this deal is a positive one for Japan Display, the question that appears is if the company could compete with a rival like Samsung Display? Samsung Display has more over a decade of experience, technologies and production capacity for this fight. Also, after the report was out, Japan Display shares had jumped to 7.6 percent in Tokyo trade on Wednesday and finished up 6.3 percent at 84 yen.
New Plans
Japan Display has a small OLED pilot line factory for smartphones in eastern Japan and will receive more than half of its revenue from Apple. Also, the company is searching for investment from China Silkroad Investment Capital and financing of $990 million. Moreover, Japan Display has plans to build an OLED factory in China using their smartphones panels technology, needing a more extensive line for production. Also, Japan Display’s technology methods for manufacturing equipment are different from Samsung.
Finally, we don’t know yet from the report, which Apple Watch model with receive Japan Display screen, but we bet on the Apple Watch Series 5.
